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RIP Alexis... that first Pryor fight... definitely one of the greatest of ALL TIME.
Alexis Argüello, 57, Boxer and Politician, Dies
By BRUCE WEBER
Published: July 1, 2009
Alexis Argüello, a boxer who won titles in three weight classes, entered politics after his retirement and last fall was elected mayor of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua and his home town, was found dead in his home Wednesday. He was 57.
United Press International
Alexis Argüello, left, capturing the lightweight title in 1981.
Related
Arguello vs. Ray Mancini, 1981 (Youtube.com)
Arguello vs. Aaron Pryor, 1982 (Youtube.com)
The cause was a gunshot wound to the chest that is thought to have been self-inflicted, said a friend and a former mayor of Managua, Dionisio Marenco. A spokeswoman for the national police said late Wednesday circumstances of the death and the coroner's report suggest the death was a suicide.
Argüello, at 5 feet 10 inches and, optimally, 130 pounds, was a sinewy, powerful fighter whose nickname was El Flaco Explosivo, the Explosive Thin Man. A brutal body puncher with a piston of a left jab and a darting overhand right, he won championships in the featherweight, junior lightweight (now known as super featherweight) and lightweight divisions, becoming, in 1981, the sixth fighter to win three distinct titles. But he may be best remembered for a fight he lost.
Trying to win a fourth title, in November 1982, he stepped up in weight class once again and took on a super lightweight, Aaron Pryor. In one of boxing’s most fabled slugfests, Pryor knocked out Argüello in the 14th round with a flurry of blows to the head, leaving him unconscious for several minutes. Ring magazine declared it the “Fight of the Decade.”
Ten months later he lost a rematch, and though financial problems brought him back to the ring more than once, he never regained his championship stature. His career record was 82-8. In 1999, The Associated Press named Argüello the top junior lightweight of the 20th century. In 2002, Ring ranked him 20th on its list of the 80 best fighters of the previous 80 years.
During his championship years, Argüello, who was born and learned to fight in the rugged barrio of Managua, had been a national hero in Nicaragua. On Wednesday he was mourned both as an athletic star and a political leader as throngs of supporters, many waving the red-and-black flag of the left-wing Sandinista party that Argüello represented, clogged the streets of Managua as his coffin was borne to a funeral home.
Argüello was married several times; he is survived by his wife, Carla, and a number of children and grandchildren.
“A lot of people loved him,” Marenco, the former mayor, said. “He was sweet-blooded, as we say in Nicaragua.”
Argüello’s most recent political affiliation was an about-face from the position he had staked out as a young man. While he was a fighter, he opposed the Sandinista revolution, which seized power from the right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979. The Sandinistas suspected Argüello, a dashing and moneyed hero athlete who appeared in American beer commercials and lived in the United States, of having had an affiliation with Somoza. They confiscated much of his property. Argüello then threw his support behind the American-supported opposition, known as the contras.
He changed his position after moving back to Managua in the 1990s. His election to the mayoralty last November, which was supported by President Daniel Ortega, was disputed by the opposition, which said the vote had been rigged. Since then he has been criticized for extensive travel abroad and accused of mismanaging public funds.
Argüello was always a favorite among American boxing writers. He spoke English and answered questions with rare frankness and introspection.
After his first retirement from the ring, in 1983, his life took a downward slide, and he later admitted to marital and financial problems and an addiction to cocaine. One day, fondling a pistol in his lap, he contemplated suicide.
“I almost killed myself,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1986. “That’s true. I felt bad. But I knew I would not have the guts to do it. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Let’s see what kind of man I am.’ ”
Blake Schmidt contributed reporting from Managua.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: July 3, 2009
This article mistated two of the weight classes in which Mr. Argüello won titles. They are featherweight and super featherweight and not flyweight and super flyweight
Alexis Argüello, 57, Boxer and Politician, Dies
By BRUCE WEBER
Published: July 1, 2009
Alexis Argüello, a boxer who won titles in three weight classes, entered politics after his retirement and last fall was elected mayor of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua and his home town, was found dead in his home Wednesday. He was 57.
United Press InternationalAlexis Argüello, left, capturing the lightweight title in 1981.
Related
Arguello vs. Ray Mancini, 1981 (Youtube.com)
Arguello vs. Aaron Pryor, 1982 (Youtube.com)
The cause was a gunshot wound to the chest that is thought to have been self-inflicted, said a friend and a former mayor of Managua, Dionisio Marenco. A spokeswoman for the national police said late Wednesday circumstances of the death and the coroner's report suggest the death was a suicide.
Argüello, at 5 feet 10 inches and, optimally, 130 pounds, was a sinewy, powerful fighter whose nickname was El Flaco Explosivo, the Explosive Thin Man. A brutal body puncher with a piston of a left jab and a darting overhand right, he won championships in the featherweight, junior lightweight (now known as super featherweight) and lightweight divisions, becoming, in 1981, the sixth fighter to win three distinct titles. But he may be best remembered for a fight he lost.
Trying to win a fourth title, in November 1982, he stepped up in weight class once again and took on a super lightweight, Aaron Pryor. In one of boxing’s most fabled slugfests, Pryor knocked out Argüello in the 14th round with a flurry of blows to the head, leaving him unconscious for several minutes. Ring magazine declared it the “Fight of the Decade.”
Ten months later he lost a rematch, and though financial problems brought him back to the ring more than once, he never regained his championship stature. His career record was 82-8. In 1999, The Associated Press named Argüello the top junior lightweight of the 20th century. In 2002, Ring ranked him 20th on its list of the 80 best fighters of the previous 80 years.
During his championship years, Argüello, who was born and learned to fight in the rugged barrio of Managua, had been a national hero in Nicaragua. On Wednesday he was mourned both as an athletic star and a political leader as throngs of supporters, many waving the red-and-black flag of the left-wing Sandinista party that Argüello represented, clogged the streets of Managua as his coffin was borne to a funeral home.
Argüello was married several times; he is survived by his wife, Carla, and a number of children and grandchildren.
“A lot of people loved him,” Marenco, the former mayor, said. “He was sweet-blooded, as we say in Nicaragua.”
Argüello’s most recent political affiliation was an about-face from the position he had staked out as a young man. While he was a fighter, he opposed the Sandinista revolution, which seized power from the right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979. The Sandinistas suspected Argüello, a dashing and moneyed hero athlete who appeared in American beer commercials and lived in the United States, of having had an affiliation with Somoza. They confiscated much of his property. Argüello then threw his support behind the American-supported opposition, known as the contras.
He changed his position after moving back to Managua in the 1990s. His election to the mayoralty last November, which was supported by President Daniel Ortega, was disputed by the opposition, which said the vote had been rigged. Since then he has been criticized for extensive travel abroad and accused of mismanaging public funds.
Argüello was always a favorite among American boxing writers. He spoke English and answered questions with rare frankness and introspection.
After his first retirement from the ring, in 1983, his life took a downward slide, and he later admitted to marital and financial problems and an addiction to cocaine. One day, fondling a pistol in his lap, he contemplated suicide.
“I almost killed myself,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1986. “That’s true. I felt bad. But I knew I would not have the guts to do it. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Let’s see what kind of man I am.’ ”
Blake Schmidt contributed reporting from Managua.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: July 3, 2009
This article mistated two of the weight classes in which Mr. Argüello won titles. They are featherweight and super featherweight and not flyweight and super flyweight
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