Difficult to pick, truly. Two of the most superb bodypunchers in history, period. I actually like Arguello's range to prove the difference. Chavez, though, was a beast at Lightweight, & he was an all-round tougher fighter than Arguello for mine. That could be critical in a fight likely to get rough & ugly. In the end I go for Arguello's superior range, precision & raw power, over Chavez's tremendous attributes in endurance, chin, & work-rate. I'd be very interested to see if Arguello could actually stop him. This was arguably each man's best weight.
I've always liked Arguello in this one too. I can't quite remember why.....but I do remember having a strong opinion on this once :: But yeah, bottom line: marching in, trying to swarm Alexis at 135lb was a recipe for blue birds tweeting, a pyrotechnic lights show behind your eye balls & bow bells ringing a sweet melody. Not in a good way. Pryor pulled it off, but he was a freak of nature - I don't think Chavez has the kind of hand, foot speed and shear suicidal intensity in his aggression to replicate what he did....he would come close, but his methodicalness wouldn't throw water on the circuitry and scramble the program of what is supposed to happen when you bring that strategy to Arguello, like Pryor's total loco-ness did. Plus the subtractive 5lb leaves a stronger Alexis, too. Arguello 9-5-1.
Who would you back between Pryor & Chavez, Hut? Would your pick change dependent on whether the fight took place at 135 or 140? I like Chavez over Pryor (better fighter, IMO), but it's quite open to debate.
Yeah I think I'd give Chavez a better chance against Pryor than Arguello too. But Im not sure what my final pick would be, I can certainly see Pryor using his legs and outworking Chavez. The Pryor of the Cervantes fight would give Chavez fits. I would also say that Pryor has probably the most underrated speed of any fighter i can think of. He's as fast as Meldrik taylor, IMHO, considering just how much he put into his shots. But then he leaves allot of openings and I think Chavez' physical strength leaves him better positioned to take advantage of them more systemically than Arguello, who was forced on to the back foot & off balance so much he was reduced to slugging for big single shots quite allot. I might pick Pryor with a gun to my head though. I regard Alexis-Pryor as the greatest fight i've ever seen so maybe im biased for both guys....
Pryor would have defeated Chavez, and I think Chavez would beat Argeullo at 135 by decision in a brilliant fight.
Their first fight, I've always maintained, is the action-battle of the 1980's...period. Nothing matches it, including Hagler-Hearns.
