Career
He attempted to obtain Chile"s first boxing world title four times. Although he failed, this fact helped him become a national idol in Chile. On March 23, 1973, Vargas made his professional debut, beating Martín Muñoz by a decision in six rounds.
In 1974, he tasted defeat for the first time when he was knocked out in seven rounds by Alfredo Alcayaga.
On October 11 of that same year, he and Alcayaga had a rematch, this time with the Chilean national flyweight title at stake. One month later, he had his first fight abroad, a ten round draw with Carlos Escalante in Buenos Aires.
After fourteen wins in a row, Vargas had a chance to add the South American regional belt to his resume, and he did so by knocking out Gonzalo Cruz in round one on December 20, 1975 in Santiago. Canto broke the hearts of most Vargas fans on November 30, 1977 by defeating the hometown favorite, again by a fifteen-round decision.
This defeat was followed by thirteen wins in a row, including points wins over future world champions Joey Olivo and Rafael Pedroza (cousin of Eusebio Pedroza).
After the Gushiken fight, Vargas had a rather ordinary record of 21 wins and 7 losses before retiring for the first time in 1987. He did, however, add another regional title to his trophy case when he beat Delis Rojas on July 23, 1982 by a decision in twelve rounds in Miami, to earn the WBC"s continental Americas" flyweight title. He is still seen by many as the best boxer ever to come out of that country, and as a national hero of Chile.
In 1997, ten years after his original retirement, Vargas attempted a comeback.
His first fight back was videotaped by a crew making a documentary film about him, and he defeated Gerónimo Rojas by a knockout in round two on July 4. On February 7, 1998, he added the Chilean Super Flyweight title to his collection of regional titles with a first round knockout over José Carmona.
One month later, he beat Juan Lielmil, also by knockout in round one, to regain the Chilean flyweight title. But after losing to Joel García, by knockout in round one on July 31 of that same year, he decided to retire permanently.
In addition to the documentary about his comeback, a biographical movie about him was also produced in Chile.
