Art "Golden Boy" Aragon...

The Golden Boy. A legend with a devastating left hook matched only by his matinee idol looks. a celebrity among celebrities. The most popular fighter in Los Angeles, guaranteed to pack the house. And yet one simultaneously loved and despised by LA's Mexican fight fans. Oscar who? No, we're talking about boxing's original Golden Boy. Art Aragon. Possessor of a gaudy 87-16-6 record, with 60 KOs, Art Aragon was the Golden Boy during the golden age of boxing in Los Angeles. This remarkable lifgtweight and welterweight, enjoyed a career spanning sixteen years, during which time he fought, and defeated, some of the toughest in the game. "I coulda gone further," he reflected "My biggest drawback, looking over my life, I didn't like to train, the most I ever trained in my life was a month, six weeks. I didn't like training. Jim Murray asked me one time 'Art, we know you hate training. What do you hate the most? The boxing, the sparring, the roadwork?' I said 'yes!. His career was interrupted by military service in 1945-46, during which time he had no fights for a twelve month period, and again from late 1946 through early 1948 fighting only once in 1947. "I quit fighting for a while. I was a young kid, and I may have gotten robbed, and I was very disappointed in boxing, and I gave it up." Yet, when asked what got him back into it, he responds, characteristically, "You can't stop being an idiot. Once an idiot, always an idiot!" Aragon returned with a vengeance, fighting thirty five times from 1948 through 1950. The next year, he fought Jimmy Carter twice, decision him in 10 and then losing by decision in 15, his only championship shot. Deadpanning Aragon muses, "When I fought him, I was fighting at 142, and it's tough getting down to 135 [It was so hard making weight] I was the only fighter they ever carried into the ring! "Good fighter. I won the first five rounds, and ran out of gas. And he won the last 40 rounds!" Momentarily introspective, Aragon remarks, "I thank god, and I mean this sincerely, anybody that had as many fights as I did can't even talk. I know a good fighter, won't mention his name. Good fighter, great fighter, champion. [I said] 'Hi, how are you, good to see you again.' And you know what he said to me? 'Bwoa duow bla.' And I believed him!" ...