The following lines date from approximately nine or ten years ago, but have been updated with some additions. All of them have been brought to this page to remember with nostalgia one of the greatest boxers of all times: the Nicaraguan Andrés Alexis Argüello Bohórquez. His tragic and heartfelt death was 19 years ago on July 1st. Today, in homage to his memory, we offer a personal episode that keeps a close and emotional relationship with the name of the liberator of five nations, the great Caracas-born Simón Bolívar, the Father of our Homeland Venezuela.
As is well known to followers of boxing and sports in general, Alexis, was 57 years old when he died in his residence in Managua, victim of a gunshot wound to the chest. This fact was never fully clarified, although the authorities filed it as a suicide, attributing it to a possible depressive state of the boxer.
By then, Alexis was the mayor of his hometown, from where he had projected himself to the top of the world titles. He was WBA featherweight champion from 1974-1976, and WBC super featherweight and lightweight champion from 1978-1982. With these achievements, he wrote his name in the golden pages of Latin American and world boxing history.
In addition to all this, “Flaco Explosivo” (as he was baptized by his countryman, journalist Edgar Tijerino) was ranked by The Ring magazine as the best junior lightweight of all time and was among the 20 best boxers of any era in the last century.
His brilliant career was recognized by the sports leadership of his country, which in 1999 honored him as Sportsman of the Millennium, in addition to being named Best Boxer of All Time and People’s Champion.
Alexis fought between 1968 and 1995 (27 years). He made his professional debut on October 26, 1968 with a first round KO over Israel Medina and closed his career with a decision loss to Scott Walker in Las Vegas on January 21, 1995. In that long career, he accumulated 77 victories, 62 by KO, and lost 8 fights, 4 of them by knockout before the limit.
“WHERE IS THE HOUSE OF THE LIBERATOR?”
This occasion provides an opportunity to tell an interesting anecdote about him, which is not related to boxing, but reflects another facet of his life. As we said, Alexis dedicated 27 years of his life to boxing, a career that ended dramatically at the age of 57.
This story, written more than 49 years ago and published in the sports pages of the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, serves to show an unknown aspect of a boxer who, unlike others in the sport, had concerns that went beyond the routine of the gym and the fight in the ring.
It all happened when he traveled to Caracas in March 1975 to defend his World Boxing Association featherweight championship for the first time, facing Venezuelan challenger Leonel Hernandez at the Poliedro on March 15 of that year. Alexis had won the 126 belt in an epic fight against Mexican legend Ruben “Púas” Olivares, whom he knocked out in the 13th round in Los Angeles, California, on November 23, 1974.
It was my turn as a source reporter to interview him. We knew that, from a young age, Alexis had dropped out of school in the third grade due to financial difficulties at home and had taken up professional boxing at an early age. We also knew, from Tijerino himself, that he was an avid reader. Perhaps this is why we were not surprised when, in the middle of the interview, Alexis asked us an unexpected question:
-How do I visit the birthplace of the Liberator Simon Bolivar? Is it near here? Should I go by taxi-? It is the first thing I am going to do in Caracas, before visiting any other places.
It was the first time, in many years covering boxing, that a professional in the ring talked to us about something different from the usual boxing topics, such as how many rounds he had trained for his fight, how many bouts he had won, and the like.
The next day, we learned that the champion had visited the colonial house where Bolivar saw the light for the first time.
A few days later, on March 15, 1975, in a crowded Poliedro with about 20,000 local fans, Argüello showed no mercy to Leonel Hernández. In 8 rounds, with calm and precision, he demolished an impotent Hernandez, who was crushed with relative ease by the great Central American fighter.
Argüello is the only Nicaraguan boxer in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. Interestingly, his plaque is located next to Muhammad Ali’s. In his impressive career, Alexis contested 22 fights with a world title at stake, of which he won 17 by KO, 2 by decision and lost 3, including a loss to Panama’s Ernesto “Ñato” Marcel, and two more to the American Aaron “El Halcón” Pryor, in two memorable fights that are part of boxing history, of which we will tell more details on another occasion.
