Harry Arroyo (born October 25, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who held the IBF lightweight title from 1984 to 1985.^[1][2]

Early years

Arroyo, of Puerto Rican descent,^[3] was born on the south side of Youngstown, Ohio, a steel-manufacturing center near the Pennsylvania border.^[4] As a child, he reportedly told his 15 siblings about his dream of becoming a nationally known fighter.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] Arroyo, a late substitute for Cornelius Boza Edwards, staggered Brown with two blows to the head, prompting referee Larry Hazzard to stop the fight.^[6] On September 1, 1984, Arroyo successfully defended his title against Charlie "White Lightning" Brown, in a bout held in Struthers, Ohio.^[7] The champion successfully defended his title once more before losing to Jimmy Paul on April 4, 1985.^[1]

Professional boxing record

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.^[1][8]

Retired from the ring, Arroyo is married and has five children.^[9]

Officiating career

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