Revenge was out and repetition was in.
On September 9, 1983, Aaron Pryor scored a second stoppage victory over Alexis Arguello, knocking out the legendary three-weight world champion in 10 rounds at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The official time was 1:48.
Ten months earlier, Pryor, The Ring and WBA junior welterweight champion, had scored a fourteenth-round knockout of Arguello in one of the greatest fights of the modern era. The rematch would mark the champion’s eighth consecutive title defense.
However, Pryor’s reputation was somewhat tarnished due to his association with trainer Panama Lewis. During the first fight, Lewis had asked for an alternate bottle (“The One I Mix”) and there were strong suspicions that it contained a stimulant. Three months before the Pryor-Arguello rematch, Lewis was banned from boxing for life after removing the padding from the gloves of Luis Resto, who caused terrible damage to opponent Billy Collins in a middleweight non-title bout. Richie Giachetti initially filled the void, but a fight led to Emanuel Steward being hired as second boss.
This time it was a more dominant win for Pryor. “El Halcón” put Argüello on the floor in the first, fourth and tenth rounds and was ahead of all the scorecards when referee Richard Steele counted out the great Nicaraguan.
“I think Alexis Arguello was the smartest fighter I ever fought,” Pryor told The Ring years later. “He was fighting for his fourth world title; he had already won three. I don’t take anything away from him.”
