Harry Arroyo
# Harry Arroyo

Harry Arroyo (born October 25, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who held the IBF lightweight title from 1984 to 1985.

## Early years

Arroyo, of Puerto Rican descent, was born on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio, a steel-manufacturing center near the Pennsylvania border. As a child, he reportedly told his 15 siblings about his dream of becoming a nationally known fighter. In the 1980s, he became one of the most recognizable boxers on television and regularly appeared on the covers of boxing magazines. In 1984, Arroyo, with fellow Youngstown native Ray Mancini, was listed among the nation's top 10 contenders by the World Boxing Association. This was after Mancini had lost that organization's world title to Livingstone Bramble.

## Boxing career

Arroyo fought for nine years as an amateur boxer, winning several Golden Glove tournaments as well as eight AAU Regional Tournaments. As an amateur he had 110 wins and 15 losses. He worked up a record of 40 wins and 11 losses as a professional, and won the IBF's world lightweight title by beating Charlie "Choo Choo" Brown in the 14th round on April 15, 1984. Arroyo, a late substitute for Cornelius Boza Edwards, staggered Brown with two blows to the head, prompting referee Larry Hazzard to stop the fight. On September 1, 1984, Arroyo successfully defended his title against Charlie "White Lightning" Brown, in a bout held in Struthers, Ohio. The champion successfully defended his title once more before losing to Jimmy Paul on April 4, 1985.

## Professional boxing record

| 51 fights | 40 wins | 11 losses |
| - | - | - |
| By knockout | 30 | 4 |
| By decision | 10 | 7 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 41–11 | Vinny Letizia | UD | 10 | 1993-02-26 | Countryside, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 41–10 | Jerry Massey | TKO | 7 | 1992-05-29 | Youngstown, Ohio, United States | |
| Loss | 40–10 | Javier Castillejo | TKO | 3 | 1992-04-10 | Leganés, Spain | |
| Win | 40–9 | Homknokkor Som-Song | PTS | 10 | 1991-08-15 | Marbella, Spain | |
| Loss | 39–9 | Tommy Small | MD | 12 | 1991-06-22 | Morgantown, West Virginia, United States | Won WBF Light Middleweight Title |
| Loss | 39–8 | Valery Kayumba | TKO | 7 | 1991-04-17 | Paris, France | |
| Loss | 39–7 | Carl Griffith | UD | 10 | 1990-08-24 | Mayfield, Ohio, United States | |
| Loss | 39–6 | Roger Brown | UD | 10 | 1989-05-04 | Hallandale, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 39–5 | Bruce Strauss | TKO | 2 | 1989-01-26 | War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, New York, United States | |
| Win | 38–5 | Raul Torres | SD | 10 | 1988-11-19 | Quality Inn, Erie, Pennsylvania, United States | |
| Loss | 37–5 | Loreto Garza | KO | 1 | 1988-04-22 | Sacramento, California, United States | Lost WBC Continental Americas Light Welterweight Title |
| Win | 37–4 | Rick Souce | TKO | 8 | 1988-02-23 | Dallas, Texas, United States | Won WBC Continental Americas Light Welterweight Title |
| Win | 36–4 | Nick Parker | TKO | 5 | 1987-11-18 | Youngstown, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 35–4 | Nick Parker | KO | 7 | 1987-08-28 | Columbus, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 34–4 | Reggie Robinson | UD | 10 | 1987-07-03 | Harlingen, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 33–4 | Roger Brown | MD | 10 | 1987-02-19 | Akron, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 32–3 | Derwin Richards | MD | 10 | 1987-01-17 | Harlingen, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 31–3 | Rick Kaiser | TKO | 1 | 1986-11-25 | Tyler, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 30–3 | Danny Ferris | TKO | 2 | 1986-11-01 | Latham, New York, United States | |
| Loss | 29–3 | Vinny Paz | UD | 10 | 1986-05-18 | Providence, Rhode Island, United States | |
| Win | 29–2 | Paul Graham | KO | 8 | 1986-03-19 | Warren, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 28–2 | Leo Simmons | TKO | 5 | 1986-02-04 | Boardman, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 27–2 | Darrell Jacobs | TKO | 6 | 1985-12-04 | Youngstown, Ohio, United States | |
| Loss | 26–2 | Sammy Fuentes | KO | 7 | 1985-10-09 | Trump Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Loss | 26–1 | Jimmy Paul | UD | 15 | 1985-04-06 | Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Lost IBF Lightweight Title |
| Win | 26–0 | Terrence Alli | TKO | 11 | 1985-01-12 | Bally's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Retained IBF Lightweight Title |
| Win | 25–0 | Charlie Brown | TKO | 8 | 1984-09-01 | Struthers High School, Youngstown, Ohio, United States | Retained IBF Lightweight Title |
| Win | 24–0 | Charlie Brown | TKO | 14 | 1984-04-15 | Sands Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Won IBF Lightweight Title |
| Win | 23–0 | Robin Blake | UD | 10 | 1984-01-14 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 22–0 | Danny Avery | TKO | 9 | 1983-10-20 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 21–0 | Steve Hilliard | TKO | 5 | 1983-10-06 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 20–0 | Tomas Chavez | TKO | 9 | 1983-06-15 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, United States | |
| Win | 19–0 | Roberto Garcia | TKO | 2 | 1983-04-03 | Phoenix Civic Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona, United States | |
| Win | 18–0 | Kelvin Lampkin | PTS | 10 | 1983-02-12 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | |
| Win | 17–0 | Joe Manley | SD | 10 | 1982-10-30 | Sands Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 16–0 | Arnie Wells | UD | 10 | 1982-08-30 | Niles, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 15–0 | Kevin Austin | TKO | 5 | 1982-07-24 | Warren, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 14–0 | Paul Hodge | KO | 1 | 1982-07-08 | Idora Park, Youngstown, Youngstown, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 13–0 | Mike Soldier | KO | 2 | 1982-05-27 | Idora Park, Youngstown, Youngstown, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 12–0 | Robert Moody | TKO | 10 | 1982-04-28 | Youngstown, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 11–0 | Greg Young | TKO | 4 | 1982-04-17 | Harrah's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 10–0 | Sam Gervins | TKO | 6 | 1982-03-17 | Niles, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Bruce Williams | TKO | 5 | 1982-03-13 | Playboy Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Blas Dechamps | PTS | 6 | 1982-01-26 | Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Roberto Munoz | TKO | 2 | 1981-12-29 | Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Ken Payton | TKO | 1 | 1981-12-23 | Canton Memorial Civic Center, Canton, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Leon Gardner | TKO | 6 | 1981-10-29 | Warren, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Kean McGill | UD | 6 | 1981-10-21 | Niles, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Tim Murphy | KO | 1 | 1981-08-15 | Gannon College, Erie, Pennsylvania, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jesse Jackson | TKO | 2 | 1980-12-16 | Cleveland, Ohio, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Dale Gordon | TKO | 4 | 1980-09-30 | Niles, Ohio, United States | Referee stopped the bout at 1:45 of the fourth round. |

## Retirement

Arroyo has expressed disappointment over the fact that he never had a chance to meet fellow Youngstown pugilist Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini in the ring. The possibility of a matchup between the two fighters emerged in the early 1980s, but circumstances intervened. Arroyo won the IBF title just two months before Mancini's first loss to Livingstone Bramble. Mancini took a break from boxing for several years after losing his title, and by the time he re-entered the ring, Arroyo's career had waned considerably. Both men were on hand, however, when fellow Youngstown native Kelly Pavlik took the WBC and WBO middleweight world championship in Atlantic City on September 29, 2007.

Retired from the ring, Arroyo is married and has five children.

## Officiating career

After his retirement, Arroyo become a boxing referee, and has officiated dozens of fights, mainly in Ohio.

