Vargas, Mayorga predicting a short night

The time for taunting, teasing and trash-talking is over. Now it’s time for Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga to settle things in the ring.

The two former world champions weighed in Thursday at 164 pounds for tonight’s 12-round pay-per-view super-middleweight bout at Staples Center. And the afternoon weigh-in was just about the only appearance by the two fighters that didn’t end with the boxers brawling with one another.

But then there has been a lot of time for bad blood to build up. The fight, which the 29-year-old Vargas has repeatedly promised will be his last, was originally scheduled for Sept. 8 but had to be postponed when internal bleeding caused the Oxnard native to lose two pints of blood over a three-week period, leaving him anemic.

“When is it going to be enough?” said Vargas, who long ago promised to retire before he turned 30, a milestone he reaches in two weeks. “When they see me with a cane going into the ring?”

He figures to get at least $5 million as a parting gift tonight -- and could make $15 million, depending on the pay-for-view numbers.

Clearly Vargas’ best days are behind him. His last bout was a July 2006 loss to Shane Mosley. That was the second of two consecutive losses to Mosley for Vargas (26-4 with 22 knockouts), who hasn’t won since beating Spain’s Javier Castillejo in August 2005.

Nonetheless he’s predicting a knockout in the first six rounds tonight.

Mayorga (27-6-1 with 22 knockouts) also lost his last fight, against Oscar De La Hoya 18 months ago, The 34-year-old Nicaraguan, who will earn about half of what Vargas gets tonight, is also expecting a short fight, predicting a victory by the third round.

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com