Featured Articles
Beloved Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Alexis Arguello–Review by Thomas Hauser
I met Alexis Arguello in 1986, six months after The Black Lights (my initial foray into boxing writing) was published. The book tracked the career of WBC 140-pound champion Billy Costello and culminated in his successful title defense against Saoul Mamby. In his next bout, Billy suffered the first loss of his career at the hands of Lonnie Smith.
Meanwhile, Arguello was nearing the end of a hall-of-fame career that had seen him dominate in three weight classes. His place in history as a Nicaraguan icon and one boxing’s great fighters was secure.
Arguello and Costello met in the ring on February 9, 1986, in Reno, Nevada. That morning, I had breakfast with Eddie Futch, who trained Alexis. James Shuler (an undefeated middleweight also trained by Futch) joined us. Four weeks later, Shuler was knocked out in the first round by Thomas Hearns. Seven days after that, he was killed in a motorcycle accident.
After breakfast, Futch brought me upstairs and I spent some time with Arguello. He had movie-star looks with an elegance and grace that conjured up images of Omar Sharif.
Arguello-Costello was scheduled for ten rounds. Alexis was a 2-to-1 favorite. Billy won the first three stanzas on each judge’s scorecard. One minute into round four, Arguello landed a textbook righthand followed by a left hook that separated Billy from his senses and deposited him on the canvas. Forty seconds later, the fight was over.
I have many memories from the decades that I’ve been writing about boxing. Most of them are good. One of the most painful is the recollection of Billy sobbing in his dressing room after the fight. Twenty-six years later, I can still see it; I still hear him. His heart was broken.
Those thoughts came flooding back when I read Beloved Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Alexis Arguello by Christian Giudice.
Arguello was born in Nicaragua in 1952 and turned pro at age sixteen. He lost four fights early in his career and won his first world championship at 126 pounds with a thrilling thirteenth-round come-from-behind knockout of Ruben Olivares in 1974. Victories over the likes of Alfredo Escalera, Bobby Chacon, Ruben Castillo, Cornelius Boza-Edwards, James Watt, and Ray Mancini followed.
As a fighter, Arguello was a consummate professional. He was tall with superb technique and power and deployed his weapons with consistency and patience. In the ring, Giudice notes, “he pondered each punch, carefully analyzed each open space, and never rushed to get to the finish line.”
He also conducted himself like a champion should, never mocking an opponent or disrespecting the sweet science. “Boxing is a beautiful sport,” Arguello said.
“No one could prepare you for how hard he hit,” Mancini (a fourteenth-round knockout victim) added.
The magic carpet ride came to an end for Arguello with a brutal fourteenth-round knockout loss at the hands of Aaron Pryor in 1982.
“Arguello fought a winning fight,” Steve Farhood said of that night. “There was nothing he didn’t do.” But Pryor was greater. The bout ended with Alexis battered into submission, lying unconscious on the ring canvas.
“That was his night,” Arguello said later, “like it was my night against Olivares. It happened to Sugar Ray Robinson; it happened to Muhammad Ali; and it happened to me. That is a life cycle that none of us can avoid. What we do when we come in, they do to us when we go out.”
Ten months later, Arguello and Pryor fought again with Aaron ending the contest on a tenth-round knockout. Alexis’s final record was 77 wins against 8 losses with 62 knockouts.
Larry Merchant calls Arguello and Roberto Duran immediate forerunners of the Latino dominance of boxing in the United States. He adds that Duran was “a tough street kid” while Arguello was cast in the role of “a Spanish gentleman.”
In reality, they both came from the streets.
After retiring from boxing, Arguello fell victim to liquor and drugs. During the course of his life, he had five stormy marriages and numerous children.
There’s a wealth of information in Beloved Warrior. On the negative side of the ledger, the writing is a bit flat. And the slow progesss from fight to fight recalls the words of George Bernard Shaw, who was given a copy of Gene Tunney’s autobiography by the author. After receiving the book, Shaw wrote back to the former heavyweight champion, “Just as one prayer meeting is very like another, one fight is very like another. At a certain point, I wanted to skip to Dempsey.”
The most interesting portions of Giudice’s book detail Arguello’s involvement in Nicaraguan political life and his relationship with Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega. After the Sandinistas overthrew Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Samoza in 1979, Arguello’s financial assets and real estate holdings were confiscated. Eventually, he reconciled and aligned with Ortega, who, for his own political ends, engineered Arguello’s 1994 election as vice mayor of Managua.
“Arguello was reduced to a punch-drunk journeyman when he decided to allow Daniel Ortega back into his life,” Giudice posits. “Although he told himself his decision had to do with aiding the poor and resolving bitter conflict, when he made his final pact with this devil, failure was the only outcome. In the ring, few could match his boxing IQ. In the political arena, he was clearly overmatched.”
Then, in 2008, Ortega engineered a campaign by Arguello for the mayoralty of Managua. “I gave you three titles,” Alexis told the voters. “I represented you honestly. Now I need you.”
He was narrowly elected amidst widespread allegations of voting fraud. Thereafter, Giudice writes, “All Nicaraguans knew that Arguello was involved in an illegitimate election. A clearly frustrated Arguello had to live with the reality that, having cemented his role with the Sandinista Party, he had to blend in with its ugly charade. Thirty years earlier, Arguello, a champion, had the power to question authority. He no longer had leverage. As a former addict rescued by the Sandinista Party, Arguello was powerless, a puppet for Daniel Ortega and First Lady Rosario Murillo to control at their behest.”
“Alexis knew that the Sandinistas were manipulating him,” journalist Edgar Tijerino told Guidice. “During his several months as mayor of Managua, he knew he was handpicked because he could be controlled. No longer was Arguello allowed to think for himself or act on his own accord.”
On July, 2009, Arguello was found dead in his bedroom, killed by a single shotgun wound to the chest. The official explanation was suicide. Recounting and weighing the evidence, Giudice finds this explanation more likely than not and concludes that Alexis “fell victim to the self-pity and recklessness” that characterized much of his life after he retired from boxing.
Is there a moral to the story?
Arguello carried the Nicaraguan flag at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The standard-bearer for the Philippines at the same games was Manny Pacquiao.
Thomas Hauser can be reached by email at thauser@rcn.com. His newest book (And the New: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing) will be published later this summer the University of Arkansas Press.
Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.
The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.
Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.
The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.
An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.
Moses Itauma
Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.
His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.
Photo (c): Mark Robinson
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.
Bohachuk-Davis
In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.
Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.
Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.
Fisher-Allen
In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.
Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.
In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.
He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Other Bouts of Note
In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.
A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.
In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.
McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.
The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.
Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.
The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.
That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.
The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)
Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)
Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.
Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).
Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.
The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.
Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.
Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.
We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”
The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.
Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.
Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.
Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.
There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.
It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.
Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.
At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Remembering the Macho Man, Hector Camacho, a Great Sporting Character
A Shocker in Tijuana: Bruno Surace KOs Jaime Munguia !!
R.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46
Fighting on His Home Turf, Galal Yafai Pulverizes Sunny Edwards
The Noted Trainer Kevin Henry, Lucky to Be Alive, Reflects on Devin Haney and More
Introducing Jaylan Phillips, Boxing’s Palindrome Man
Avila Perspective, Chap. 306: Flyweight Rumble in England, Ryan Garcia in SoCal
Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City
Results from the Chumash Casino where Akhmedov Gave a GGG-like Performance
Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix
L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year
Avila Perspective, Chap. 307: Destination Puerto Rico, Israel Vazquez and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More
The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins Wins IBF 140-Pound Title in Puerto Rico
Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price Win in Liverpool; Cutler Upsets McKenna
A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix
The Challenge of Playing Muhammad Ali
Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year
Steven Navarro is the TSS 2024 Prospect of the Year
The Challenge of Playing Muhammad Ali
L.A.’s Rudy Hernandez is the 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year
A Shocker in Tijuana: Bruno Surace KOs Jaime Munguia !!
Ringside in Ontario where Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel Battled to a Spirited Draw
Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price Win in Liverpool; Cutler Upsets McKenna
Results from the Chumash Casino where Akhmedov Gave a GGG-like Performance
Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More
Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City
Introducing Jaylan Phillips, Boxing’s Palindrome Man
Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix
Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins Wins IBF 140-Pound Title in Puerto Rico
A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix
Recaps from London where Bentley, Noakes, and Okolie Emerged Victorious
Avila Perspective, Chap. 307: Destination Puerto Rico, Israel Vazquez and More
The IBHOF Unveils its Newest Inductees: Manny Pacquiao is the Icing on the Cake
Navarrete-Valdez and Espinoza-Ramirez Rematches Headline Phoenix Fight Fiesta
-
Featured Articles4 weeks agoRemembering the Macho Man, Hector Camacho, a Great Sporting Character
-
Featured Articles1 week agoA Shocker in Tijuana: Bruno Surace KOs Jaime Munguia !!
-
Featured Articles3 weeks agoR.I.P Israel Vazquez who has Passed Away at age 46
-
Featured Articles3 weeks agoFighting on His Home Turf, Galal Yafai Pulverizes Sunny Edwards
-
Featured Articles4 weeks agoThe Noted Trainer Kevin Henry, Lucky to Be Alive, Reflects on Devin Haney and More
-
Featured Articles2 weeks agoIntroducing Jaylan Phillips, Boxing’s Palindrome Man
-
Featured Articles3 weeks agoAvila Perspective, Chap. 306: Flyweight Rumble in England, Ryan Garcia in SoCal
-
Featured Articles2 weeks agoCardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City