Babied by the Goodwill Games, Vargas, 16, Is Still a Golden Boy : Boxing: Too young to compete in Russia, he wins 132-pound title at U.S. Junior Championships.

Fernando Vargas might not be fighting at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia, but the young boxer’s medal collection continues to grow.

Vargas, the 16-year-old phenom from Oxnard, won the gold medal in the 132-pound division at the U.S. Junior Championships in Marquette, Mich., defeating Brandon Mitchum of Augusta, Ga., in the final on Sunday.

During the eight-day USA Boxing tournament, Vargas won four bouts, including a victory over Danny Perez, his former sparring partner at the Oxnard Boys Club.

“Neither one of us looked good because we missed a lot of punches that should’ve landed,” Vargas said.

“(Perez) was in my way and I felt kind of bad I had to fight him. But it’s a sport, and one of us had to leave with a medal.”

Vargas also defeated Salvador Jasso of Los Angeles and Reginald Davis of Portland, Ore., before beating Mitchum in the final. Jasso was the 1994 Golden Gloves champion and defending 1993 U.S. junior champion in the 132-pound division.

Vargas could not participate in the Goodwill Games because of a USA Boxing rule that prohibits athletes under 17 from traveling abroad to compete.

The rule protects young boxers from older opponents in international competitions.

However, USA Boxing will allow him to compete at the World Championships Under 19 at Istanbul, Turkey, in September because of the tournament’s upper age limit, according to Melanie Ley, a board member of the Southern California Assn. of USA Boxing.

“I know I would’ve had a good chance of winning over there,” Vargas said of the Goodwill Games.

“I guess I’m just gonna have to wait (to turn 17 on Dec. 5). Sometimes there’s nothing you can do.”

Still, he has been watching the Goodwill Games on TV and has been especially impressed by the Cubans.

“The Cubans, they’re just fast,” he said. “It’s gonna help to start thinking about them and I’ll start training to counter their style and be able to fight in their style. I’m looking forward to international experience because there’s so many styles.”

Vargas said he will take a week off before he starts training for the World Championships Under 19.

“I’m kind of like, ‘Dang I’m tired,’ ” Vargas said. “I know it’s because I’ve been fighting a lot. I deserve at least a week break. My trainer (Eduardo Garcia) told me to take a break and I wasn’t gonna say no to it. “I’m just gonna (relax), go to the beach, go to Magic Mountain and be ready to concentrate again and take on fighters that I need to.”

Fighting at 125 pounds, Vargas won gold medals at the U.S. Amateur Boxing Championships in March and at the Junior Olympics in ’93. At the age of 14, he won the Junior Golden Gloves championship in the same division.