El Flaco Explosivo - Remembering Alexis Arguello

By Daxx Kahn July 7th, 2009 All Boxing Articles

Growing up as children, one of the hardest things we learn to deal with is reality. It just baffles our little minds when we find out Santa Claus is not real, that Superman is just a cartoon and our favorite athletes put on their pants one leg at a time, just like everyone else.

The only thing that seems unreal when finding these things out is the fact that they are the truth. But, in time we learn to deal with it and though at the moment we feel our world has come to an end, we eventually accept these truths.

As adults, the truth, while we have learned to accept it at times, does not make it any easier. The news that broke on Wednesday, July 1st that Alexis Arguello was dead was one of those times.

As a kid growing up, Alexis, to me, was every hero one could ever imagine all rolled up into one small 135lb package.

Alexis' televised fights were events in my house. My parents, uncles, aunts and cousins all gathered around the TV to watch our our man Arguello conquer opponent after opponent in a fashion that only he could.

We would scream at every punch landed and celebrate in between rounds, even before the bout was finished, confident that the champion from Managua, Nicaragua would rise up victorious before the night was through. More...

Al Bernstein On Boxing: It’s All In The Title

By Al Bernstein July 3rd, 2009 All Boxing Articles

When an athlete or any celebrity writes a book, an all important element is the title. And over the years, many projects have had titles that did not make the final cut.

I had a book project that had an original title that I thought was inspired--“My Life As Boxing’s Sex Symbol.” For some unfathomable reason, an editor ruled it out. Go figure.

Here are some other book titles that you will never see on the front of a book jacket.

Creative Baby Names
By George Foreman

Father Knows Best
By Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Weight Loss Guaranteed
By James Toney

Defend Yourself At All Times
By Arturo Gatti-- with a foreword by Mickey Ward More...

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum Mourns Passing Of Boxing Legend Alexis Arguello

By Boxing Press July 1st, 2009 All Press Releases

Bob Arum CEO of Top Rank, has issued a statement after hearing the news on the passing of three-division world champion and 1992 International Boxing Hall of Fame member Alexis Arguello.

"We at Top Rank are very saddened to learn about the death of Alexis Arguello. Alexis was one of the world's greatest fighters and champions. More importantly, he was a real man, a true gentleman and a loyal friend. He will be greatly missed." More...

Boxing Perspective: Does Hatton vs. Pacquiao Parallel Pryor vs. Arguello?

By Daxx Kahn March 18th, 2009 All Boxing Articles

Just under 27 years ago, two men stepped into the ring and created the most memorable 140lb bout to ever take place when former three division champion Alexis "El Flaco Explosivo" Arguello stepped up to challenge then reigning WBA light welterweight champion Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor in his quest for a fourth division championship.

Arguello, the crowd favorite by far, had not lost in five years and was widely considered one of boxing's pound for pound greats, while Pryor was undefeated and had developed an aura of invincibility, stopping 29 of his 31 previous opponents.

The bout did not disappoint onlookers in any way, shape or form as the two men went to war, giving it all they had until finally Arguello had enough and the bout was halted in the 14th round.

Until this day, no other 140lb bout has captured the heart of boxing fans the way Arguello vs. Pryor had, nor to this date has there been another light welterweight bout which produced the same amount of electricity that circulated through the air of Miami's Orange Bowl on November 11 1982. Not even when Julio Cesar Chavez faced off in the first of two meetings with Meldrick Taylor.

Some fans had even come to believe that we might not see another bout of that proportion in that division for another 50 years, if ever! This of course has little to do with the fact that talent has been scarce at that weight because the light welterweight division has been anything but lackluster in talent over these past 25 plus years. More...

Boxing Perspective: What Did They Say His Name Was?

By Daxx Kahn April 17th, 2008 All Boxing Articles

Someone once said “What’s in a name?” Exactly who it was that coined the phrase is beyond me, although I probably should know since I quoted them, but hey! I’ll be the first to admit that I am a boxing writer, not a journalist major, and the only person I can quote accurately is Shakespeare. That is only because my wife forced me to watch "Shakespeare In Love" some years back...anyhow, enough of that and on to the topic at hand.

In sports, to become remembered throughout history, one must accomplish something big. In basketball, Michael Jordan became famous for his tremendous skill and scoring ability. In football, Joe Montana became famous for being great in the clutch and being able to win the big game under pressure.

Baseball had home run hitters Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, Hockey had Wayne Gretzky...etc. Each man became legendary for their skills. Boxing is no different of course; the most famous men have been those who have won world titles.

Just winning a world title in boxing just isn’t enough though, especially with so many variations of the belt floating around today. One must be not only a world champion, a feat in and of itself, but they must be a dominant champion to leave an impression. If a champion is not dominant, their name, more often than not, ends up lost in the shuffle of the dozens of other current or former title holders, only to be remembered when the title lineage is examined.

It seems almost unfair, doesn’t it?

Well, boxing has always had one other way for a fighter to be remembered, even a fighter who barely made it past journeyman status. The “Nickname”! More...