Alexis Argüello, the legendary Nicaraguan boxing world champion who has served as Mayor of Managua since his electoral triumph in November 2008, tragically died this morning. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but by all accounts Argüello, who has struggled with depression most of his life, committed suicide. In honour of one of Nicaragua's most loved personalities, Tortilla con Sal has put together this short obituary.

Born on Abril 19th 1952 into an impoverished working class family, Argüello's childhood was not easy. His parents Guillermo Argüello and Zoila Bohórquez struggled to provide enough food for their eight children. Alexis and his brothers and sisters, like the majority of Nicaraguan children of his generation was "descalzo" (barefoot) most of the time. This was the case despite the fact that Guillermo their father was a shoemaker.

Argüello demonstrated a sense of duty to his family from a young age taking the decision, at age nine and against his parents' will, to leave the family home in the Monseñor Lezcano neighbourhood of Managua to look for work in the countryside in order to ease the family's financial situation. Four years later, at the age of thirteen, Argüello travelled to Canada to work for a year.

Argüello's dazzling boxing career

On return to his native Nicaragua Argüello discovered boxing, the sport that was to lead him to international fame. Unable to attend secondary school due to financial hardship, Argüello threw himself into boxing starting his professional career in 1968 at the age of sixteen.

Ironically Argüello's first international match resulted in a humiliating defeat - a knockout in the first round. Unshaken and all the more determined to prove himself, Alexis went on have one of the most successful careers in boxing history, with 82 wins and only 8 defeats.

Nicknamed "El Flaco Explosivo" (the Explosive Thin Man), Argüello was considered a great tactical boxer with a surprisingly powerful punch. Another nickname used by commentators and boxing fanatics was "the Gentleman of the Ring" due to his gracious manner and his tendency to hug his opponents and help them up after having knocked them out.

Argüello goes down in history as one of only eight men to have won boxing world championships in three different weight categories. In 1974 Alexis beat Ruben Olivares in the final of the featherweight championship of the World Boxing Association. He defended the title several times before moving into the junior light weight category.

In 1978 he won against junior light weight world champion Alfredo Escalero in Bayamón Puerto Rico in the final of the World Boxing Council championship in a match refered to within the boxing world as "the bloody battle of Bayamón" and considered one of the most brutal fights in boxing history. 

Again Argüello defended the junior light weight champion on numerous occasions before going to win his third world championship title, this time in the light weight category, against Scottish boxer Jim Watt in London in 1981.

Argüello's first retired from professional boxing in 1983 aged 31. Between 1985 and 1995, unable to find stability in his life after giving up boxing, he made many comebacks, none of which resulted in significant success.

In 1998 Argüello was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Back home in Nicaragua he was elected as the nation's sportsman of the 20th Century in 2001.

Alexis: businessman, contra fighter, sportsman's rights campaigner

After leaving professional boxing, Alexis struggled to give meaning to his life. He began numerous business and other ventures, including taking up acting and founding a boxing academy in his Nicaragua. He kept himself busy, but was unable to achieve the sense of fulfillment or passion he strived for and had found in the ring.

Alexis twice suffered major financial setbacks. As a result of his numerous world championship wins, Alexis had earned himself a small fortune and bought property in Managua. After the 1979 triumph of the Popular Sandinista Revolution, however, his bank accounts were frozen and his property confiscated. The newly established FSLN government regarded Alexis as a Somocista given his status as an honorary member of the National Guard. His membership of Somoza's brutal army, however, was not the result of anti popular political leanings but a whimsical decision by Somoza to "honour" the national boxing hero.

The confiscation of his estate angered Argüello, but the death of his brother Eduardo in combat was the catalyst that lead him to give up his luxurious life in Miami and join Contra troops in Costa Rica in their armed struggle against the FSLN government. After a few months, he became disillusioned with the struggle he had idealized, however, after witnessing first hand the lack of comittment many Contra leaders demonstrated to the wellbeing of their own soldiers and the population in general.

Back in Miami Argüello found his life, again, lacked direction. Prone to depression, he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. In the early 1990s he suffered his second financial crisis, finding himself obliged to sell everything to pay back debts.

Despite all his difficulties, his sense of patriotism and his commitment to the cause of social justice in his native Nicaragua meant his mind was seldom far away from great social and sporting projects.

Alexis' boxing academy in Managua has helped and continues to help hundreds of young impoverished Nicaraguans find an alternative to drug abuse and gang culture through sport. This particular personal objective - to help youths find an alternative through sport - he was able to promote on a much greater scale in first as Deputy Mayor and, after defeating Eduardo Montealegre in the muncipal elections of 2008, as Mayor of Managua.

Argüello also contributed greatly to raising awareness among the general public and the political classes about the need for much greater health and pension benefits for sportsmen.

Alexis: Mayor of Managua

In 2004 Alexis became Deputy Mayor of his hometown, Managua, as part of an alliance between the political coalition he belonged to at the time, the Convergencia Nacional, and the FSLN. In the November 2008 municipal elections he won over 50% of votes in the capital, beating the other four candidates hands down. A magnificent final victory for the much loved national sporting hero.

During his brief time as Mayor of Managua, Argüello has managed to make significant progress in solving the city's chaotic and desperately inefficient garbage disposal system. He has also overseen the local government's exemplary work complementing central government social programs including the literacy campaign and property title distribution in impoverished areas. He also prioritised improving sports facilities for Managua's youth.

Argüello, who leaves eight children, will be remembered as one of history's most successful and kind hearted boxing champions as well as a man of great humililty who never betrayed the memory of his impoverished upbringing and who demonstrated a profound and humane desire to serve his country and his people.