Alexis Arguello

The great Alexis Arguello is the greatest to have come out of Nicaragua, and is best known for his famous fights with Aaron Pryor. It was Pryor who prevented the Nicaraguan from winning a title in a fourth division. For modern boxing fans, the name Alexis Arguello may ring bells for those who are fans of today’s Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, as it is Arguello who is responsible for fostering the rise of the great Gonzalez.

Arguello the master, and Gonzalez the apprentice

Inspired to box

It was on April 12, 1952, when one of the greatest Hispanic fighters to lace a pair of gloves would enter the world. Alexis Arguello was born into the slums of Nicaragua. Nicaragua was in political turmoil, ruled by the Somoza family dictatorship. Arguello’s older brother-in-law,  Eduardo Mojico, was a world contender himself, and if it wasn’t for him, maybe Arguello would never have ever boxed. Arguello was inspired to box, after Eduardo purchased him his first set of gloves.

Youngster in the Beating Men

At the age of 16, Arguello turned professional in 1968, which was actually illegal at the time because Nicaraguan required you to be 18. But Arguello’s family needed the money. After 3 wins in 5 fights, Arguello was found out and had his license taken away. The time off served him well, allowing him to improve his skills. After 34 fights and over 5 years, the 21 year travelled to Panama City in 1974 to challenge the Panamanian Ernesto Marcel for his WBA featherweight title. Marcel, an experienced and talented fighter, was too much for the young Arguello and soundly outpointed the younger fighter in an unanimous decision. Arguello afterwards respectfully said: “I had so much to learn, but he taught me that I must work even harder to succeed.”

Winning the Championship

Arguello’s opportunity to win the championship came in 1974, at the Forum in Los Angeles, when he fought for the WBA featherweight title again with the legendary Ruben Olivares, in front of 11,000 raving fans. Olivares showed his greatness, rocking Arguello a few times in the fight, and built up a lead. But Arguello showed his own greatness, coming through and knocking Olivares out in the thirteenth round. The 22-year old Arguello was now the featherweight champion of the world, and a popular figure in his native Nicaragua.

Targeting Higher Divisions

After a couple title defences, Arguello moved up to the 130lbs division in 1978, stopping Alfredo Escalera in 13 rounds to capture the WBC super featherweight title. Arguello’s popularity was increasing, and so too was his belt collection. After defending his title 8 times, Arguello challenged the Scottish Jim Watt for his lightweight title in Wembley, London. Alexis defeated Watt in 15 rounds to become the sixth fighter to win titles in three divisions.

One Step Too Far

After defending his title and defeating Kevin Rooney in 2 rounds, Arguello attempted to  win a title in a fourth division, but was stopped by Aaron Pryor. In their 1982 bout, Arguello lost via a 14th round TKO to the Cincinnati Hawk. However, the HBO broadcast picked up Aaron’s corner calling for ‘the special mix’ in between rounds, creating doubt around the purity of Pryor’s win. In the 1983 rematch, there was little doubt about this result. Pryor repeated his victory, this time by a tenth round KO, after Arguello chose not to get back up, saying ‘I didn’t get up because I didn’t want to risk my life’. He had nothing to prove.

Later Life

After the Pryor rematch, Arguello  was inactive in 1984 but fought 4 times from 1985 to 1995. Arguello later died in 2009, but the flame of ‘The Explosive Man’ still lives today, through today’s pound for pound number 1 king Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, who was tutored by Alexis Arguello.