LATELY, I have been watching a lot of my fight collection in which just good old fashioned toe to toe slugging was the idea. I mainly watch my fav fighters for this and noticed how many were southpaw. In the early 80s for me as fav fighters were Fletcher Limon BOZA Ramirez Hamsho Minter Watanabe Navarratte Ganigan Johnson. Except for Jiro and Alan, all were tough give and take fighters who pretty much guaranteed great fights and all action throwdowns. And when they fought each othet it got even better. So here is to the early 80s limited southpaws! And Jiro and Alan. While there may have been better (Hagler & Camacho), none were better for providing fistic thrills for you money.
I have no explanation for why I am such a big Minter fan? But I am! I love his fights against Finnegan and especially Antuofermo I....a bit before the 80’s but I love Vicente Saldivar
I too am a big fan. Just a gritty terrific fighter. Beating FINNIGAN 2X is big. I think he did win 13 rds vs Vito. I liked both guys but Alan just won. Mustafa is one of my favorite of favs and I think he edges Alan but Alan actually staggered Mustafa. Only time I ever saw that.
Oh yes. All 4 fighters; Limon. Boza. Chacon. Navarratte. Basically Arguello's leftovers. That's how great he was. My favorite Boza is against Verderosa when he shut the mouth. Villegas-ditto. And the great fight verses Elizondo. I tell ya, Navaratte Limon Chacon and Boza were the real Fab 4 in the 80s. Better fights. Fights, jeez wars.
‘Arguello’s leftovers’ - that’s exactly it. That era of early 80s super featherweights was the most exciting in the division’s history. It makes you appreciate what Arguello did. He could have stayed there undefeated for at least another couple of years but he chose to move up and challenge himself. And guess what? He could have done the same at lightweight after defeating Mancini and play it safe but chose to move up and challenge himself again.
The trouble was the wear and tear factor those guys had to endure in their fights. In today's boxing, guys go years while on top w/o having to dig deep & have minimal wear and tear. Those lefties were digging deep all the time. The attrition factor alone is such a massive factor in things. How guys like Limon and Boza and Old Pops lasted as long as they did is remarkable. Another top notch leftie slugger a few years later though, was Galaxy. What an endangered species the lefty brawler has become. They are all boxer types in recent times and they just do not put that Marvin Johnson pressure on opponents. I also thought--and you may have as well---that there were 2 heavyweight amateurs back then that would have made things very interesting in the late 70's with proper management/tutoring/and in the case of Vysotsky, better skin. I think Igor & Wells had the potential to leave a scrapheap of heavyweights. Never happened though, but it could have been like that jr lightweight division in those glory years. Just we never benefitted from it. But I'm convinced it was certainly possible.
Arguello was incredible. Everybody on this forum paints him as slow, easy to out speed, slooth footed. The fact is he was a destroyer of boxing worlds. Brenner, (Teddy, not David) called him the most efficient fighter and the best since Robinson. He destroyed 3 divisions. It took the great Pryor to beat him. (And btw, yes GREAT PRYOR. These posters who say Pryor is a myth are morons who would be laughed out of the conversation with othet great fighters and trainers.) Arguello could have fought with anyone.
I love the intensity of their fights. It is why they are legends. These fights today are a joke. Canelo and GGG slug for 2 rds and it is considered fight of the yr. Those guys slugged it out every rd and the viewer was better for it.
You have to mention the hardest puncher of the southpaw LW Hawaiian Andy Gannigan. Gannigan put Arguello on the canvas in 2nd rd. And brutally dispatched former LW Champ Sean O Grady in 2rds.
good call on another southpaw slugger---Ganigan. Man, all those guys either disappeared or became name opponents all at once., it seems. Johnson lasted longer than the rest of those tough hombres.but I sure wish the southpaw sluggers would return for us boxing fans.
