Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Lorenzo Aragón, July 31st 1996

:nod That was a big deal at the time. Ray Leonard beat Andres Aldama in '76 and the ensuing 20-year drought was broken by Mayweather edging Aragon. (who damn near kept it going)

 

Nah. It was seen as a close call but clearly belonging to PBF under the existing rule set.

He clocked more than Aragon no matter how you tally (whether ignoring jabs and body shots like the judges did, or including them like me)

 

Mayweather is Aragon's Olog-Hai. :yep

 

Now, Mayweather vs. Todorov... :verysad

There was outrage. There were resignations from AIBA.

Mayweather outlanded Todorov by double.

Aragon came much closer to deserving a W over young Pretty Boy than Todorov did. If he got the nod, it would have raised eyebrows but not caused an uproar.

It's too bad Aragon never met Todorov in the ring. I think in this particular instance something akin to ABC logic would've borne out: h2h, the guy who fought Mayweather razor-thin beats the guy who deserved a wide loss. Aragon simply possessed the build, strength and style to clearly beat Todorov (as Mayweather did, although he regrettably wasn't rewarded duly for it)

 

IB Funfact: it would currently be legal in a majority of states in America to engage in consensual sex with someone conceived the night Mayweather fought Aragon. (in others, legal as of this May...and in those left over, May of 2014)

 

Poor VHS quality, but here's a look at Lorenzo "The Barbarian" Aragón schooling then-U.S. national welterweight champion (and the previous year's national Golden Gloves champ) Anthony "The Messenger" Thompson five years later in the 2001 world championship finals:

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If the name sounds familiar - from his 2002 debut until 2004, Thompson was considered one to watch & hot-list until he ran into sporadic upset specialist Grady "Bad Boy" Brewer. Even after Brewer knocked him out he was groomed for a world title shot against Sergiy Dzinziruk, but those plans were dashed by Yuri Foreman in a close brawl on the Cotto vs. Judah PPV undercard.

So, legit talent - especially before making the jump.

Aragón casually whipped that ass.

Any time Anthony wasn't holding, life was painful for him.

El Barbaro could execute pull-counters damn near as smoothly as his old rival from Atlanta. :hey

 

Aragón scored 16 stoppages in 124 AM bouts, a fairly high 13%.

Compare to Tommy Hearns: 12 of 155, 7%.

 

I'm pretty sure Mayweather vs. Todorov is considered 2nd only to Jones vs. Si-Hun as far as the worst robberies of American boxers in the Olympics.

Imagine the hype surrounding Mayweather if he'd cleared the '96 field (which included names like Kamsing, Aragón, Peden, Todorov, and eventual solid WBO 130lb and 135lb champions Pablo Chacón and Artur Grigorian respectively - with Mayweather himself theoretically dispatching Grigorian, Aragon, Todorov, and Kamsing in succession) and debuted coming off a gold medal! :scaredas:

His swagger and ego to date would seem downright meek by comparison.