Arguello, Alexis
Boxing
b. April 19, 1952, Managua, Nicaragua
Tall and slender at 5-foot-10 and 130 pounds, Arguello was a great tactical boxer with a surprisingly powerful punch. He began fighting in his native Nicaragua when he was sixteen. After winning 35 of 37 bouts, Arguello took the World Boxing Association featherweight championship by knocking out Ruben Olivares in the 13th round on November 23, 1974, at Inglewood, CA.
Arguello won the vacant world featherweight title with a 2nd round knockout of Rigoberto Riasco on May 31, 1975, in Granada. He relinquished the championship after two defenses to move into the junior lightweight division in 1977.
On January 28, 1978, Arguello knocked out Alfredo Escalera in the 13th round to win the World Boxing Council championship. He defended the title eight times, winning all by knockout, and then moved up to the lightweight division.
Arguello won a 15-round decision over Scotland's Jim Watt in London on June 20, 1981, to become lightweight champion. He knocked out four challengers in the next year and then attempted to win a world title in a fourth division, the light welterweight. However, champion Aaron Pryor knocked Arguello out in the 14th round on November 22, 1982. After being knocked out again by Pryor the following year, Arguello retired.
He won 77 of his 83 professional fights, 59 by knockout, and lost 6, 3 by knockout.