Alexis Arguello vs Azumah Nelson

[Titan1]

Could Azumah upset Alexis at 126 or cold Alexis duplicate Salvador's feat of a late round stoppage?

[TBooze]

Could Azumah upset Alexis at 126 or cold Alexis duplicate Salvador's feat of a late round stoppage?

At Featherweight it would be an upset if Nelson lost. Azumah TKO14.

[Duodenum]

At Featherweight it would be an upset if Nelson lost. Azumah TKO14.I believe the opposite outcome would ensue. But it would be an intriguing matchup!

[robert ungurean]

Arguello by late KO.
Azuma will want to trade & that will be his mistake.

[Boro chris]

Got to go with Arguello on this one. He takes Nelson late like others have said. Great matchup though.

[Street Lethal]

Arguello and Sanchez have different styles. Sanchez was a solid defensive and offensive fighter. Arguello wasn't that strong on defensive. Sanchez could adlib. Arguello toughed it out. Nelson could beat Arguello where he had trouble with Sanchez. I personally think Sanchez is the better featherweight. Arguello was a great fight though. He had power in both hands.

[JohnThomas1]

This fight is tighter than many would think at 126. This was definitely not the very best Arguello, which many might not realise. Excellent at this weight, but really hit his straps later on IMO. I see two eventuations. One is Nelson outhustling Alexis on his way to decision, the other is Arguello lands a bomb like the shot that Olivares and finishes him. Hard to choose. At 130 pounds i see Arguello, at his technical finest slowly but surely taking the fight from Nelson and stopping him in the mid to late rounds. Nelson has some fight in him and that's why i can't rule out a stopppage before the championship rounds.

[sweet_scientist]

I like Nelson's chances in this one. Arguello barely managed to get by a bantam Olivares. Against a fully fledged hard hitting featherweight, I think he gets dumped on his pants a couple of times and loses a 9-6 type decision.

At 130, where Arguello was at the peak of his prime, I like him to reverse the decision in a similar fashion to how he'd lose at 126.

[Russell]

Eh, Azumah was amazing defense wise but Arguello had god damn heat seeking fists. Really accurate.

[sthomas]

Arguello, TKO late

[dpw417]

I'm staying on the fence!
Nelson-126. Arguello-130.

[Sweet Pea]

At Featherweight it would be an upset if Nelson lost. Azumah TKO14.How would it be an upset? I think people underestimate Arguello at 126 just because they assume 130 to be his best weight. It may have been, but he was just as good a fighter at 126. Nelson was also better at 130 than 126.

Arguello beats Nelson more handily than Sanchez did in my honest opinion.

[sweet_scientist]

How would it be an upset? I think people underestimate Arguello at 126 just because they assume 130 to be his best weight. It may have been, but he was just as good a fighter at 126. Nelson was also better at 130 than 126.

Arguello beats Nelson more handily than Sanchez did in my honest opinion.
Arguello, in his two biggest fights at 126, was getting outboxed and only managed to salvage one due to his punching power.

I think Nelson hits harder at 126 than Ruben Olivares and also has a better chin (he has a better chin in a p4p sense too), whilst probably having near equal boxing ability to Ruben.

Alexis was clearly green at 126 and whilst still excellent there he was not as good as he was at 130 where he clearly hit his straps.

Nelson was better at 126 than he was at 130 I feel, more consistent and without as many lapses.

Personally, I think Nelson will bully Arguello around a bit at 126.

Welcome back, BTW.

[TBooze]

How would it be an upset? I think people underestimate Arguello at 126 just because they assume 130 to be his best weight. It may have been, but he was just as good a fighter at 126. Nelson was also better at 130 than 126.

Arguello beats Nelson more handily than Sanchez did in my honest opinion.

Because Nelson was in his pomp at 126lbs. The Nelson who lost to Sanchez was a novice, Nelson would not peak for another four years. Arguello began his run as a Feather but peaked at 130/135 IMO.

[JohnThomas1]

Arguello, in his two biggest fights at 126, was getting outboxed and only managed to salvage one due to his punching power.

I think Nelson hits harder at 126 than Ruben Olivares and also has a better chin (he has a better chin in a p4p sense too), whilst probably having near equal boxing ability to Ruben.

Alexis was clearly green at 126 and whilst still excellent there he was not as good as he was at 130 where he clearly hit his straps.

Nelson was better at 126 than he was at 130 I feel, more consistent and without as many lapses.

Personally, I think Nelson will bully Arguello around a bit at 126.

Welcome back, BTW.

Great post, Nelson was a better fighter full stop than Olivares was at Featherweight. Bantam is where i really like Olivares. Nelson would not have been outboxed by Ruben at 126 and i also like him to beat Danny Lopez there as well. Nelson is a great fighter who often gets a bit forgotten among the Snachez's, Pep's, Saddler's, Armstrong's etc. I reckon he gives a good account against any of em.

[Stonehands89]

Alexis could appear to get outboxed and I would not deny that. However, this was deceptive. He was a stalker who was probing for weaknesses and patterns -and that often meant that he would give up early rounds in order to find the most efficient places to lay traps. And later, he almost inevitably would. Therefore, I don't necessarily disagree with Sweet Scientist's observation, however, I think we should see it more in context.

Azumah is a vastly underrated Featherweight great. Let us never forget that he fought a finely tuned and seasoned Sanchez in only his 14 fight -and made a great stand. 13 of those 14 previous bouts were in Africa. Azumah's confidence was about as good as it gets. Believe it or not, Pavlik is a modern counterpart with the same kind of confidence.

Azumah was highly skilled and you gotta love his comments after the Fenech rematch about his being the Professor who would beat his man and then sit him down and tell him what he did wrong. Azumah's style would capitalize on his man's mistakes and in this sense he was similar to Arguello. However, neither would find many mistakes in the other.

I go with Arguello on points. He was taller than everyone Nelson ever met with the exception of Hernandez, who an aged Nelson lost to. Arguello could fight backwards, use angles, and had a wicked arsenal of textbook shots that were not fast but incredibly precise.

Both men are comparable in terms of skill. Azumah has the edge in experience, but Alexis has a style that I see as overcoming that -combined with his height/reach and the precisely-placed thudding shots which would force Azumah off balance.

Razor-thin decision.