How good was Alexis Arguello?

Always remember his devastating knockout of Kevin Rooney, Clancy had just commented that Alexis was lacking power at that weight then Boom......

 

Absolutely correct JT.

The names on the list certainly were elite; Arguello's level of competition cannot seriously be questioned, nor would it be by those who lived through the era.

 

A highly impressive list of ELITE names.

 

Arguello's run at 130 is possibly one of the best that the division's history has seen.

27 months; winning the title then defending it 8 times, amongst 3 non-title bouts (dropping only one of those minor bouts , by decision, at lightweight [and subsequently avenged])

Then, after vacating his 130 strap, campaigns at lightweight, stopping Boza-Edwards and getting past Ramirez on the road to Watt. And this is before we get to Mancini and Pryor, later on.

 

Agree guys, it's a superb resume. Arguello is almost always at the top of the lists of the greatest Junior Lightweights ever. When it comes to 130, he's the man.

 

Could be. Or maybe it's easier to evaluate certain fighters objectively when you're further removed from the era and watch their fights after the passage of time? :think

 

It's been a while since prime he's fought. Evaluating his resume and fights, still looks great. Could be your finding an excuse to put down Alexis as a "great". :think:

 

Fair enough--that might explain things. But what is your criteria for eliteness? Are there elite 130-/135-lbers in every era?

 

Arguello is absolutely, positively an All Time Great. I don't think I've ever said anything to the contrary... (if so, I take it back)

 

He's in the same boat as guys like chavez,holmes,Monzon,and arguably Mayweather; not a lot of ATG'S on the resume (and those that are usually were out of their prime or weight class) but so many quality guys their greatness is inarguable. You could list all those guys ahead of Arguello if you really wanted because they had those gargantuan winning streaks and had periods in which they were considered the best in the world (except for holmes I think) woke Arguello was more beatable at his peak.

Still the guy beat 10 title holders (2 at featherweight, 3 lightweights, and 5 at junior lightweight) at a time when there were half as many belts. The guy went 16-4 (14) against top 10 contenders and fought some solid unranked guys. The only loss he suffered between Ernesto Marcel and Pryor was to Vilomar Fernandez (which allegedly spoiled a meeting with Duran) which he avenged. So that's an all time great. I think most people have him top 50; where exactly depends on how you feel about lineality,head to head ability,and as Kevin said the strength of the early '80s 130 pound division.

 

I followed Arguello his whole career;given the thousands of rounds I spent hitting the heavy bag and pretending to be him, Arguello must be my all time favorite. His time with Eddie Futch, well, he gave Alexis that bit of extra polish and, of course, the right uppercut to the solar plexus counter off a right hand.

 

How good was Alexis Arguello?

Answer. Exceptionally good.

 

Good post. :thumbsup

 

Nice post. That right hand was thrown so long and sharp, it was a thing of beauty. The only other fight I'm seen use the right upper-right hand combo so effectively was Tyson.

 

Kev, I'm not sure if you are an NBA fan but Arguello is like an Elgin Baylor type of figure. Not hugely exposed but wickedly talented and has every stat to back that up but seems to largely be out of debates but that being said his place as an ATG is recognised by everyone.

Arguello's opponents - Chacon, Limon, Pryor, Escalera, V Fernandez, R Castillo, Watt, Mancini, Boza Edwarsd and Ganigan had a combined record of: 293-46