Art Aragon

Art Aragon
Statistics
Real name Arthur Benjamin Aragon
Nickname(s) Golden Boy
Weight(s) Lightweight
Height 5 ft 9 in (178 cm)
Reach 72 in (183 cm)
Nationality American
Born November 13, 1927
Belen, New Mexico
Died March 25, 2008 (aged 80)
Northridge, California
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 116
Wins 90
Wins by KO 62
Losses 20
Draws 6
No contests 0

Arthur Benjamin Aragon (November 13, 1927 – March 25, 2008[1]) was a Mexican-American boxer in the lightweight from New Mexico.[2]

Early and later life

Aragon was a native of Belen, New Mexico, but grew up in East Los Angeles. He was married four times and engaged a fifth time, and was romantically linked to Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and other Hollywood starlets. Another Hollywood connection was Aragon's friendship with World War II hero turned Western star Audie Murphy.[3] He had six acknowledged children. After retiring from boxing, Aragon went into the bail bonds business.[4][5] He had various film and television credits between the 1950s and 1970s, including appearances as himself in the boxing films The Ring and Off Limits, and he played the role of Private Sanchez in the 1955 war film To Hell and Back.[6] Aragon converted to Judaism later in life and is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles.[7]

Professional career

Aragon's first professional fight, a points win in May 1944, was against Frenchy Rene at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Aragon won his first eleven fights before dropping a decision to Bert White in October 1944. Aragon faced ever-tougher competition as his career progressed, eventually facing many of the great names from his era, including Tommy Campbell, Jesse Flores, Redtop Davis, Jimmy Carter and Carmen Basilio. Aragon also held victories over such men as Enrique Bolanos, Johnny Gonsalves, Lauro Salas, Don Jordan, Danny Giovanelli and Chico Vejar. Aragon retired in 1960 with a career record of 90 wins (61 by knockout), 20 losses, and 6 draws.[8] Before his career ended, Aragon was dogged by accusations of conspiring to fix fights in his favor, including a conviction in California in February 1957.[8] Similar allegations were made by other fighters afterwards but were never substantiated.

References

  1. ↑ Obituary at The Los Angeles Times
  2. ↑ http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Art_Aragon
  3. ↑ Sue Gossett, The Films and Career of Audie Murphy, Empire Publishing, 1996, p. 69.
  4. ↑ Boxing News 24 hours/day - the #1 resource in boxing - following Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray, Oscar De La Hoya and all your boxing favorites
  5. ↑ Los Angeles.com: Art Aragon Bail Bonds Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0032734/
  7. ↑ http://boxrec.com/media/index.php?title=Human:9705
  8. 1 2 Art Aragon
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