Connect with us

Featured Articles

Remembering Arguello

Published

on

1597977098 cf150Alexis Arguello was such a thorough boxer—a deadly puncher but frugal of movement, highly skilled on defense, always in condition, never unprepared—that it stands to reason his biographer would exhibit some of the same qualities. Christian Giudice’s Beloved Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Alexis Arguellochronicles the legendary Nicaraguan’s life and career with a methodical precision not unlike the way Arguello won so many fights. It will set the standard for Arguello biographies—should there be any others, in this elegiac boxing age.

Born in 1952 in Managua, where he and his siblings hunted iguana and possum with slingshots to supplement the family larder, Arguello rose to become Nicaragua’s first world boxing champion and as great a fighter as any of his generation, a three-division champion who never lost his titles in the ring (he vacated them to move up in weight), failing to win a fourth title only because he tried to take it from Aaron Pryor. Along the way, he became his country’s most revered but also most controversial citizen. Politically naïve, he was used by the Somoza regime and eventually the Sandinistas, though not before a quarter-century feud with the Daniel Ortega-led Communist movement made him an exile from his home.

It’s a wonder that Arguello’s story hasn’t been made into a movie. Its themes are bottomless and timeless: poverty, revolution, Cold War politics, fame and downfall, exile and return, and all along, two constants: ring triumph and the deep affection of most who knew him, including the men he fought. He was known as the Gentleman of the Ring, and it wasn’t just a public image: Arguello really was a noble sportsman and sensitive warrior. He was also profoundly troubled by the burden he carried, both of his family and his nation, and by the great athlete’s most bedeviling dilemma: what on earth to do when the game is over.

Giudice, who also authored a well-regarded Roberto Duran biography, writes about Arguello’s classic battles against men ranging from Ruben Olivares and Alfredo Escalera to Ray Mancini and Aaron Pryor with remarkable attention to detail—including boxing detail. Authors of boxing biographies often lavish words on almost everything but the fights themselves—the social atmosphere, the back stories. Giudice has some of that, too, but he also seems to have watched every round of Arguello’s fights; he barely misses an uppercut, jab, or hook. He knows about the aftermaths, too: we learn that Pryor’s body was covered in welts after his 1982 victory over Arguello in Miami, and that Arguello had “this huge gash or hole under his left eye” through which one “could see through to the eyeball.”

Nor does Giudice overlook life outside the ring, which for Arguello was rarely dull—right up to his final day, the events of which remain shrouded in mystery.

Many don’t buy the official story that Arguello committed suicide in 2009 by shooting himself in the chest; they have good reason to be suspicious. Police closed the investigation within 24 hours. Arguello family members who viewed his body saw bruises that might suggest a struggle. Suicide by firearm is more commonly done by pointing the gun at the head. No one who saw Arguello in his last days thought he was in despair. But his political relationships had become tense: while Arguello had re-embraced the Sandinistas and become mayor of Managua in a disputed election, he soon understood that he was being manipulated. Pryor, with whom he grew close after their two bruising fights, visited him during the mayoral campaign; Pryor’s wife described being escorted by machine-gun-wielding Sandinista guards who “pushed Alexis around.” Some claim that the Sandinistas feared Arguello would go public with what he knew of Sandinista corruption.

Yet Arguello’s life and personality are such that suicide can’t be ruled out. On the day before his death, the Sandinistas announced that Arguello would be publicly stripped of his mayoral powers, making him a figurehead. Arguello’s housekeeper said that he often joked about killing himself. And his torturous post-boxing battle with drug addiction had demonstrated that along with the kindness and innocent faith in people, and beneath the steely determination and will, lay considerable inner chaos. “No matter what happened the evening of Arguello’s death,” Giudice writes, “something or someone who knew his weaknesses pushed him to the brink, through threats or other intimidation tactics.” That may be as close as we get to the truth.

Giudice notes how one of Arguello’s proudest moments came in 2008, when he carried the Nicaraguan flag into the Olympic Games—just ahead of the flag-bearer for the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao, another national hero whose journey resembles Arguello’s: both from impoverished countries, both attaining iconic status, both drawn to politics. We can only hope that Pacquiao’s story has a happier ending than the saga of El Flaco Explosivo (the Explosive Thin Man), who found in boxing the one arena of life that he could truly control.

“All his mistakes were made out of desperation,” Cuban author Enrique Encinosa tells Giudice. Except in the ring.

Comment on this article

Share The Sweet Science experience!
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Ekow-Essuman-Upsets-Josh-Taylor-and-Moses-Itauma-Blasts-Out-Mike-Balogun-in-Glasgow
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Ekow Essuman Upsets Josh Taylor and Moses Itauma Blasts Out Mike Balogun in Glasgow

Newspaperman-Playwright-Author-Bobby-Cassidy-Jr-Commemorates-his-Fighting-Father
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Newspaperman/Playwright/Author Bobby Cassidy Jr Commemorates His Fighting Father

A-Night-of-Mismatches-Turns-Topsy-Turvy-at-Mandalay-Bay-Resendiz-Shocks-Plant
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Night of Mismatches Turns Topsy-Turvy at Mandalay Bay; Resendiz Shocks Plant

Avila-Perspective-Chap-330-Matchroom-in-New-York-plus-the-latest-on-Canelo-Crawford
Featured Articles4 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 330: Matchroom in New York plus the Latest on Canelo-Crawford

Italy-Mourns-the-Death-of-Legendary-Boxer-Nino-Benvenuti
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Italy Mourns the Death of Legendary Boxer Nino Benvenuti

in-A-Trubute-Wedded-to-Memorial-Day-Boxing-Writer-David-Avila-Pays-Homage-to-Absent-Friends
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

In a Tribute Wedded to Memorial Day, Boxing Writer David Avila Pays Homage to Absent Friends

Vinny-Paz-is-Going-into-the-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame-Hey-why-Not-Roger-Mayweather?
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Vinny Paz is Going into the Boxing Hall of Fame; Hey, Why Not Roger Mayweather?

Remembering-the-Under-Appreciated-Body-Snatcher-Mike-McCallum,-a-Conusmmate-Pro
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Remembering the Under-Appreciated “Body Snatcher” Mike McCallum, a Consummate Pro    

Avila-Perspective-Chap-228-Viva-Las-Vegas-Back-in-the-Boxing-Spotlight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 228: Viva Las Vegas, Back in the Boxing Spotlight

Opetaia-and-Nakatani-Crush-Overmatched-Foes-Capping-Off-a-Wild-Boxing-Weekend
Featured Articles1 week ago

Opetaia and Nakatani Crush Overmatched Foes, Capping Off a Wild Boxing Weekend

Results-and-Recaps-from-Las-Vegas-Where-Melikuziev-Nipped-Fulghum-in-a-Fierce-Fight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Results and Recaps from Las Vegas Where Melikuziev Nipped Fulghum in a Fierce Battle

Pacquiao-is-Back,-Fabio-in-England-and-More.jpg
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap 329: Pacquiao is Back, Fabio in England and More

Fabio-Wardley-Comes-from-Behind-to-KO-Justis-Huni
Featured Articles1 week ago

Fabio Wardley Comes from Behind to KO Justis Huni  

Angelo-Leo-Retains-His-Featherweight-Title-Before-a-Hostile-Crowd-in-Osaka
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Angelo Leo Retains His Featherweight Title Before a Hostile Crowd in Osaka

Delving-Into-'Hoopa'-With-Notes-on-Books-by-George-Plimpton-and-Joyce-Carol-Oates
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Delving into ‘Hoopla’ with Notes on Books by George Plimpton and Joyce Carol Oates

Local-Fan-Favorites-Terri-Harpet-and-Maxi-Hughes-Victorious-in-Doncaster
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Local Fan Favorites Terri Harper and Maxi Hughes Victorious in Doncaster

The-Shafting-of-Blair-the-Flair-Cobbs-a-Familar-Thread-in-the-Cruelest-Sport
Featured Articles6 days ago

The Shafting of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, a Familiar Thread in the Cruelest Sport

Catching-Up-with-Clay-Moyle-Who-Talks-About-His-Massive-Collection-of-Boxing-Books
Featured Articles2 days ago

Catching Up with Clay Moyle Who Talks About His Massive Collection of Boxing Books

Richardson-Hitchins-Batters-and-Stops-George-Kambosos-at-Madison-Square-Garden
Featured Articles3 days ago

Richardson Hitchins Batters and Stops George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden 

Catching-Up-with-Clay-Moyle-Who-Talks-About-His-Massive-Collection-of-Boxing-Books
Featured Articles2 days ago

Catching Up with Clay Moyle Who Talks About His Massive Collection of Boxing Books

Richardson-Hitchins-Batters-and-Stops-George-Kambosos-at-Madison-Square-Garden
Featured Articles3 days ago

Richardson Hitchins Batters and Stops George Kambosos at Madison Square Garden 

Avila-Perspective-Chap-330-Matchroom-in-New-York-plus-the-latest-on-Canelo-Crawford
Featured Articles4 days ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 330: Matchroom in New York plus the Latest on Canelo-Crawford

The-Shafting-of-Blair-the-Flair-Cobbs-a-Familar-Thread-in-the-Cruelest-Sport
Featured Articles6 days ago

The Shafting of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, a Familiar Thread in the Cruelest Sport

Opetaia-and-Nakatani-Crush-Overmatched-Foes-Capping-Off-a-Wild-Boxing-Weekend
Featured Articles1 week ago

Opetaia and Nakatani Crush Overmatched Foes, Capping Off a Wild Boxing Weekend

Fabio-Wardley-Comes-from-Behind-to-KO-Justis-Huni
Featured Articles1 week ago

Fabio Wardley Comes from Behind to KO Justis Huni  

Pacquiao-is-Back,-Fabio-in-England-and-More.jpg
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap 329: Pacquiao is Back, Fabio in England and More

Delving-Into-'Hoopa'-With-Notes-on-Books-by-George-Plimpton-and-Joyce-Carol-Oates
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Delving into ‘Hoopla’ with Notes on Books by George Plimpton and Joyce Carol Oates

Remembering-the-Under-Appreciated-Body-Snatcher-Mike-McCallum,-a-Conusmmate-Pro
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

Remembering the Under-Appreciated “Body Snatcher” Mike McCallum, a Consummate Pro    

A-Night-of-Mismatches-Turns-Topsy-Turvy-at-Mandalay-Bay-Resendiz-Shocks-Plant
Featured Articles2 weeks ago

A Night of Mismatches Turns Topsy-Turvy at Mandalay Bay; Resendiz Shocks Plant

Results-and-Recaps-from-Las-Vegas-Where-Melikuziev-Nipped-Fulghum-in-a-Fierce-Fight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Results and Recaps from Las Vegas Where Melikuziev Nipped Fulghum in a Fierce Battle

Avila-Perspective-Chap-228-Viva-Las-Vegas-Back-in-the-Boxing-Spotlight
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Avila Perspective, Chap. 228: Viva Las Vegas, Back in the Boxing Spotlight

Vinny-Paz-is-Going-into-the-Boxing-Hall-of-Fame-Hey-why-Not-Roger-Mayweather?
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Vinny Paz is Going into the Boxing Hall of Fame; Hey, Why Not Roger Mayweather?

Newspaperman-Playwright-Author-Bobby-Cassidy-Jr-Commemorates-his-Fighting-Father
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Newspaperman/Playwright/Author Bobby Cassidy Jr Commemorates His Fighting Father

Ekow-Essuman-Upsets-Josh-Taylor-and-Moses-Itauma-Blasts-Out-Mike-Balogun-in-Glasgow
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Ekow Essuman Upsets Josh Taylor and Moses Itauma Blasts Out Mike Balogun in Glasgow

Angelo-Leo-Retains-His-Featherweight-Title-Before-a-Hostile-Crowd-in-Osaka
Featured Articles3 weeks ago

Angelo Leo Retains His Featherweight Title Before a Hostile Crowd in Osaka

in-A-Trubute-Wedded-to-Memorial-Day-Boxing-Writer-David-Avila-Pays-Homage-to-Absent-Friends
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

In a Tribute Wedded to Memorial Day, Boxing Writer David Avila Pays Homage to Absent Friends

Local-Fan-Favorites-Terri-Harpet-and-Maxi-Hughes-Victorious-in-Doncaster
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Local Fan Favorites Terri Harper and Maxi Hughes Victorious in Doncaster

Italy-Mourns-the-Death-of-Legendary-Boxer-Nino-Benvenuti
Featured Articles4 weeks ago

Italy Mourns the Death of Legendary Boxer Nino Benvenuti

Boxing-Notes-and-Nuggets-from-Thomas-Hauser
Featured Articles1 month ago

Boxing Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending