As he awaited a flight in Houston that would take him to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Kay Koroma had time to talk.

The topic was flyweight Antonio Vargas of Kissimmee and his chances of becoming the first American man to bring home boxing gold from the Olympics since light heavyweight Andre Ward in 2004.

“I definitely wouldn’t be surprised,” said Koroma, associate coach for the U.S. Olympic men’s boxing team. “I’ve seen him fight people he was not necessarily supposed to win against, and he came out of it. I am expecting nothing in the games to shock Antonio.

“I don’t expect anything to shock him at all.”

The Olympics will begin officially with opening ceremonies Friday night and run through Aug. 21. Preliminary matches in women’s soccer are scheduled for Wednesday, including the United States against New Zealand.

Vargas, who will turn 20 on Aug. 15, will enter the ring in Rio as a Pan American Games gold medalist and an Olympic Trials champion. He qualified to fight on the biggest stage in amateur boxing at a tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June.

“Being at the Pan Am Games is the closest thing I am going to get to the Olympics, because those are the mini-Olympics,” said Vargas, who is 5 feet 5 1/2 and weighs 114 pounds. “I have an idea, but I know it is going to be a bigger stage, bigger fans, bigger arena, more cameras. Mentally going in there, I am not worried about that.”

Vargas, a former student at Kissimmee Osceola, is originally from Puerto Rico but started boxing while growing up in Houston. His father, José Esteves, thought the sport would help him cope with attention-deficit issues.

In the process, boxing provided many memorable moments, including when Vargas officially claimed an Olympic spot with a unanimous decision against Italy’s Vincenzo Picardo in Azerbaijan.

“I was watching the fight on the phone [at about 5:30 in the morning],” Esteves said. “Just happiness. Woke everybody up, because everybody was asleep. Very, very happy.”

Koroma said Vargas has a tendency to become a headhunter — going too much for the knockout instead of relying on his all-around boxing skills — but has improved in that department.

Vargas claimed a silver medal in Azerbaijan.

“He is using his jab a lot more,” Koroma said. “He has been great in camp, and he was great when he went to the qualifying in Baku. If he continues on that path, then it’s not a problem.

“He will be all right, he’ll make it to the medal round and he’ll definitely win gold.”

Vargas expects nothing less of himself.

“I don’t feel pressure, because when I go into [the ring], I feel very happy,” Vargas said. “‘Man, it’s another fight right here.’ God has brought me this far, so I don’t really feel too much pressure. Not at all.

“I feel good and confident going into the ring, just thinking about how my family is going to be watching me back at home. It brings me excitement. It motivates me.”