ALEXIS ARGUELLO DEAD FROM APPARENT SUICIDE
July 1st, 2009 By Pedro Fernandez
RING TALK.COM HAS SERVER GLITCHES
San Francisco, CA- Having known three division World champion Alexis Arguello since the early 80s, I had the privilege of spending eight days with him in his native Nicaragua. It was his dependency on Crack Cocaine that brought about my trip to Managua, Nicaragua nearly eight years ago. On a day when the website went down due to technical issues, Arguello’s death just made a bad day so much worse! I will have a special feature on Alexis Arguello forthcoming.
Indeed the classiest fighter ever. He never uttered a word to disgrace his opponents and instead praised them and stated what an honor it was to fight those guys. He will be missed. I only wish the urge to commit suicide would had overtaken Gilberto_Roman instead of Arguello.
Alexis was one of a kind and one of the most exciting boxers of his, or any, generation. It’s saddening that such a great fighter had such a tormented personal life. His fights with Pryor were two of the greatest ever, and who knows if he really lost the first one, considering Lewis’ later conviction. R.I.P. and bless you Alexis!
The best lightweight ever, Vaya en paz hermano.
R.I.P. to a legend and to one of my favorites.
He fought and beat most of the great fighters of his time. Beautiful textbook style. precise punching power. great chin. Not to mention Eddie Futch in his corner. He bit off a little to much moving up in weight to fight the nonstop Pryor. No shame in that. Alltime great for sure. Goodnight Sweet Prince.
How sad to read this information. I manage boxers and have yet to meet a man with the respect and politeness of Alexis. I pray that if what I have read is true, he is above with no more demons to haunt him. Sometimes, just because one is tough in a certin aspect of life, does not equal that he/she will be strong in every aspect. Drug dependant is an illness (often) and can not be broken by will alone. May God Bless all friends and family during this sad, sad, time.
When I fisrt started to really get into Boxing, there was this skinny man who was going to fight my Puerto Rican brethren, Alfredo Escalera and of course, I was Pro Escalera all the way. I had barely heard of this Arguello cat, but saw him beat down Escalera in a great fight. Afterwards, in my disappointment, I made sure to watch all of Arguello’s fights going forward in hopes of seeing him lose (Idiot, I know, but I was young). Well a funny thing happened along the way. As I followed his fights, I began to see not only this man’s warrior’s heart and skilled Boxing talent, but I also got to see a humble, kind, soft spoken, approachable gentleman who would not turn down any fan request. I became a huge fan of this Nicaraguan Gentleman Warrior and made it a point never to miss any of his fights. I don’t think I’ve ever rooted as hard for any fighter as I have for El Gran Caballero, Alexis. I must confess the first Pryor fight was the only time that I was drawn to tears by the loss of any fighter and till this day I refuse to see that fight again. Alexis, Rest In Peace Papa, and thank you for being who you were. A Humble Warrior. Dios Te Bendiga.
When I first started getting into boxing, I was a big fan of a Puerto Rican Fighter at the time named Alfredo Escalera. He was scheduled to fight some cat named Alexis Arguello and I of course knew my Boricua bretheren would win. I didn’t know much about this guy Arguello person and was not concerned. Boy was I wrong. He beat my guy pretty good. Twice, though they were good fights. After that I followed his fights in hopes of seeing him lose (Idiot, I know, but hey, I was young). Well a funny thing happened. As I continued to follow his fights, I began to shed my Puerto Rican blinders and instead of seeing a rival, I began to see a true warrior in the ring and a humble, classy, approachable gentleman outside of it. I was hooked. I became a huge Arguello fan and never looked back. This man epitomized everything that the sport was and should always be about. He left his heart and soul in the ring everytime he fought, and outside of it he represented the Boxing game as a true ambassador with his classy, charitable and heartfelt way about him. When he lost that fight against Aaron Pryor (in Miami), I’m not ashamed to say I cried. It was like seeing a family member get beat. Till this day, I haven’t seen a replay of that fight and I never will. Boxing has lost a Warrior, but humanity has lost a really good person. Rest in Peace FLACO, you will never be forgotten.
rip alexis you will be missed.
R.I.P and may god have mercy upon his soul and wtf gary b you even use this as an excuse to once again for the 826th time let us no you use to manage fighters? dude get a life
May god bless the “thin man” and may he finnaly recieve the peace he deserves.
Boxing lost a legend. A guy who gave his all every time out. Rest in peace champ.
Pedro…
Don’t look now but your trip down to see Alexis will have been 10 years ago come this fall… I seem to remember the night we met and you handed me a copy of Flash with your article on the front page… Arguello Hooked on Crack, Suicidal.
Looking forward to your article re this event… But I think you already told me the story once already.
RIP Alexis
September 1st, 1999 to be exact.
Suicide by gun to the chest? Uhh, no. To the head? Yes. But the chest? I’m not buying it.
I was just thinking what avenues can the sport of boxing pursue that would generate income for these former fighters. Arguello deserved better. If my memory serves me right all of his property was taken away from him by some rebel group. He should have had a comfortable retirement. Maybe an online service can be developed where fans of the sport can buy signed memorabilia from their favorite fighters. We have the technology today where it is possible to reproduce some of their greatest fights with the two fighters commentating what they were thinking as the rounds were progressing and how the outcome could have been different if they had used a different strategy. If they actually had a rematch and the outcome was different they could tell the adjustment (if any) that was made. They could also tell us how they got into the game, their training regimen, their fighting philosophy, techniques, diets, etc. Just a thought.
I loved alexis arguello, as I know you did, Pedro. May he RIP.