A Dream Deferred: Rising Boxing Star Slain in the Bronx

Even as a small child boxing with a bunch of his friends in his father's apartment hallway in the South Bronx, Ronney Vargas had dreams as tall as the Empire State Building. Even then it was clear that Vargas had the talent and the dedication to take his boxing to the next level.

Fast-forward 12 years, and all the training and preparation was starting to paying off for Vargas—he was a rising star.

From 2005-2007, Vargas won three straight New York Daily News Golden Glove Championships at the Junior Middleweight division and turned pro last winter. 

Since turning pro, Vargas had a perfect career record with eight wins, six of them by knockout, including a huge TKO on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Alfonso Gomez fight in Atlantic City in April.

As a well-liked, mild mannered guy from the Bronx, it was surprising and infuriating to everyone that knew him to learn that the smooth-talking Venezuelan immigrant was senselessly killed in cold blood at 3:30 a.m. last Saturday morning. The reason: flirting with the wrong girl—senseless indeed.

According to the New York Daily News, Vargas was talking to two girls, whose boyfriends were nearby, in front of a corner store in the East Tremont section of the Bronx.

It started off an argument—Vargas and his friends drove off in his Honda Accord, but were followed by a white car, allegedly the suspect's. A few blocks down, on Hughes Avenue, the Daily News reported that the suspect's car pulled up and blocked the path of Vargas' car.

The suspect got out and approached Vargas' driver-seat window, where he pistol-whipped and shot Vargas in the chest.

Vargas tried to escape by driving backwards until he eventually fell out of the car and collapsed on the ground—his friend rushed out the car and held Vargas while calling for help. Vargas's last breaths were taken his arms.

Vargas was formally pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital, and despite having a surveillance video showing the attack, the NYPD haven't made an arrest yet.

Unfortunately, Vargas is the latest example of professional athletes who are targeted by violence for no specific reason. College athletes at Duquesne University and the University of Miami, along with former Denver Bronco defensive back Darrent Williams, serve as other late examples.

Some questioned why Vargas hasn't moved out of the Bronx given his new found fame, acknowledging that most professional athletes are targets. But Vargas loved his neighborhood, for better or worse.

In an interview with the Daily News in January, Vargas said that he loves his neighborhood and the people in it, so it's hard for him to just leave and start new somewhere else.

He added that the money hasn't changed him and that he's still the same kid from the block,  and everyone supported his decision—until something like this happens. Vargas's father, German Vargas, reacted by saying that he wants the suspects, assuming they get caught, to get the death sentence.

According to his manager, Pat Lynch, who has managed the careers of boxers like Arturo Gatti, the 20-year-old Ronney "Venezuela" Vargas (8-0, 6 KOs) was scheduled to fight on the undercard of the Jermain Taylor-Jeff Lacy fight on November 15.