Arrest of Boxer

Re “Arrest of Boxer Stirs Disbelief,” July 27.

Yeah, hi, I’m a 12-year-old, impressionable kid and Fernando [Vargas] is my hero. I just know he didn’t do this crime because his oily lawyer immediately said it’s self-defense. What’s that? Oh, sure, there’s tons of regular guys around who want to get in a fistfight with a world-class boxer.

I want to be just like Fernando. Yeah, I know he’s been a cocky bigmouth since the amateurs, saying, “I’d take De La Hoya right now.” That only makes me like him more. If I can’t be a boxer like him, at least I could be a gangbanger. That way, if I got into a one-on-one scrape with a guy, I could always call up four of my homies to come help me beat up the guy. ‘Cause, well, you know, that’s what real men do.

GREGG FREEMAN, Newbury Park