45 years ago
Alexis Arguello vs Arturo Leon
Date: 10th November 1978
Venue: Caesars Palace, Sports Pavilion, Las Vegas
Title: WBC World Super-featherweight Title
Promoter: Don King Productions
Tv: ABC Wide World Of Sport
Alexis Arguello
(
56
-
5
-
0
)
Weight: 130 lbs
Arturo Leon
(
23
-
14
-
2
)
Weight: 128ΒΌ lbs
On Saturday, 3rd June 1978, at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Alexis Arguello faced Arturo Leon in a WBC World Super Featherweight Title bout. This marked the 3rd title defense by Arguello, who hailed from Managua, Nicaragua, and boasted a record of 55-4-0. Arturo Leon, from Tucson, Arizona, entered the fight with a record of 29-10-2. The promoter for the event was Don King Productions, and Roberto Ramirez Sr. officiated as the referee.
Arguello weighed in at 129 lbs, while Leon tipped the scales at 130 lbs. Arguello had previously lost a 10-round, non-title unanimous points decision to Vilomar Fernandez just four months earlier at Madison Square Garden, which broke his 25-fight winning streak dating back to his first world title challenge against Panamanian WBA World Featherweight champion Ernesto Marcel in February 1974. After four successful defenses, Arguello moved up in weight to challenge Puerto Rican Alfredo Escalera for the WBC World Super Featherweight belt, winning by 13th-round stoppage.
Arguello managed to defeat Arturo Leon by a 15-round unanimous decision. The judges scored the contest as follows: Harold Buck 145-140, Duane Ford 146-139, and Hal Miller 146-139.
Arguello, born and raised in Managua, had a tough upbringing, often fighting on the streets as a child to earn money. He eventually rose to prominence in the boxing world, capturing the WBA World Featherweight championship by defeating Rubén Olivares via a 13th-round knockout in Los Angeles.
Arturo Leon, on the other hand, had earned his shot at the title by pulling off an upset win against Bobby Chacon in a ten-round split decision. In that fight, Leon recovered from two seventh-round knockdowns to defeat Chacon and inherit the title shot against Arguello.