Awash in a Bloodbath Worthy of Television

The glossy pictures in Sports Illustrated will look just great, the blood streaming down the right cheek of “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas, a testament to the wonderful brawl and night for all at Mandalay Bay.

Ferocious had talked about dying in the ring if necessary to give everyone a good time, and right away it looked as if this might be a wonderful Saturday night to remember. (I wonder if there was a priest in the house?)

The sweat and blood came together on Oscar De La Hoya, making a marvelous crimson sheen, the crowd taking pleasure in the two-way beating featuring L.A. kids all grown up.

Vargas had been thoughtful enough to wear white trunks, so round-by-round the bloody evidence of effort and pain could mount, the ringside fans getting their $1,200 worth of flying spittle and red droplets.

Now, although both boxers weighed the same, De La Hoya looked puny in comparison to Vargas, who put a massive bruise on the right side of the Golden Boy’s cheek in the first round.

In fact, Vargas staggered De La Hoya several times in the early rounds, but then the night turned savage, brutal and delicious for everyone who loves the sweet science of boxing when the Golden Boy opened a gash beneath the right eye of Ferocious. It had to be great TV at home for those who paid for a view of someone’s butt-kicking.

De La Hoya’s nose had turned to mush, adding to the excitement in the ring, and talk about a night of entertainment, can it get any better than two fierce competitors taking a beating while trying to knock each other unconscious?

The Golden Boy bopped Ferocious in the face in the eighth, and it was obvious Vargas wasn’t feeling too good at this point, and the electricity in the arena suggested everyone could smell blood now.

And when the end did come in the 11th, and Ferocious went down as if he had been shot by a sniper, my first thought was for Dada footwear, which had chosen to advertise on Vargas’ butt, and now he was lying on his back so nobody could see the ad.

The mob went wild, of course, when Ferocious went 10 toes up, the ring filled with support personnel and De La Hoya was lifted onto their shoulders. The Golden Boy tossed a cheeky grin to the camera as if it was no big deal being paid $14 million for an hour’s work, and somewhere in the mayhem they were either consoling or reviving Vargas. I presume he was still alive, or I think someone would have made an announcement.

“A great, great, great fight,” shouted fight publicist Bill Caplan in my ear. “Oscar didn’t take this much punishment from Shane Mosley.”

Indeed, if punishment is the measure of a great, great, great fight, this is why boxing is such a great sport. And when Vargas gets back from the hospital, I’m sure he’ll tell everyone the same thing.

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NOW THE thing about boxing, it seems to bring the best out in some people.

Example one: Promoter Bob Arum paid for airfare and hotel rooms at Mandalay Bay for broadcasters representing 15 radio stations across the country to come here, hype the fight and sell pay-per-view. Arum said, however, that after their first broadcast, a pair of Chicago broadcasters from WOJO gambled late into the night and chose to go to the bathroom where they were sitting in the casino rather than stop wagering. Mandalay Bay took exception to the kind of behavior you and I might expect from boxing fans, and evicted the Chicago pair from the hotel.

Arum said he won’t be paying for their airfare now, but Don King probably already has them under contract.

Example two: A column written by Michael Katz for maxboxing.com raised the hackles of some folks close to boxing this week. Katz, who was prevented from interviewing De La Hoya in a session for print journalists, then set his aim on Arum.

Arum survived a plane crash recently, getting off a few seconds before the craft went up in flames. Katz suggested in his column that a writer from a Las Vegas newspaper, who was also on the plane, could have won an award for “long and meritorious service to boxing” in a landslide if he had remained frozen in the doorway, implying that would have kept Arum from getting off the burning plane.

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AFTER SITTING opposite Bo Derek in her prime for the Hearns-Hagler fight at Caesars Palace and Raquel Welch in Staples Center for Mosley-De La Hoya, you can imagine how excited I was to see Jack Haley at De La Hoya-Vargas. These fights really pull in the big celebrities.

I also ran into Ryan Leaf, the former quarterback, and asked him if he will try to play again. “I hate the NFL,” he said.

Fight officials said all the Wayans brothers were going to be in attendance for the bout with the exception of the talented one.

One man walked by wearing an orange hat, blazer and shoes, and I had to do a double-take to make sure it wasn’t one of my brothers-in-law.

Then I was faced with a quandary. The polite thing, of course, when someone notices someone’s zipper is down is to tell them, but a woman walked by with the zipper on her dress pulled down to her bellybutton and I couldn’t be sure if it was an accident or she was here with Laker owner Jerry Buss.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from F:

“I usually avoid your stupid words, but I forced myself to read your boxing story. Even though I’m no thug, it is people like you, who spout ignorant venom, that makes me wish I could slap you around for being a shallow idiot.”

Then I guess we’ll never be able to settle this man to man.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com.