Lets say Alexis skipped 140 and went straight to welterwhilst he was still near his peak in the late 70's..early 80's. How would he hold the weight? I could see him going up alright actually..He wasnt exactly a natural featherweight, he grew into the lightweight frame very nicely. Guys like Hearns and Leonard I dont think are worth discussing because the results seems pretty obvious to me..But if you have an arguement for those fights even being close Id love to hear it. But how would he fair against some of the others guys around at the time...Palomino? McCrory? Cuevas? Guys like Benitez and Duran I would lump in with Hearns & Ray..I think Alexis might have a better shot against them but not by much..certainly not as much as against the others names I mentioned. I also think Curry is another bridge so far that its not even worth mentioning, plus he came around a little bit later. As late as Milton did I suppose but obviously a much better fighter. How would you see him going in this era?
i dont think hes that effctive at welter he nevr seemed to put on mass and always seemed to be frail and skinny and his height wouldnt mean much. still saying that he was some fighter but i dont see him beating an of the big 4 but he might have a good chance against mcrory, cuevas and palomino
Leonard's team were in talks with Arguello's people about a possible fight taking place in 1982. Thats confirmed from an interview I have on video with Leonard in his hotel right after the Finch fight.
Arguello should never be a welter. 140 at the absolute tops for him. His advantages diminish too much to be a real force. His power becomes less effective against bigger men, while never lightening quick his speed and accuracy diminish with the extra weight also. The advantage in height and reach he enjoyed at the lower weights is also negated against bigger men
At welterweight arquello would be little more than an average fighter, perhaps beating a few decent fighters but losing badly to the divisions elite. There would be no coming from behind to win because his punches wouldn't have the same effect at that weight, not to mention that he would be even slower than he was at junior welter. Simply put, he would be out of his league.
Arguello's footwork and reflexes were slowed down at 140, and even at 135 IMO. At 140 the power was still there (as he showed against Rooney) but he looked like he was fighting while stuck in the mud. He could never have carried on to 147.
Arguello couldn't deal with the boxing skill of a Leonard or Duran. Even at featherweight or lightweight he would have been in trouble against fighters with that level of boxing skill. He would have trouble catching Leonard and trouble catching Duran cleanly. I think Benitez cleanly outboxes Arguello, too. Does Arguello have a puncher's chance? Sure. You can't rule that out. He could really hit. Could he really hit at welterweight? That's harder to say. He nailed Pryor and Pryor kept coming.
Arguello peaked at 130. He was still great at 135, and very, very good at 140. 147 is a bridge to far.
If Cuevas wants to end it quick, he would. A Duran vs Arquello at 135 was the fight people wanted to see.
