VARGAS FEELS VICTIMIZED AFTER CONTROVERSIAL DECISION.

Byline: Jon Wilner Daily News Staff Writer

Fernando Vargas was 10 years old in the summer of '88, when he watched in amazement as American Roy Jones Jr. lost a controversial gold-medal decision in the Seoul Olympics.

Since then, Vargas says he has been victimized around the world by judges biased against the United States. But he never figured that he'd get Jonesed this summer - not with the Games on his home turf.

He figured wrong.

The Oxnard welterweight lost 8-7 to Romanian Marian Simion on Thursday afternoon at Alexander Coliseum in a second-round bout that showed the computerized scoring system adopted after the Jones debacle is not foolproof.

Trailing 7-6 late in the third and final round, Vargas rocked Simion with a three-punch combination that failed to earn a single point. ``They were all scoring blows,'' he said.

When the Syrian referee raised Simion's arm in victory, Vargas wheeled in disbelief, walked to his corner, then leaned against the ropes to compose himself.

A few minutes later Vargas announced he'll turn professional ``as soon as all my interests are protected. And I'm not signing for pennies. I'm a quality fighter, and I want quality.''

He was careful to be classy in defeat. No tantrums. No tears. Instead, he invoked Jones and Evander Holyfield, who was disqualified in the 1984 Games.

``Great champions have come out of the Olympics with a loss,'' he said. ``I saw the Jones fight. It was a disgrace, and now it has happened to me. Outside the country, judges don't like us, and in the country it's the same thing.

``But as a champion I'm not going to throw a fit. . . . My family is here, and seeing them hurt hurts me. They aren't used to seeing me lose.''

The computerized scoring system, adopted after the Jones fight, awards one point if three of the five judges hit their scoring button within one second of each other. The system allows little margin for error, and international boxing is nothing if not error-prone.

``I was told that the Puerto Rican judge did not push the button for Fernando in the second round at all,'' said assistant coach Jesse Ravelo, who added that the U.S. may file a grievance against that judge. (Vargas showed no interest in pursuing the matter.)

The second round cost Vargas dearly. In it, he failed to use his jab effectively against the bigger, slower Romanian and was outscored 5-0 - turning a 4-2 lead into a 7-4 deficit.

Simion tired in the final 90 seconds, but Vargas, energized by the crowd chanting ``USA'', was plenty fresh. Three lefts in a 30-second span tied it at 7-7. Simion answered with a right at 28 seconds, but Vargas kept coming. Denied on the combination, he followed with a left in the final seconds. It did not register - with the computer.

``Anybody who wonders why kids turn pro and don't last until the next Olympics - this is the reason,'' U.S. coach Al Mitchell said. ``Until somebody has the guts to find a better way to do the system, we're going to have this problem.''

It's worth noting that Mitchell did not chastise the judges when previous U.S. boxers were defeated. In fact, he was the first to criticize previous losers Eric Morel and Zahir Rahim for their performances.

But the Vargas situation was different, and Mitchell was mad.

``Fernando won the bout. I had him winning easily,'' Mitchell said. ``The only reason I said he was down one (after the second round) was because I wanted him to keep working hard. But I had him winning big time.

``I have the tape, if anybody wants to watch it.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Oxnard's Fernando Vargas, left, walksaway in disbelief after defeat.

Associated Press 

(2) Fernando Vargas, right, exchanges punches with winner Marian Simion during a bout that sparked questions about the Olympic scoring system.

Bob Leverone / Charlotte Observer