RIP Alexis Arguello

[Howlin Mad Missy]

won 82 (KO 65) + lost 8 (KO 4)
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Managua Mayor Alexis Arguello, a three-time world boxing champion, was found dead at his home Wednesday, his Sandinista Party's Radio Ya said.
Radio Ya said coroners were conducting an autopsy on the 57-year-old mayor to determine the cause of death, but it appeared to be a suicide. The La Prensa newspaper reported he was found with a gunshot wound to the chest.
The Hall of Fame boxer was the top fighter of the 20th century in his weight class, according to a panel of experts assembled by The Associated Press in 1999.
The death of Arguello prompted President Daniel Ortega to announced he was canceling a trip to Panama for the inauguration of President-elect Ricardo Martinelli.
Arguello fought against the Sandinista government in the 1980s after it seized his property and bank account, according to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
But he joined the party to win the mayorship of the capital in 2008, though opponents alleged the vote was fraudulent.
"We are upset," said presidential spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, who declined to give details about the death. "This is a heartbreaking announcement. He was the champion of the poor, an example of forgiveness and reconciliation."
Born in 1952, the Hall of Fame boxer fought 14 world champions and in 1981 he became the sixth man in boxing history to win a title in three weight divisions — featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight — according to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Arguello returned Sunday from Puerto Rico where he honored the late baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.

He was on many people's list of ATG's. Sorry to see someone loved round the world bow out by their own hand. Damn shame.

[JazMerkin]

won 82 (KO 65) + lost 8 (KO 4)

He was on many people's list of ATG's. Sorry to see someone loved round the world bow out by their own hand. Damn shame.

It is such a shame, and he was such a decent man with no equivocations. I remember Mick posting an article up though showing that he suffered deeply from depression, he'd had a horrible life from watching his father kill himself when he was young & it says a lot about the man he was that he was so giving to others, a little too much so whilst he was a boxer. For most Nicaraguans he was THEIR icon, the man who'd fought out of poverty, in contrast to the baseball players who largely come from more middle-class backgrounds. The working-class hero stuff gets overplayed here & in the US, but in places like Nicaragua it really does matter.

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

He seemed like such a great guy. And happy too..? Very sad indeed.

My His Legacy Live On.

[KananKrus]

I would not be surprised if indeed there is foul play at the bottom of this pile. Politics? I have seen too many instances with similar circumstances, to be totally naive and just take the initial reports at face value.

Why would he take his life? He gave up a personal life in the struggle to help his people, to alleviate their plight, the less fortunate, only to take his life with a bullet to the chest?

Was he afraid he will miss shooting his own head, so he chose a bigger target, his chest? Something's amiss...

This guy was renowned to be the most accurate puncher in his time! Go figure!

[CGM]

I would not be surprised if indeed there is foul play at the bottom of this pile. Politics? I have seen too many instances with similar circumstances, to be totally naive and just take the initial reports at face value.

Why would he take his life? He gave up a personal life in the struggle to help his people, to alleviate their plight, the less fortunate, only to take his life with a bullet to the chest?

Was he afraid he will miss shooting his own head, so he chose a bigger target, his chest? Something's amiss...

This guy was renowned to be the most accurate puncher in his time! Go figure!

Who knows what motivates a man at a time like this? If he did take his life, maybe he had a personal reasons for wanting to keep his head in one piece. Maybe he knew his family would want an open casket funeral, who knows.