IF the world was rocked by the death of pop genius Michael Jackson, boxing felt an equally crushing blow on Wednesday (July 1, 2009) with the sudden passing of Alexis Arguello, the legendary Nicaraguan who won โ and never lost โ world titles in three divisions.
He was found dead at his Managua home, aged only 57. A post mortem was to be carried out to determine the cause of death after this issue had gone to press, but there was some speculation that he had committed suicide.
It was no secret Arguello had struggled more than most following his retirement in January 1995, following the points loss to Scott Walker, a club-fighter, in Las Vegas. There had been several suicide attempts over the years.
Arguello was 42 against Walker, long past his immaculate prime, the days when he overcame Ray โBoom Boomโ Mancini, Mexican southpaw Jose Luis Ramirez, Britainโs Cornelius Boza-Edwards, Rolando Navarrete, Californian Golden Boy Bobby Chacon and Rafael โBazookaโ Limon, all of whom would go on to become world champions.
But it was thought the Hall of Famer had got his life together, having been elected mayor of Managua last year when he ran for the Sandinista National Liberation Front Party.
It was as if he had finally discovered peace at last, that to be voted into such an esteemed position served to provide, to some degree, the adoration and respect he always enjoyed from his fans as a fighter, as well as closure on a dark political chapter earlier in his life.
Arguello had fled to the United States during a civil war as the left wing Sandinista regime took over in 1979 and confiscated his home worth up to half a million dollars. The bloodshed also claimed the life of Arguelloโs younger brother.
This all came several years after Arguello had a home destroyed by a violent earthquake in 1972.
Arguello bravely returned to the battlefront to fight against the takeover, ploughed much of his own wealth into purchasing medical supplies and clothing for his โpeopleโ and this earned him much respect and sympathy.
He took that courage into the ring. He was as cool and composed a fighter as anyone could possibly imagine. Eddie Futch, his American trainer, once described him as having โthe best concentration of any fighter he had seen.โ
His tall, wiry 5ft 10in frame, coupled with the power that saw him knock out or stop 65 from 82 career wins, made the nickname โExplosive Thin Manโ more than appropriate.
But as well as being a ruthless, calculated puncher โ he could knock out an opponent early or late and with the straight right or left hook โ Arguello was a master boxer and superb tactician.
Jim Watt, Britainโs former WBC lightweight champion, discovered that at Wembley in 1981, when Arguello came over to challenge him, bidding for his third โworldโ title in so many divisions during a time when there were only two governing bodies in operation.
Southpaw Watt was making his sixth defence and had already seen off Howard Davis, Americaโs Val Barker winner from the 1976 Olympics, and Sean OโGrady.
When I broke the news of Arguelloโs death to him this week, Watt recalled his fight with the Nicaraguan.
โWhat a classy guy,โ he said. โIโd won the title late. I knew it wasnโt going to last. I thought Iโd get as many defences as I could and get money in the bank.
โBoxers are great guys, but sometimes thereโs trash-talking. Iโd been through it against Charlie Nash and OโGrady. The first time I met Alexis was at a press conference in London. He walked over, held out his hand and said, โPleased to meet you, Jim. Howโs your family?โโ
โWhat do you say to that? It threw me completely. I didnโt expect him to be such a gentleman. But thatโs how he conducted himself, impeccably.โ
The unflappable, charming, strikingly handsome Arguello wouldnโt fall for anything Watt tried in the ring.
โHe was noticeably better than anyone I boxed. Iโd perhaps reached the stage where I didnโt have the same ambition as when I fought Davis. But Arguello was always in front of you, not in a Barry McGuigan high- tempo sort of way. But he just had such long arms and used the range so well. He could thump to the body, too.โ
Japanโs Royal Kobayashi, knocked out in five by Arguello for the WBA featherweight title in 1975 (Alexisโ third defence), said he just couldnโt see those wicked body shots coming.
โHe was competent at everything he did,โ said Watt. โThere was nothing flashy. In the early rounds he hit me with a jab and I remember thinking, โChrist!โ That was a jab! It [the power] must have come from his terrific balance.
โI had thrived on annoying opponents, getting them to make mistakes, then hit them with the southpaw jab. But with Alexis, forget it. He threw punches when he knew it was time.
โI couldnโt have lost to a classier fighter. He was better than I was. I knew halfway into that fight I wasnโt going to beat him.โ
Yet while Watt never had any difficulty walking away from boxing โ in fact he must be one of the very few who actually looked forward to retirement โ Arguello found it painfully difficult.
The news of Alexisโ death came as a particular shock to Watt because theyโd met each other again only last year.
โI thought he had his life back in order,โ said Jim. โNothing looked wrong with his health. It must be so difficult with all the highs he had in his career. I always knew that as soon as the title went, then so would I.
โI enjoyed being a former champ as much as I did being the champ. Some fighters canโt. Itโs tragic what has happened. But Alexis was a special fighter. That he never lost in the ring any of the titles he won puts him in a special club.โ
Watt was also one of many who believed Arguello would make history in November 1982 in Miami when he challenged Aaron Pryor, the wild and extravagant American WBA light-welterweight champion. Victory would have made Arguello the first boxer in history to bag world titles in four divisions.
Their 14-round thriller is one of the greatest fights of the modern era. Arguello hit Pryor with everything, but simply couldnโt shift him and, having given his all, was smashed to defeat.
They would meet again, nearly a year later in Las Vegas, and again it was a spectacular show. Arguello was dumped early, but got up, tagged Pryor with some superb rights, and, resigned by having failed to make an impression, famously sat out the count in the 10th round. He knew heโd been beaten.
That wasnโt typical Arguello. He was no quitter. But Pryor was special and the two, curiously, would form a remarkable bond in the years that followed.
Tris Dixon, my colleague, phoned Pryor for his reaction to the stunning news and Aaron was understandably torn.
Usually, they get together each year at Canastotaโs Hall of Fame. But, for whatever reason, Arguello wasnโt there this year.
Pryorโs wife, Frankie, said: โWe missed him. But I canโt believe it [that heโs dead]. Aaronโs pretty upset. We have always been close. We went out to Nicaragua to help him campaign for two weeks when he became mayor.
โAlexisโ son and Aaronโs son were at elementary school in Miami together and from the time of the fight theyโve been friends. I always remember Alexis saying he and Aaron had a unique relationship.
โIn Nicaragua they called Aaron Alexisโ Papa because he had taught him life lessons. Aaron adored Alexis and the feeling was mutual.โ
The pair shared common life experiences, having both conquered demons with drugs even though they came from very different beginnings.
โI was just so happy for him when he became mayor,โ said Pryor. โWe went to his country and there were 300,000 there for him. They loved Alexis. He was in good shape and living a good life. I will never have a friend like him again. Itโs really hurt my heart. I didnโt know how to conduct myself until I met him. He was a gentleman. He was my best friend.โ
Arguello didnโt fight again for two years after the second Pryor loss. The defeat was crushing and impacted heavily on his life. Thatโs when the cocaine-use problems started and was followed by a break-up in the family. The five houses, a yacht, Mercedes and BMW, plus wife and four children, went as well.
So Arguello returned to the ring, thrashed former WBC 10st champ Billy Costello in his second fight back, but then quit again when diagnosed with a heart problem.
No-one ever thought theyโd see Arguello fight again. But over eight years later, against his better judgement and getting into middle age, he tried once more. Those splendid gifts of his youth had gone, however, even if Alexis refused to accept it until Walker beat him.
In his prime he was such a sleek fighter, though. He cut Alfredo Escalera to ribbons in their WBC super-featherweight title first fight in 1978 and then knocked him out in the same time in the return in Italy the next year. In 1974 he had also knocked out Ruben Olivares in 13 before 14,000 fans in Los Angeles as a featherweight.
Only eight defeats in 90 professional fights for a kid who grew up on the streets and had to go to work at 13 is some achievement. He made his mark in the toughest of all sports.
Itโs a reflection of how highly regarded Arguello was that during the 1980s heโd been mentioned as a possible opponent for welterweight champ Sugar Ray Leonard and that in 1978 some believed him to be the only legitimate threat to then-9st 9lbs king Roberto Duran.
Arguelloโs trainer of the time, Al Silvani, certainly believed so. He remembers the day he first set eyes on Arguello.
โHis manager called me to Managua and asked me to start training him,โ he said.
โI went down and first thing I wanted to do was look him over. I didnโt want to try to change him. I only wanted to observe him to see how he trained, to see how dedicated he was, to see his style.
โI didnโt want to wake him up. I wanted to see if he would get up on his own. Well, 10 minutes went by, then 15, then 20 and pretty soon I started to wonder if this kid was lazy and needed to be pushed.
โJust about the time I decided to wake him up, he comes in from outside. He had already done his running.
โRight then and there I realised how much dedication he had.โ