Alexis Arguello vs. Salvador Sanchez

[dpw417]

Hope this one hasn't been talked about(?)...
Sanchez wanted to defeat the 'three big punchers'...namely Danny 'Little Red' Lopez, Wilfredo Gomez, and Alexis Arguello...As you know, he did face two of those men, and he beat them...When Arguello was WBC lightweight champion, I remember a qoute from him stating "If I am to fight as great and skilled a boxer as Salvador Sanchez, I want a million dollars!" (I do not have a proper source...sorry. I think it was an old Boxing Illustrated with both Arguello and Sanchez on the cover in the early eighties)
Obviously Arguello had a lot of respect for the abilities of Sanchez...
15 rounds for the WBC lightweight title. Who and why?

and just for fun...your pick at featherweight for 15 rounds.:think

[Longhhorn71]

Hope this one hasn't been talked about(?)...
Sanchez wanted to defeat the 'three big punchers'...namely Danny 'Little Red' Lopez, Wilfredo Gomez, and Alexis Arguello...As you know, he did face two of those men, and he beat them...When Arguello was WBC lightweight champion, I remember a qoute from him stating "If I am to fight as great and skilled a boxer as Salvador Sanchez, I want a million dollars!" (I do not have a proper source...sorry. I think it was an old Boxing Illustrated with both Arguello and Sanchez on the cover in the early eighties)
Obviously Arguello had a lot of respect for the abilities of Sanchez...
15 rounds for the WBC lightweight title. Who and why?

and just for fun...your pick at featherweight for 15 rounds.:think

Sanchez outpoints Alexis at feather,,,,,Sanchez at his best there.

Arguello outpoints Sanchez at lightweight due to his height and ability to carry the weight better ( 5'10 ", 72 inch reach vs 5'7" Sanchez)

[markedwardscott]

Arguello too strong for Sanchez at either weight. Sanchez' only chance would be to keep on the move and try for a decision. But its an interesting idea since Sanchez in theory may have gotten stronger as he got older and gained weight. Too bad we'll never know.

[Titan1]

At 135, Arguello wins on decision or late round stoppage.At 126, Salvador wins on unamous decision.

[PhillyPhan69]

Wow. 2 of my fav's. I just see Arguello being a little bit to much. Not sure if a KO is coming, but I believe Arguello would win a decision w/ a late KO as an outside possibility.

[red cobra]

Two guys I really liked. I hate it when you have to pick against Arguello, but Sanchez would have beaten him much like he did Danny Lopez, with a sustained beating while outclassing Alexis along the way for a tko in 13 or 14. Sanchez was that good, in my opinion. It would have taken some superfighter Iwho I don't think even existed to beat him. His beating of the nearly flawless Wilfredo Gomez proves that.

[Sweet Pea]

Two guys I really liked. I hate it when you have to pick against Arguello, but Sanchez would have beaten him much like he did Danny Lopez, with a sustained beating while outclassing Alexis along the way for a tko in 13 or 14. Sanchez was that good, in my opinion. It would have taken some superfighter Iwho I don't think even existed to beat him. His beating of the nearly flawless Wilfredo Gomez proves that.It's clear you vastly overrate Sanchez. Gomez was nearly flawless at 122, not 126. There he was very good, but not the dynamo he was at 122. Sanchez was almost beaten by Nelson in his 13th fight, and first against top competition. Had they rematched in their prime, I'd have picked Nelson. At 126 and 130, Arguello is easily better than Gomez. Sanchez showed flaws in many fights, this coming from someone who's seen most of them.

I will say this, he showed up at his best for the biggest fights, but still, comparing Arguello to Lopez is laughable, and assuming his win over Gomez was at Gomez's peak is off as well. Again, thinking Gomez was the same at 126 as he was at 122 is wrong.

[brooklyn1550]

The great counterpuncher against the great long-range boxer - would have been a hell of a matchup. Both seemed to heat up as the rounds went by. I'm not sure how effective Sanchez's countering style would have been against a rangy boxer like Arguello. If I had to bet, I'd say Arguello outboxes him to a 12 or 15 round decision.

[brownpimp88]

It's clear you vastly overrate Sanchez. Gomez was nearly flawless at 122, not 126. There he was very good, but not the dynamo he was at 122. Sanchez was almost beaten by Nelson in his 13th fight, and first against top competition. Had they rematched in their prime, I'd have picked Nelson. At 126 and 130, Arguello is easily better than Gomez. Sanchez showed flaws in many fights, this coming from someone who's seen most of them.

I will say this, he showed up at his best for the biggest fights, but still, comparing Arguello to Lopez is laughable, and assuming his win over Gomez was at Gomez's peak is off as well. Again, thinking Gomez was the same at 126 as he was at 122 is wrong.
exactly, danny lopez has virtaully no defence.

[dpw417]

Two guys I really liked. I hate it when you have to pick against Arguello, but Sanchez would have beaten him much like he did Danny Lopez, with a sustained beating while outclassing Alexis along the way for a tko in 13 or 14. Sanchez was that good, in my opinion. It would have taken some superfighter Iwho I don't think even existed to beat him. His beating of the nearly flawless Wilfredo Gomez proves that.
I strongly disagree with Arguello being stopped by Sanchez...Danny Lopez was a fine fighter, but Arguello is in the great fighter neighborhood...I could see Sanchez fighting a fantastic fight and outpointing the young Arguello at featherweight...but lightweight is a different story, I like Alexis by decision there...

[dpw417]

It's clear you vastly overrate Sanchez. Gomez was nearly flawless at 122, not 126. There he was very good, but not the dynamo he was at 122. Sanchez was almost beaten by Nelson in his 13th fight, and first against top competition. Had they rematched in their prime, I'd have picked Nelson. At 126 and 130, Arguello is easily better than Gomez. Sanchez showed flaws in many fights, this coming from someone who's seen most of them.

I will say this, he showed up at his best for the biggest fights, but still, comparing Arguello to Lopez is laughable, and assuming his win over Gomez was at Gomez's peak is off as well. Again, thinking Gomez was the same at 126 as he was at 122 is wrong.
IMO I believe a more experienced Nelson would have won the rematch with Sanchez as well...still a close fight. I really like Sanchez, but I'd take Nelson to take a UD against Sanchez...

[apollack]

I enjoyed watching Arguello fight more than Sanchez, but regarding this matchup head to head, I think Sanchez would outbox Arguello. Sal had good defense, excellent chin, excellent condition, and good footwork. Arguello was a straight up plodder who was hittable and susceptible to getting outboxed. I just don't see him catching up with Sal, although it would be fun and competitive.

[red cobra]

It's clear you vastly overrate Sanchez. Gomez was nearly flawless at 122, not 126. There he was very good, but not the dynamo he was at 122. Sanchez was almost beaten by Nelson in his 13th fight, and first against top competition. Had they rematched in their prime, I'd have picked Nelson. At 126 and 130, Arguello is easily better than Gomez. Sanchez showed flaws in many fights, this coming from someone who's seen most of them.

I will say this, he showed up at his best for the biggest fights, but still, comparing Arguello to Lopez is laughable, and assuming his win over Gomez was at Gomez's peak is off as well. Again, thinking Gomez was the same at 126 as he was at 122 is wrong.
Don't misunderstand, I'm not comparing Arguello and Lopez, I'm merely saying that Sanchez would have handled Arguello the same way he did Lopez, that isn't comparing the two fighters. As for Gomez, he was on top of his game when he fought Sanchez, and don't tell me that 4 POUNDS made that much of a difference in Gomez' performance, rather it was the humiliating battering that Sanchez gave him, from which Gomez was never the same again. You underrate Sanchez.

[JohnThomas1]

I'd be shocked if Sanchez stopped Arguello, even at 126, and would be beyond shocked if it happened at 130. Arguello will be the bigger stronger man at 130.

I'll take Sanchez via UD at 126 due to Arguello still being a project in the works there and Arguello by UD at 130.

[red cobra]

I concede to you gentlemen that most likely Sanchez would not have tko'ed Arguello, but he would have definitely been too slick a boxer for the man from Nicaraugua, and that's coming from a big Arguello fan. The fact is that Alexis had trouble with boxers, witness Villamar Fernandez, BOTH times. Sanchez was superior to Fernandez by far, and would have calmly outboxed Arguello as well. I don't think any man Sanchez defeated as champion would have been able to beat him in a rematch, Nelson included. I think Sanchez had an off-night in his meeting with Nelson, and would have beaten him again in a rematch. I think Sanchez was special as a fighter, and not the typical head-first, Mexican slugger and was somewhat like Monzon in his cool, calculated style. I don't have a grudge against Arguello either, as I ALWAYS rooted for him in whatever fight he was in, but Sanchez was special.

[Sweet Pea]

I concede to you gentlemen that most likely Sanchez would not have tko'ed Arguello, but he would have definitely been too slick a boxer for the man from Nicaraugua, and that's coming from a big Arguello fan. The fact is that Alexis had trouble with boxers, witness Villamar Fernandez, BOTH times. Sanchez was superior to Fernandez by far, and would have calmly outboxed Arguello as well. I don't think any man Sanchez defeated as champion would have been able to beat him in a rematch, Nelson included. I think Sanchez had an off-night in his meeting with Nelson, and would have beaten him again in a rematch. I think Sanchez was special as a fighter, and not the typical head-first, Mexican slugger and was somewhat like Monzon in his cool, calculated style. I don't have a grudge against Arguello either, as I ALWAYS rooted for him in whatever fight he was in, but Sanchez was special.Sanchez was rocked and hurt by guys like Badillo and other lesser fighters than Arguello. He showed a lot of flaws in a lot of fights, and was nearly beaten by a green Nelson. Was being outboxed by Ford in their fight. He was not unbeatable, though very good. He did seem to rise to his best in the biggest fights, so you can use that to his advantage though.

Arguello was just as special as Sanchez the way I saw it. He showed flaws yes, but so did Sanchez, and often.

[JohnThomas1]

I concede to you gentlemen that most likely Sanchez would not have tko'ed Arguello, but he would have definitely been too slick a boxer for the man from Nicaraugua, and that's coming from a big Arguello fan. The fact is that Alexis had trouble with boxers, witness Villamar Fernandez, BOTH times. Sanchez was superior to Fernandez by far, and would have calmly outboxed Arguello as well. I don't think any man Sanchez defeated as champion would have been able to beat him in a rematch, Nelson included. I think Sanchez had an off-night in his meeting with Nelson, and would have beaten him again in a rematch. I think Sanchez was special as a fighter, and not the typical head-first, Mexican slugger and was somewhat like Monzon in his cool, calculated style. I don't have a grudge against Arguello either, as I ALWAYS rooted for him in whatever fight he was in, but Sanchez was special.

Would you really classify Sanchez as a "slick boxer" tho? He and Vilomar are very different fighters and i would would not consider Sanchez anything above "good" speed wise. Salvador thrives against come forward fighters and is definitely not as effective vs a top level counterpuncher. What we have here is two counterpunchers. At any weight under any scenario i can see nothing but a very competitive fight between two of the greatest to ever lace a glove. Arguello IMO uses his jab a bit better than Sal and this certainly won't hurt.

A real chess match this one.

[Thinman]

I concede to you gentlemen that most likely Sanchez would not have tko'ed Arguello, but he would have definitely been too slick a boxer for the man from Nicaraugua, and that's coming from a big Arguello fan. The fact is that Alexis had trouble with boxers, witness Villamar Fernandez, BOTH times. Sanchez was superior to Fernandez by far, and would have calmly outboxed Arguello as well. I don't think any man Sanchez defeated as champion would have been able to beat him in a rematch, Nelson included. I think Sanchez had an off-night in his meeting with Nelson, and would have beaten him again in a rematch. I think Sanchez was special as a fighter, and not the typical head-first, Mexican slugger and was somewhat like Monzon in his cool, calculated style. I don't have a grudge against Arguello either, as I ALWAYS rooted for him in whatever fight he was in, but Sanchez was special.

To have troubles and lose are too different things. I have both of AA fights against Fernandez and I can tell you that if both fights would have been for a title, which means a 15 round fight, VF would have end up with his ass on the canvas.

You said "I don't think any man Sanchez defeated as champion would have been able to beat him in a rematch". The same goes for AA. Let me tell you that AA never lost any of hist titles in the ring.

I have no doubts in mine mind that AA would have defeated Sanchez at 126 (I am talking about the AA just before vacating his title) or 135. Why? Take a look at the fight between Sanchez and Gomez, which people talk about being one of his best fights and also Sanchez against Lopez.

[richie leon]

I think SS could outbox AA @ 126, AA would always have trouble with movers/boxers, and SS was maybe the most composed boxer i've ever seen. Stone cold.
At 135 it's hard to tell, because since SS died so young it's impossible to know how he would have filled out later on. AA does seem like he was always more suitable for higher weights though, no question about that.

[Holmes' Jab]

Sanchez, close but clear UD.