Luis Reyes Arnal Pushed Miguel Canto to a Split Decision
Luis Reyes Arnal challenged Miguel Canto for the WBC flyweight championship in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 24, 1977. The Venezuelan contender completed fifteen rounds before Canto retained the belt by split decision.
Career highlights
Reyes Arnal’s opposition included Colombia’s Prudencio Cardona, who later became a world flyweight champion. Cardona stopped him in the fifth round in Caracas on August 9, 1975.
Reyes Arnal also fought Dominican light flyweight Héctor Meléndez several times. Their recorded meetings included a November 1974 draw and a points victory for Meléndez later that month. They drew again in December 1977.
The Canto championship challenge
The meeting with Canto was the Mexican champion’s seventh successful defense. The divided verdict left the title with Canto while giving Reyes Arnal a full-distance world championship appearance in front of a Venezuelan crowd.
His professional record began with a stoppage victory over Leonidas Rincones in Puerto Cabello in February 1974. He later faced Jorge Luján in Panama and earned wins against Freddy Morán, Rubén Mancilla and Alfredo Thomas in Venezuela. The Thomas victory came one month before the Canto challenge. Reyes Arnal’s final listed appearance was a knockout defeat to Martín Vargas in Santiago in July 1979. His compiled totals stand at eleven wins, seven losses and three draws.
Sources
- BoxRec: Canto–Reyes Arnal title date, result and defense number
- Cyber Boxing Zone: Cardona–Reyes Arnal result
- BoxerList: Meléndez’s meetings with Reyes Arnal
- BoxerList: Reyes Arnal’s complete professional ledger
