Ringside Report Looks Back at the Beloved World Champion Alexis Arguello (1952-2009)

Publisher Note: Though Arguello my number two favorite fighter behind Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor death was ruled a suicide, I have spoken to many who know he was murdered by that dirty government! In my FBHOF induction speech last year, I mentioned our beloved Alexis… RIP Champ!

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

Sport and politics can be a heady mixture. The Mayor of Kyiv is currently contemplating what life might be back under the Russian Bear – he was once one of their proteges before he held the boxing heavyweight world title – in the Philippines, there is another boxing legend looking towards a Presidential campaign, whilst in Pakistan the Prime Minister was once an international cricketer.

There are a plethora of other sporting figures who have ended up as political figures throughout the world and when they manage to get into office the first cry is always that their sporting popularity won them votes whilst their political prowess let them down once they were there. Given the state of some of our political representatives, it is far from surprising, however, that an electorate will opt to try something new – even having a real actor as President as they did in Ukraine.

In the heated political landscape of Latin and South America, however, radical popular politicians and causes can often feel like a life and death battle between what the people think and what the people need. For one former Nicaraguan pugilist, Alexis Argüello, 77-8, 62 KO’s, who was a multi weight world champion and one of the finest boxers of his generation, politics brought him a mayorship, heartache and what many believe to be his death by suicide after shooting himself. He was a disillusioned Sandanista politician who was mayor of the capital, Managua. He had captured his post in a narrow win, but it was a fight which had corruption thrown at it as people believed the vote was rigged in his favor. Ironically, the only time that a suggestion as made that something odd had happened in a fight with him, he was the victim because what was never ever rigged was his boxing prowess.

Argüello was active from 1968 until 1982, then he made a comeback to finally retire in 1995. He held the WBA featherweight title, the WBC super featherweight title and the WBC lightweight title. He won his first world title in 1974 and his last was relinquished in 1982. What marked him out was that he never lost a world title in the ring!

Accolades for his boxing career included The Ring Magazine making him number 20 in the 100 best punchers of all time and the Associated Press ranking him the world’s best Junior Lightweight of the 20th century.

Where he ended up was a world away from where he began.

Argüello was born into abject poverty in 1952. When he was 5 years old his father attempted the same exit from life that his son successfully managed years later, but the father failed. By the age of 13 Argüello was in Canada trying to support his family. Then when his sister married a boxer, the true pathway to escaping poverty emerged for him; he became a boxer too.

From street brawler to professional sportsman happened relatively quickly and by 1968 he was in his first professional fight which he won by knocking Israel Medina out in the 1st round. Following that the record hit patchy with a couple of losses in his first few fights but then he settled into a pattern of winning that lasted all the way up to 1971 when he went for his first title; the Nicaraguan bantamweight title in Managua on the 2nd of October when he beat Kid Clay on points.

His trajectory took him to face WBA champion Ernesto Marcel in Panama, on the 16th of February 1974. Losing a 15 round decision against the champ was no disgrace but it was Marcel’s final ever bout so perhaps the role he was to perform was not to win but be the firework for the post-fight party…

Argüello was back in a title fight within the year and on the 23rd of November 1974, in Inglewood, Argüello took on Ruben Olivares for the WBA featherweight title. In the 13th round, behind on the score cards a bizarre event saw both boxers land at the same time. It was Argüello’s punch that was the more effective leaving champion Olivares, in the first defense of his title, on the floor. Argüello was a world champion for the very first time.

His defenses included a win against Venezuelan Leonel Hernández in Caracas in 1975 which he won by stoppage in the 8th, in Nicaragua against Rigoberto Riasco, in Granada, stopping him in the 2nd round, stopping Japanese hopeful Royal Kobayashi in the 5th round again in 1975 in Kokugikan and finally in 1976 his last defense saw him knockout Salvador Torres in the 3rd round in Inglewood.

Argüello then moved up in weight.

At Junior Lightweight he went to Puerto Rico to take on the champion Alfredo Escalera. It was a legendary bloody battle as the champion apparently had his nose, eye and mouth broken early in the fight and Argüello stopped him in the 13th round; he was now a two weight world champion! One of the stories from that time, which I hope is true, is that Argüello suffered really bad cuts but refused to go to the hospital. The doctor argued with him and then decided to get on the train with him the following day. He performed plastic surgery on Argüello when he was still awake!
He defended his title 3 times in 1978 – against Rey Tam in April in Inglewood where he stopped Tam in the 5th, against Diego Alcala in June when he knocked him out in San Juan on te 1st round, and against Arturo Leon in las Vegas where he went to the scorecards and won on points.

In 1979 he took on Escalera in a rematch in Rimini, Italy – stopping him in the 13th round, then he beat Rafael Limon, in July in New York where he stopped Limon in the 11th, and against Bobby Chacon who retired in the 7th in Inglewood. The 80s saw Ruben Castillo, unbeaten in 43 contests face him in Tucson where he was stopped in the 11th before in April 1980 in San Juan, Rolando Navarrete was retired in the 4th round.

Having shown how supreme he was at junior lightweight up he went to lightweight and came to London, England. My near neighbor, Jim Watt faced him over 15 rounds, and it was the night Scottish hearts were broken – Watt lost on points. Argüello was now only the 6th boxer to be a three weight world champion. His defenses included a friend to Ringside Report, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini in Atlantic City where Mancini was stopped in the 14th. It was one of the best fights of the 80s. Then came Roberto Elizondo in 1981, in Las Vegas who never heard the 8th round called and in 1982 there was James Busceme who did not hear the 6th round finish!

He also hit the canvas in his defense against Andrew Ganigan but got up and stopped him in the 5th round in Las Vegas on the 22nd of May 1982.

Then he… moved up in weight to junior welterweight.

Aaron Pryor was in his way. In Miami, Florida, on the 12th of November 1982, he attempted what nobody had before – to become a four weight world champion. Argüello was stopped in the 14th round in what was a massive fight but one not without controversy. It was named “Fight of the Year” and “Fight of the Decade” by Ring Magazine, and had 23,000 fight fans in attendance. That controversy was that Pryor’s trainer, Panama Lewis, had given his fighter a water bottle after the 13th round that many believe contained an illegal substance — an accusation Pryor denies. It was suspected of being spiked and having some kind of substance in it which helped Pryor to his stoppage win. There was plenty of but given that the Florida State Boxing Commission did not do their job properly and test the fighter’s urine, after the contest, we shall never know for sure. A rematch was ordered. The WBA ordered a rematch.

Argüello went into that rematch with his own expectations on his shoulders but he was stopped again – this time in the 10th round on the 9th of September 1983 in Las Vegas. Afterwards Argüello said, “I’m not going to fight anymore. I quit.”

He retired to go fight a war siding with the Contras in Nicaragua, against the Sandanista Government.

“We are upset,” presidential spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said. “This is a heartbreaking announcement. He was the champion of the poor, an example of forgiveness and reconciliation.”

He returned to the ring in 1985 but finally brought the career to an end in 1995 when he lost to Scott Walker in Las Vegas.

He was never forgotten though and was the flag bearer for the Nicaragua in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

That was the same year in which he became the Mayor of Managua and the year before he shot himself through the heart. Ruled a suicide, his heart was always with his people, and they loved him back in equal measure. His boxing career stands the test of time, and he was without a shadow of a doubt one of Nicaragua’s finest in the ring. Politically it was always a difficult leap but for his life he will always one remembered, though his death may always capture the headlines, we all know and love his back story.

Upon his death the tributes flowed.

“Not only was he one of the greatest fighters I’ve ever seen, he was the most intelligent fighter,” said Bob Arum. “He was a ring tactician. Every move was thought out. And he was a wonderful, wonderful person.”

But the final word should always be given to a fellow fighter – “I felt sad receiving the news and still find it hard to believe,” Oscar De La Hoya commented. “Alexis was my idol. When I was young, I heard so much about him and his fights and loved his style in the ring. In my opinion he was of the biggest and most influential fighters boxing has ever produced.”

Amen to that, amen indeed.