Alexis Argüello


Alexis Argüello was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA featherweight title from 1974 to 1976; the WBC super featherweight title from 1978 to 1980; and the WBC lightweight title from 1981 to 1982. Additionally, he held the Ring magazine and lineal featherweight titles from 1975 to 1977; the Ring lightweight title from 1981 to 1982; and the lineal lightweight title in 1982. In his later career he challenged twice for light welterweight world titles, both times in famous fights against Aaron Pryor.
Argüello has regularly been cited as one of the greatest boxers of his era, having never lost any of his world titles in the ring, instead relinquishing them each time in pursuit of titles in higher weight classes. After his retirement from boxing, he became active in Nicaraguan politics and in November 2008 was elected mayor of his native Managua, the nation's capital city.
The Ring magazine has ranked Argüello as 20th on their list of "100 greatest punchers of all time", while the Associated Press ranked him as the world's best Junior Lightweight of the 20th century. He was named one of the 20 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring magazine.

Early life and amateur career

Argüello was born April 19, 1952. His father was a shoemaker. Argüello had a troubled childhood, growing up in abject poverty in Managua. When he was 5 years old, his father attempted suicide. At the age of 9, Argüello ran away to work in a dairy farm. When he was 13, he emigrated to Canada to provide for his family. Argüello was constantly involved in street brawls through his teenage years, but it wasn't until his sister Marina, one of Alexis' 7 siblings, married a boxer that young Alexis took an interest in the sport. Argüello's brief amateur career saw him compile a 58-2 record.

Boxing career

Featherweight

Argüello debuted on October 26, 1968, trained by former boxer Miguel Angel Rivas. After winning his first 3 fights "The Explosive Thin Man" suffered an unavenged first-round KO loss, followed by another split decision loss. Argüello would then win 29 of his next 30 bouts over the next 5 years, including a win over José Legrá. Eventually, Argüello earned world featherweight championship bout against experienced WBA champion Ernesto Marcel. The fight took place in Panama, Marcel's home country. The young challenger lost a 15-round unanimous decision in the champion's retirement bout. Months after Marcel's retirement, the WBA featherweight title was won by former unified bantamweight champion Rubén Olivares.
Undaunted, Argüello put together another streak of wins, and found himself contending for the WBA featherweight, this time against Olivares in the latter's first defense. The fight took place at The Forum in Inglewood on November 23, 1974. After Olivares had built a small lead on the judges' scorecards, Argüello and Olivares landed simultaneous left hooks in round thirteen. Olivares's left hand caused a visible expression of pain on Argüello's face, but Argüello's left hand caused Olivares to crash hard against the canvas. A few seconds later, Argüello was the new featherweight champion of the world.
Argüello's first defense came against Venezuelan featherweight champion Leonel Hernández. Once again, Argüello fought in enemy territory, as the fight took place in Caracas. Nevertheless, Argüello made short work of his challenger, stopping him by technical knockout in the 8th round. His first defense in Nicaragua was against Rigoberto Riasco. Argüello dominated once again, this time stopping Riasco in the second round. Next up for Argüello would be Royal Kobayashi, a highly touted Japanese challenger who was undefeated until then. After a tense, close start Argüello's relentless body-punching broke Kobayashi halfway through the fifth round, with the challenger dropping to the canvas twice.

Super featherweight

After a successful fourth defense, Argüello moved up in weight to challenge world junior lightweight champion Alfredo Escalera in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, in what has been nicknamed The Bloody Battle of Bayamon by many. Escalera had been a busy champion with ten defenses, and he had dethroned Kuniaki Shibata in 2 rounds in Tokyo. In what some experts consider one of the most brutal fights in history, Escalera had his eye, mouth and nose broken early, but was rallying back in the scorecards when Argüello finished him, once again in the thirteenth round.
His reign at Junior Lightweight saw him fend off the challenges of Escalera in a rematch held at Rimini, Italy, as well as former and future world champion Bobby Chacon, future two time world champion Rafael "Bazooka" Limón, Ruben Castillo, future champion Rolando Navarrete, and Diego Alcalá, beaten in only one round.
Argüello suffered many cuts around his face during his second victory against Escalera. The on-site doctor wanted him hospitalized, but Argüello had a flight to catch from Rome the next day to return to Nicaragua, and he boarded a train from Rimini. The doctor decided to travel with Argüello, and performed plastic surgery on Argüello's cuts with Argüello awake.

Lightweight

After eight successful title defenses, Argüello then moved up in weight again, and this time he had to go to London, England, to challenge world lightweight champion Jim Watt. Watt lasted fifteen rounds, but the judges gave Argüello a unanimous 15-round decision, thus making him only the sixth boxer to win world titles in 3 divisions, and the second Latin American to do it. He had to face some less known challengers in this division, one exception being the famous prospect Ray Mancini. Mancini and Argüello engaged in a fight that was later showcased in a boxing video of the best fights of the 1980s, with Argüello prevailing by stoppage when he decked Mancini in round 14. After the fight, Argüello gained many American fans when he embraced Mancini and told a CBS Television audience that he would do anything to help Mancini's father, who at the time was dealing with illness. Andrew Ganigan proved to be one of Argüello's toughest challenges as he dropped Argüello in the second round, but ultimately the defending champion prevailed by stopping Ganigan in the fifth.

Super lightweight

Battles with Aaron Pryor

Arguello successfully defended his lightweight title four times. After defeating James 'Bubba' Busceme by sixth round stoppage, Argüello decided to move up in weight class again, and on November 12, 1982, he tried to become the first world champion in 4 different categories, meeting the heavier and future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Pryor, in what was billed as The Battle of the Champions in Miami, Florida. Argüello was stopped in the 14th round. The fight sparked controversy however, because Pryor's trainer, Panama Lewis, introduced a second water bottle which he described as "the bottle I mixed" after round 13, leading to speculation that the bottle was tainted. The Florida State Boxing Commission failed to administer a post-fight urinalysis, adding to speculation that the bottle contained an unsanctioned substance. Lewis claimed at various times that the bottle was filled with peppermint schnapps or Perrier to help Pryor deal with an upset stomach. It was later revealed in an interview with former Lewis-trained boxer Luis Resto that Lewis would break apart antihistamine pills used to treat asthma and pour the medicine into the water, giving Lewis's fighter greater lung capacity in the later rounds of a fight.
Others say that there was a mixture of cocaine, honey and orange juice in the bottle.
A rematch was ordered. This time, in Las Vegas, Arguello was KO-ed in the tenth, and stated after the fight "I'm not going to fight anymore. I quit." But he later returned to the ring for financial reasons.

Comeback and post-retirement

During the 1980s Argüello briefly fought with the Contras in his native Nicaragua, but after a few months in the jungle he retired from the war. He then attempted several comebacks into boxing during the late 1980s and early 1990s and had some success, most notably a fourth round stoppage of former World Junior Welterweight Champion Billy Costello in a 1986 televised bout that put him in a position for another shot at the Junior Welterweight title. He retired for good in 1995 with a record of 82 wins, 8 losses, and 65 KO's, along with the recognition of being one of the sports most universally respected fighters among fans, experts, and boxers.
Argüello was elected to the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1992. In 2008 he was honored by being selected as Nicaragua's flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Argüello was an avid breeder of cats, and had several articles published in Cat Fancy magazine throughout the 1990s.
He remained very friendly with his old rival Aaron Pryor, and the pair saw each other several times a year until Argüello's death.
Alexis Arguello was voted as the Greatest Junior Lightweight Ever by the Houston Boxing Hall Of Fame in 2014. The HBHOF is a voting body composed entirely of current and former fighters.

Political career

Argüello was actively involved in Nicaraguan politics with the Sandinista National Liberation Front --the same party against whom he took up arms in the 1980s—and in 2004 was elected vice-mayor of Managua. Amid accusations of vote-rigging Argüello narrowly won the mayoral election in Managua on November 9, 2008 elections against the candidate of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party, Eduardo Montealegre, who had come second to Daniel Ortega in the 2006 presidential election. Argüello's margin of victory was narrow as he attained just 51.30% of the vote.

Death

Argüello died on July 1, 2009, after apparently shooting himself through the heart in Managua. The national police confirmed the death shortly afterwards, and the death was ruled a “suicide”.following the autopsy.
Those close to Argüello affirmed that he was becoming progressively disenchanted with the Orteguistas and the Sandinista government, and was planning an imminent departure from the Sandinista political party.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
85Loss77–8 Scott WalkerUD10Jan 21, 1995 Arizona Charlie's Decatur, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
84Win77–7 Jorge PalomaresMD10Aug 27, 1994 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
83Win76–7 Billy CostelloTKO4, 1:42Feb 9, 1986 Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.
82Win75–7 Pat JeffersonTKO5, 2:47Oct 25, 1985 Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
81Loss74–7 Aaron PryorKO10, 1:48Sep 9, 1983 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.For WBA, The Ring, and vacant lineal light welterweight titles
80Win74–6 Claude NoelTKO3, 0:37Apr 24, 1983 Showboat, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
79Win73–6 Vilomar FernandezUD10Feb 26, 1983 Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
78Loss72–6 Aaron PryorTKO14, 1:06Nov 12, 1982 Orange Bowl Stadium, Miami, Florida, U.S.For WBA and The Ring light welterweight titles
77Win72–5 Kevin RooneyKO2, 3:07Jul 31, 1982 Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
76Win71–5 Andrew GaniganKO5, 3:09May 22, 1982 The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring lightweight titles;
Won vacant lineal lightweight title
75Win70–5 James BuscemeTKO6, 2:35Feb 13, 1982 Civic Center Beaumont, Texas, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
74Win69–5 Roberto ElizondoKO7, 3:07Nov 21, 1981 Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
73Win68–5 Ray ManciniTKO14, 1:44Oct 3, 1981 Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
72Win67–5 Jim WattUD15Jun 20, 1981 Empire Pool, London, EnglandWon WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
71Win66–5 Robert VasquezTKO3, 2:55Feb 7, 1981 Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
70Win65–5 José Luis RamírezSD10Nov 14, 1980 Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, Florida, U.S.
69Win64–5 Cornelius Boza-EdwardsTKO8 Aug 9, 1980 Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
68Win63–5 Rolando NavarreteRTD4, 3:00Apr 27, 1980 Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
67Win62–5 Gerald HayesUD10Mar 31, 1980 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
66Win61–5 Ruben CastilloTKO11, 2:03Jan 20, 1980 Community Center, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
65Win60–5 Bobby Chacon7, 3:00Nov 16, 1979 The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
64Win59–5 Rafael LimónTKO11, 1:40Jul 8, 1979 Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
63Win58–5 Alfredo EscaleraTKO13, 1:24Feb 4, 1979 Sports Palace, Rimini, ItalyRetained WBC super featherweight title
62Win57–5 Arturo LeonUD15Nov 10, 1978 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
61Loss56–5 Vilomar Fernandez10Jul 26, 1978 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
60Win56–4 Diego AlcalaKO1, 1:56Jun 3, 1978 Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained WBC super featherweight title
59Win55–4 Rey TamTKO5, 1:54Apr 29, 1978 The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Retained WBC super featherweight title
58Win54–4 Mario MendezTKO3, 2:00Mar 25, 1978 Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
57Win53–4 Alfredo EscaleraTKO13, 2:36Jan 28, 1978 Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoWon vacant WBC super featherweight title
56Win52–4 Enrique SolisKO5 Dec 18, 1977 Estadio Anastasio Somoza García, Managua, Nicaragua
55Win51–4 Jerome ArtisTKO2 Sep 29, 1977 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
54Win50–4 Benjamin OrtizUD10Aug 27, 1977 Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
53Win49–4 Jose FernandezTKO1, 2:06Aug 3, 1977 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
52Win48–4 Ezequiel SanchezTKO4 Jun 22, 1977 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
51Win47–4 Alberto HerreraKO1 May 14, 1977 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
50Win46–4 Godfrey StevensKO2 Feb 19, 1977 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
49Win45–4 Salvador TorresKO3, 1:25Jun 19, 1976 The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Retained WBA, The Ring, and lineal featherweight titles
48Win44–4 Modesto ConcepcionKO2 Apr 10, 1976 Universidad, Managua, Nicaragua
47Win43–4 Jose TorresSD10Feb 1, 1976 Plaza de Toros Calafia, Mexicali, Mexico
46Win42–4 Saul MontanaKO3 Dec 20, 1975 Polideportivo España, Managua, Nicaragua
45Win41–4 Royal KobayashiKO5, 2:47Oct 12, 1975 Kuramae Kokugikan, Tokyo, JapanRetained WBA, The Ring, and lineal featherweight titles
44Win40–4 Rosalio MuroTKO2, 2:54Jul 18, 1975 Cow Palace, Daly City, California, U.S.
43Win39–4 Rigoberto RiascoTKO2, 2:00May 31, 1975 Estadio Ron Flor de Cana, Granada, NicaraguaRetained WBA featherweight title;
Won vacant The Ring and lineal featherweight titles
42Win38–4Leonel HernandezTKO8, 2:52Mar 15, 1975 Poliedro, Caracas, VenezuelaRetained WBA featherweight title
41Win37–4Oscar AparicioUD10Feb 8, 1975 Nuevo Poliedro, San Salvador, El Salvador
40Win36–4Rubén OlivaresKO13, 1:20Nov 23, 1974 The Forum, Inglewood, California, U.S.Won WBA featherweight title
39Win35–4Otoniel MartinezKO1 Sep 21, 1974 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
38Win34–4Oscar Aparicio12Aug 24, 1974 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
37Win33–4Art HafeyKO5 May 18, 1974 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
36Win32–4Enrique GarciaKO3 Apr 27, 1974 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
35Loss31–4Ernesto MarcelUD15Feb 16, 1974 Gimnasio Nuevo, Panama City, PanamaFor WBA featherweight title
34Win31–3Raul Martinez MoraKO1Jan 12, 1974 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
33Win30–3Jose LegraTKO1 Nov 24, 1973 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
32Win29–3Sigfrido RodriguezTKO9 Oct 27, 1973 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
31Win28–3Nacho LomeliKO1, 2:33Aug 25, 1973 Roberto Clemente Stadium, Masaya, Nicaragua
30Win27–3Octavio GomezKO2 Jun 30, 1973 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
29Win26–3Kid PascualitoTKO3 May 26, 1973 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
28Win25–3Magallo LozadaUD10Mar 31, 1973 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
27Win24–3Fernando FernandezTKO2Feb 24, 1973 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
26Win23–3Rafael GonzalezTKO3Dec 16, 1972 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
25Win22–3Memo OrtizKO2 Nov 19, 1972 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
24Win21–3Memo BarreraTKO2Oct 21, 1972 Arena Kennedy, Managua, Nicaragua
23Win20–3Jorge BenitezKO1Sep 9, 1972 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
22Loss19–3Jorge ReyesTKO6 Jan 15, 1972 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
21Win19–2Vicente Worrel Jr.KO2 Dec 18, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
20Win18–2Reynaldo MendozaTKO4Oct 10, 1971 Managua, Nicaragua
19Win17–2Emilio BuitragoUD10Oct 2, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, NicaraguaWon vacant Nicaraguan bantamweight title
18Win16–2Catalino AlvaradoKO1Aug 14, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
17Win15–2Emilio BuitragoTKO5 Jul 17, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
16Win14–2Marcial LoyolaTKO2Jun 26, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
15Win13–2Kid ChapulaKO1Jun 5, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
14Win12–2Mauricio BuitragoKO7 May 1, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
13Win11–2Julio HernandezUD10Apr 17, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
12Win10–2Julio Hernandez10Mar 13, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
11Win9–2Antonio QuirozKO6, 2:06Feb 13, 1971 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
10Win8–2Armando FigueroaTKO1Dec 19, 1970 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
9Win7–2Julio MoralesKO3Dec 5, 1970 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
8Win6–2Jose UrbinaKO1Nov 14, 1970 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
7Win5–2Mario BojorqueKO1 Sep 24, 1970 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
6Win4–2Marcelino BecklesTKO8 Sep 24, 1970 Gimnasio Nacional, San José, Costa Rica
5Loss3–2Oscar EspinosaSD6Apr 26, 1969 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
4Loss3–1Omar AmayaKO4Mar 1, 1969 León, Nicaragua
3Win3–0Burrito Martinez3Feb 15, 1969 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
2Win2–0Oscar Espinosa4Dec 14, 1968 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua
1Win1–0Israel Medina1 Oct 26, 1968 Estadio Thomas Cranshaw, Managua, Nicaragua