Art Aragon
Art Aragon, born Arthur Benjamin Aragon on November 13, 1927, in Belen, New Mexico, was a professional boxer and cultural figure known for his flamboyant persona and significant presence in the boxing world during the 1950s. Coming from a large family facing extreme poverty, Aragon moved frequently during his childhood before settling in Los Angeles, where he began his boxing career. He turned professional in May 1944, quickly rising to prominence in the lightweight and welterweight divisions, achieving a record of 89 victories in 115 fights, including 61 by knockout.
Aragon became well-known not just for his boxing skills but also for his showmanship, often embraced as "the Golden Boy" due to his striking appearance and signature gold robe. His career included notable matches against legendary boxers such as Carmen Basilio and Jimmy Carter, and he built a reputation as a polarizing figure who attracted large crowds, even those hoping to see him lose. Beyond the ring, Aragon ventured into Hollywood, appearing in films and television, and mingled with celebrities of the era, enhancing his public image.
Despite never winning a world title, Aragon's contributions to boxing and popular culture left a lasting impact, exemplifying the journey of many ethnic athletes in the United States who leveraged their sports success into broader recognition and opportunities. He passed away in Northridge, California, in 2008 at the age of eighty.
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Art Aragon
American boxer and actor
- Born: November 13, 1927
- Birthplace: Belen, New Mexico
- Died: March 25, 2008
- Place of death: Northridge, California
Aragon was a popular West Coast boxer of the late 1940’s and 1950’s. In addition to his boxing career, he was also known for his out-of-the ring celebrity that included friendships with many popular Hollywood figures of the day as well as his own appearances in films and television.
Early Life
Arthur Benjamin Aragon (EHR-ah-gahn) was born in Belen, New Mexico, on November 13, 1927. He was one of ten children born to Blasita and Desi Aragon. As a result of his family’s extreme poverty he was sent at an early age to live with an aunt and uncle who moved frequently during his formative years, residing for various periods in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Newport, Kentucky. By his midteens, he had arrived in Los Angeles, where he worked in a machine shop and at various other jobs and managed to complete a high school diploma. It was around that time also that he became interested in boxing.
Following a brief amateur boxing career, Aragon engaged in his first professional fight on May 23, 1944, lying about his age to obtain a boxing license. He won his first eleven bouts before losing to Bert White in five rounds in Ocean Park in October, 1944. He continued fighting at a somewhat reduced rate during the year that followed and then in January, 1946, shortly after his eighteenth birthday, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard.
While stationed in Boston, Aragon fought on several fight cards there during the year and a half that followed, winning the majority of his fights, frequently by knockout. After his discharge from the Coast Guard in June, 1947, he returned to the Los Angeles area and resumed his boxing career there. By 1949, under the guidance of manager Jimmy Roche, Aragon was well on his way to establishing himself as a local favorite and box-office draw.
Life’s Work
During the 1950’s, continuing to fight primarily on the West Coast, Aragon fought many of the best fighters in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. In August, 1951, he defeated then-lightweight champion Jimmy Carter in a nontitle bout but lost to the champion in a match for the title in November. In March, 1952, he won a ten-round decision over future lightweight champion Lauro Salas and in 1955 twice defeated future welterweight champion Don Jordan. Among the other boxing greats of the era that Aragon fought were welterweight contenders Billy Graham, Chuck Davey, Vince Martinez, and Joe Miceli. Perhaps his highest-profile bout was against former welterweight and middleweight champion Carmen Basilio in September, 1958, a bout in which Aragon was stopped in the eighth round (one of his few knockout losses).
Despite Aragon’s success in the ring—he ended his career in 1960 with a total of 89 victories in 115 fights, including 61 wins by knockout—he was known as much for his ring persona as he was for his boxing skills. Wearing a gold-colored robe and using the nickname “the Golden Boy,” he frequently was booed by fight audiences who turned out in large numbers in hopes of seeing him lose. (The custom, especially strong among individuals of Mexican descent, began in 1950 when Aragon twice defeated a popular Mexican-born fighter of the period.) Playing the villain, however, never seemed to bother Aragon as long as the seats were full. He was also well known for his dislike of training and was involved in at least two high-profile boxing-related scandals during the course of his career.
In addition to his boxing fame, Aragon also achieved a fair amount of celebrity outside of the ring. He played golf with Mickey Rooney and Bob Hope and had friendships with a number of other film stars of the era, including a romantic relationship with actor Mamie Van Doren. Beginning in 1952, he appeared in several Hollywood films, among them To Hell and Back with Audie Murphy in 1955 and Fat City, directed by John Huston, in 1972, and made appearances in several popular television series. He was married four times and died in Northridge, California, in 2008 at the age of eighty.
Significance
Aragon parlayed his skills as a professional boxer and his flamboyant lifestyle outside of the ring into a successful and lucrative career during the 1950’s. While he never won a world title, he fought many of the best boxers of the era in his weight class. His good looks and gold-colored boxing robe gained him the nickname the Golden Boy, and his bouts, most of which took place on the West Coast, drew large audiences, even if many came to root against him. He also followed earlier boxers such as Max Baer and Max (“Slapsy Maxie”) Rosenbloom into a brief career in film and television. Never particularly fond of boxing, he nevertheless used it as a stepping-stone to success in a pattern followed by members of numerous other ethnic groups throughout U.S. history.
Bibliography
Goldstein, Richard. “Art Aragon Dies at 80; Was One of the Ring’s Golden Boys.” The New York Times, March 28, 2008, p. B7. Provides a good basic summary of Aragon’s life and career.
Maynard, John. “They Came to See Him Clobbered.” Saturday Evening Post 227, no. 23 (December 4, 1954): 25, 115-119. Offers a colorful account of Aragon midcareer as well as providing good information on his early life not available in other sources.
Murray, James. “Exit Art, Laughing.” Sports Illustrated 9, no. 11 (September 15, 1958): 56-58. Interesting popular account of Aragon’s loss to Carmen Basilio and his outside-the-ring life at the time.