Arturo Leon (born in 1949) is a Mexican-American former boxer from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, United States. He was a

junior lightweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New Y ...

who once challenged

Alexis Arguello Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–197 ...

for the Nicaraguan's

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

's world Junior Lightweight title, losing by 15 round unanimous decision.

Notable fights

*On October 17, 1973, Leon made his professional debut against the far more experienced, 56 fight veteran Dave White, who had a record of 18 wins, 34 losses and 4 draws (ties), at

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Leon won by knockout in round eight. This bout also marked the first of 17 professional bouts for Leon in Las Vegas. *For his next bout, Leon boxed 6-2-1 Moses Carbin, on November 20, 1973 in Las Vegas. Leon lost as a professional for the first time, by an eight-round decision. *With a 3-1, 2 knockout wins record, Leon stepped in a boxing ring with super-expert

Angel Robinson Garcia Angel Robinson Garcia (May 9, 1937 – June 1, 2000) was a Cuban professional boxer, who was the Latin American Super-Featherweight champion. He also fought for the Cuban national Lightweight title, but lost. Robinson Garcia was known for his ...

, who was 129-66-19 in a by then 214 bouts career. This fight was held at the Sahara Tahoe hotel in

Stateline, Nevada Stateline is a census-designated place (CDP) on the southeastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It lies next to the California state line and City of South Lake Tahoe. The population was 842 at the 2010 census. ...

on April 18, 1974. Despite boxing well, Leon lost a six-round split decision. *On October 8, 1974, the 7-3, 3 knockout wins Leon boxed 30 wins, 5 losses and 3 ties prospect Lorenzo Trujillo, losing a ten-round unanimous decision in the main event of a boxing program held at the Memorial Coliseum at

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

, *Leon then contested against Dale Hernandez, an undefeated, 21-0 prospect, for the USA Nevada State regional Lightweight title, losing a 12-round unanimous decision on November 27, 1974 in Las Vegas. *On January 18, 1975, Leon faced Jimmy Heair, 37-3 coming in, as part of a card where Danny Lopez suffered a ten-round upset decision loss to Octavio Gomez. Leon caused a mild upset by narrowly outpointing Heair, winning a ten-round majority decision. *On his next fight after beating Heair, Leon fought future José Cuevas and

Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowe ...

world Welterweight title challenger Randy Shields, 18-0, at the

Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, on March 1, 1975, in a show headlined by WBC world Featherweight champion

Bobby Chacon Bobby Chacon (November 28, 1951 – September 7, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1988. He held titles in two weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from September 1974 to June 1975 and the WBC s ...

's retaining his title by second-round knockout over Jesus Estrada. Shields beat Leon by a ten-round unanimous decision. *Leon faced 18-0 contender Rudy Hernandez, losing a unanimous ten-round decision on June 19, 1975 at

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. *On October 28, 1975, Leon boxed future

Aaron Pryor Aaron Pryor (October 20, 1955 – October 9, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1990. He was a two-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 1980 to 1983, and the IBF title from 1984 ...

and

Ray Mancini Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. H ...

rival, the 19 wins, 1 loss Norman Goins, at the

Honolulu International Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, marking Leon's debut outside the

continental United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

as a professional boxer. Goins beat Leon by ten round unanimous decision. *Ray Lunny III was a world ranked challenger when Leon tried to derail his way to a world championship fight against

Alfredo Escalera Alfredo "El Salsero" Escalera (born March 21, 1952) is a Puerto Rican who was a world champion boxer. A native of Carolina, his nickname was "Salsero" because he was a fan of Salsa music. Early boxing career Escalera had his first professiona ...

. Leon and Lunny III, who had a record of 23 wins, 2 losses and 3 ties, met on February 9, 1976 at the Civic Auditorium in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Leon fought a hard fight but was deemed loser by unanimous decision, two judges voting the fight 4-3-3 in rounds in favor of Lunny III and the other one by a 5-2-3 margin. Lunny III later challenged Escalera for Escalera's WBC world Junior Lightweight title, losing by twelfth-round knockout before retiring from boxing. *Next was a rematch with Heair, by now 45-7, in the main event of an undercard that also included a bout by

Alberto Sandoval Alberto Sandoval (born 12 March 1958) is an American former professional boxer and is the older brother of former World Boxing Association Champion, Richie Sandoval. Early life Sandoval was born in Pomona, California, a city famous in pugilisti ...

. On March 4, 1976 at the Olympic Auditorium, Leon and Heair fought to a ten-round draw (tie). *On September 21, 1976, Leon faced 29-1 Maurice Watkins, losing by a ten-round unanimous decision at Corpus Christi, Texas. *A third match with Heair followed the Watkins bout. On Friday, January 21, 1977, Leon beat Heair by ten round split decision at the Coliseum,

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, headlining a boxing card that included the first ever

women's boxing Although women have participated in boxing for almost as long as the sport has existed, female fights have been effectively outlawed for most of boxing's history until recently, with athletic commissioners refusing to sanction or issue licenses ...

fight sanctioned in West Texas (Mary Ann Bermudez beat Sandy Parker by second-round knockout) *With a record of 20 wins, 14 defeats and 2 draws (ties), 4 knockout wins, Leon faced ranked Junior Lightweight, 37-3 former World Boxing Council world Featherweight champion

on November 15, 1977 at the Convention Center in Anaheim, California, as part of an undercard headed by future WBA Heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Weaver's victory over Pedro Lovell. Chacon was in line for a world championship fight with WBC world Junior Lightweight champion Alexis Arguello, but Leon caused an upset and obtained the biggest win of his career by recovering from two seventh round knockdowns to defeat Chacon by ten round split decision, inheriting the title shot against Arguello from Chacon. *Three more wins followed Leon's upset victory over Chacon, and then, Leon met Nicaragua's Alexis Arguello for Arguello's WBC world Junior Lightweight title. The fight, fought over 15 rounds, took place Friday, November 10, 1978, at the Caesar's Palace hotel, in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the undercard that featured a main event consisting of WBC world Heavyweight champion

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Eas ...

' defense of his title with a seventh-round knockout over Uruguayan-Spaniard

Alfredo Evangelista Alfredo Evangelista (born December 3, 1954) is a former Uruguayan-born boxer. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. "The Lynx of Montevideo" Evangelista faced Muhammad Ali in a bout for the List of heavyweight boxing champions, world heavyweight ...

. Leon, who came into the bout sporting a 23 wins, 14 losses and 2 draws record, managed to win some rounds by having judges Hal Miller, Duane Ford and Harold Buck give him four, four and five of the fifteen rounds, respectively, but he still lost by scores of 146-139 (Miller and Ford) and 145-140 (Buck). Leon was floored in round six. *After two more wins over lower ranked opposition, Leon met

Ernesto Herrera Ernesto Herrera may refer to: *Ernesto Herrera (politician) (1942–2015), Senator of the Philippines *Ernesto Herrera (playwright) Ernesto Herrera (1889–1917) was a Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, ...

, 22-6-2. Herrera was a former world title challenger who had fought

Eusebio Pedroza Eusebio Pedroza (March 2, 1956 – March 1, 2019) was a Panamanian boxer who held the WBA and lineal featherweight championship from 1978 to 1985, having defended the title against 18 different contenders, more than any other boxer in featherwe ...

for Pedroza's WBA world Featherweight title and lost by knockout in round twelve; he had also fought Rafael Solis and

Frankie Baltazar Frankie Baltazar (born April 14, 1958) is a Mexican American former professional Boxing, boxer who competed from 1976 to 1991. Early life Frankie is the brother of former boxers Robert Baltazar and Tony Baltazar. The Baltazar brothers were train ...

. On April 24, 1979 at

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Leon beat Herrera by a tenth round disqualification. *On June 28, 1979, Leon faced future WBA world Lightweight Champion, the then undefeated, 11-0

Hilmer Kenty James Kenty, also known as Hilmer Kenty (born July 30, 1955 in Austin, Texas) is the former WBA lightweight (135 lb) champion of the world. He was selected a member of the All-American AAU boxing team for 1973, and was named the top lightweight am ...

as part of an undercard featuring

's third-round knockout over Bruce Curry. Leon was outpointed by Kenty at the

Olympia Stadium Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979. Histo ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. *Leon returned to Corpus Christi, Texas, to fight 8-1

Roberto Elizondo Roberto Elizondo (born December 8, 1955) is an American former professional boxer of Mexican descent. Elizondo competed in the sport of professional boxing from 1977 to 1987, and he fought for the World Boxing Council's world Lightweight title twic ...

on August 7, 1979. Leon lost on points in ten rounds. Elizondo would later challenge both Arguello and Puerto Rico's

Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...

in unsuccessful bids for the WBC world Lightweight title. *On October 23, 1979, Leon took on Sean O'Grady for the future WBA world Lightweight champion's NABF's lightweight title, losing a 15-round decision to O'Grady at

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. *Next, Leon boxed 22-6-1, 11 knockouts Puerto Rican boxer

Jorge Morales Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος ('' Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...

, a future NABF national Lightweight champion. On March 27, 1980, Leon outpointed Morales after 12 rounds at

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. *Then, Leon faced future WBC world Junior Lightweight champion

Rolando Navarrete Rolando Navarrete (born February 14, 1957) is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1991. He held the WBC super-featherweight title between August 1981 and May 1982. Fighting style A fine boxer, Navarrete had a good tal ...

on April 18, 1981 at Honolulu, Hawaii. Navarrete, 38-8-3 coming in , outpointed the Mexican-American over ten rounds. *On November 10, 1981, Leon met noted contender, 15-0 John Montes in Las Vegas, losing on points after ten rounds. *Arturo Leon faced the by then 32-3, former WBC world Junior Lightweight champion

Cornelius Boza-Edwards Cornelius Boza-Edwards (born Cornelius Bbosa; 27 May 1956) is the former World Boxing Council, WBC Super Featherweight Champion of the World. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he fought in both the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions. He emigra ...

on February 9, 1982 at Kensington, England. He lost by technical knockout in round four after injuring a shoulder, which made him unable to continue fighting that night. *On April 22, 1982, Leon rivaled undefeated, 22-0 future world title challenger Irleis Cubanito Perez, a Cuban-American fighting out of Phoenix, Arizona. The bout was held at L.A.'s Olympic Auditorium, and Leon lost by ten round unanimous decision. *Leon and Bobby Chacon had a rematch on June 15, 1982 at the Memorial Auditirium in Sacramento. at stake was a chance at the WBC world Junior Lightweight title, by this time held by

Rafael Limon Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * Rafa ...

. Leon dropped Chacon in the second round but Chacon got up and outpointed Leon, beating him by ten round unanimous decision, *Leon's next bout was against future two time world champion, 10-0, 6 knockouts contender

Roger Mayweather Roger Mayweather (April 24, 1961 – March 17, 2020) was an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999. He was a two-division world champion, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' super featherweight tit ...

at the

Dunes Hotel The Dunes was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It opened on May 23, 1955, as the tenth resort on the Strip. It was initially owned by a group of businessmen from out of state, but failed to prosper under their man ...

in Las Vegas, on August 18, 1982. Mayweather defeated Leon by a ten rounds unanimous decision. *Future world Junior Welterweight champion

Joe Manley Joe Louis Manley Jr. (born June 11, 1959) is an American former boxer who fought at light welterweight. Amateur career Manley qualified as a lightweight for the 1980 United States Olympic team, defeating Frankie Randall on his way to earning ...

, 7-0 coming in, boxed Leon on September 14, 1982 at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Leon lost that fight by ten rounds unanimous decision. *Leon's last fight was against 17-1-1 prospect Steve Romero, who stopped him in nine rounds on August 26, 1983 in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

's Municipal Stadium.

Record

Leon had 61 fights in professional boxing, of which he won 29, lost 30 and drew (tied) 2, with 7 wins and 2 defeats by knockout.

Personal

Leon lived in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

for some time. He currently lives in

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Arturo 1949 births Super-featherweight boxers Living people American male boxers American boxers of Mexican descent