Jose Argumedo IBF Minimumweight Champion
Photo by Jose Argumedo/Getty Images
Mexico’s Jose Argumedo, the second strawweight on this list, was just a year removed from dropping a decision to former title challenger Carlos Velarde when he upset Katsunari Takayama for the IBF hardware on New Year’s Eve 2015.
The “Lightning Kid” is also the only man he’s beaten with more than 20 professional bouts to their name.
There’s merely one other notable name on Argumedo’s ledger. That’s Oswaldo Novoa, a former world champion and real banger.
Argumedo lost to Novoa in 2012 but his fight with Takayama was an action-packed one—Takayama scraps always are. The Japanese suffered a bad cut in Round 2 from a clash of heads and Argumedo, to his credit, jumped on the opportunity, working away at the cut with his fists.
As much as Takayama typically gets hit, he was rattled even more so from a lack of vision. The Lightning Kid endured another cut in the ninth stanza and the fight went to the scorecards where they showed Argumedo slightly ahead, crowning the challenger.
The 27-year-old Argumedo fought valiantly. But his resume is completely void of any other sort of depth and experience. His record: 16-3-1.
