K.O.W. - El Flaco Explosivo

For this edition of the No Mas Knockout of the Week, we showcase two hardcore No Mas heroes, Alexis Arguello and Boom Boom Mancini, in their lightweight title fight from 1981, one of the most memorable fights of my lifetime.

Twenty years old at the time, Mancini staged a courageous effort against the bigger, faster and much more skilled Nicaraguan superstar, and was ahead on the scorecards at the midpoint of the bout. But he flagged in the later rounds, and, as the Explosive Thin Man was wont, he unloaded some big shots on Mancini that turned the tide. Arguello got the stoppage with a couple dynamite lefts in the 14th. The video above shows the whole round, and as you watch, keep in mind that each fighter was only a year away from his Waterloo. For Mancini, it was the Duk Koo Kim tragedy. For Arguello, it was a hawk named Aaron Pryor.