USA flyweight Antonio Vargas overcomes hostile crowd to win Olympic opener

U.S. flyweight Antonio Vargas shook off the hostile crowd and knocked off Brazilian boxer Juliao Neto in his Olympic debut on Saturday.

Vargas smiled widely as the boos rained down from the stands in Riocentro Pavilion 6 when he entered the ring. Neto's awkward style and constant holding turned it into an ugly fight. Vargas connected with several hooks in the first round and tried to punch his way out of Neto's clinching.

The referee warned Neto several times for slapping in the first round. Vargas took the second round on all three judges' scorecards and headed into the final three minutes needing the last round. Vargas boxed and stayed outside more to try to avoid Neto's holding and get shots of his own off. The referee finally took a point from the Brazilian for holding in the third round to the displeasure of his host nation crowd. Vargas finishedt effectively and won a split decision.

"It's kind of hard with all the noise," Vargas said. "You hear the atmosphere, you hear the crowd roaring, the stairs rumbling so it was kind of hard for me to keep my cool going into the fight. It's the first time I've ever been in an atmosphere like that before. Being in his backyard, hearing his fans was like wow, I gotta pick it up. That was one of the first times I experienced that stuff but I'm glad I broke the ice."

Vargas, 19, said he could tell that he was in the ring with a much older fighter and approached this fight differently than their second meeting.

"He was a very tough fighter. Being 34, I could tell he was a grown man," vargas said. "I fought him before. The first time I fought him (at the Pan American Games qualifier), I beat him unanimously. I out-boxed him but in this fight, being in his backyard, I felt like I had to bring the fight more. In that third round, I started boxing him more. I should have done that from the beginning because I knew he was going to try to rough me up. I was a lot faster than him, more technical than him. I know when I fight Monday, I'm going to do it a lot better."

That bout will take place on Vargas' 20th birthday against Uzbekistan's Shakhobidin Zoirov at 10:45 a.m. ET.

Two Americans will compete on Sunday. Junior and Youth World Champion and Youth Olympic Games gold medalist Shakur Stevenson will fce another Brazilian, Robenilson de Jesus at 11:15 a.m. ET. Light welterweight Gary Antuanne Russell will match-up with Thailand's Wuttichai Masuk at 12:30 p.m. ET.

For full tournament brackets and schedule information, click here.

(Photo of Vargas, right against Brazil's Juliao Neto by Daniel Powers, Paste BN Sports)