LAS VEGAS – Fernando Vargas lifted his youngest son on his shoulders Saturday night.

The former junior middleweight champion carried Emiliano Vargas around the ring after he viciously knocked out Giovannie Gonzalez in the second round of their scheduled eight-rounder on the Mikaela Mayer-Sandy Ryan undercard at Fontainebleau’s BleuLive Theater. Fernando Vargas trains his three sons and plays prominent roles in their lives, but he has allowed matchmakers for Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. to carry the burden of taking the appropriate steps in the developmental phase of Emiliano’s promising career.

Emiliano will turn 21 on April 16. By the time his father was that age – 21 years and five days, to be exact – he made Mexico’s “Yory Boy” Campas quit on his stool and won the IBF junior middleweight title.

Emiliano will next face an opponent to be determined on the Naoya Inoue-Ramon Cardenas undercard May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“I’m a blessed man, a blessed father,” Fernando Vargas told The Ring, “that I’m able to put my kids in position where a lotta eyes are gonna be on them. So, I tell my kids like this – you know, I did the hard part. Now it’s never been seen that a three-time world champion, a Hall-of-Famer, has kids that become world champions.

“So, we’re with the right promotional company for Emiliano. My other two boys have another promotional company [MarvNation]. But I just know that Top Rank knows what they’re doing. And I don’t need to say anything else but that. I’m excited for my son. He’s a future superstar.”

Fernando Vargas fought only 31 times as a professional from March 1997 until November 2007. The 1996 U.S. Olympian had numerous battles that were physically damaging, most memorably technical-knockout losses to Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley.

Fernando Vargas also lived hard outside of the ring at times and made several bad business decisions. Those experiences have helped him guide his sons through their careers.

“All the good and bad that happened in my career served me with experience for my kids,” Fernando Vargas said. “So, that way, we don’t make the same mistakes.”

Fernando Vargas Jr. is 16-0, including 14 knockouts. The 28-year-old middleweight is scheduled to square off against Argentina’s Gonzalo Gaston Coria (23-7, 9 KOs) in a 10-rounder April 12 at The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Amado Vargas is 12-0, with five knockouts. The 24-year-old lightweight is set to meet Dominican veteran Angel Luna (20-15-1, 11 KOs) in another 10-round bout April 26 at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.

Their father accepts that certain critics will never be satisfied with how his sons’ careers progress. Detractors will be particularly judgmental of Emiliano Vargas’ journey, because it will transpire beneath the brightest spotlight.

“At the end of the day, you’re not gonna please anybody,” Fernando Vargas said. “People are gonna say, ‘You’re babying him. You’re feeding him bums.’ And then, later on they’ll say you fed him to the lions too quickly. Which one is it? Make up your mind. So, I’m gonna do whatever I need to do to do the right thing for my kids, and that’s what’s gonna happen.”