Boxing writer Christian Giudice has written a lot about Latin American
boxers, and after reading one of his recent books, I am looking forward
to him writing the biography of others, such as Wilfredo Gomez, Salvador
Sanchez and|or Carlos Monzon. Giuduce wrote "Hands of Stone", about
Roberto Duran (which I am about to finish also), which now has been
turned into a Hollywood feature on the making. Another one of his works
is Beloved Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Alexis Arguello (ISBN
978-1-59797-709-8, 2012, Potomac Books, www.potomacbooksinc.com, all
rights reserved), in which Giudice gives us a fantastic view of the main
topic (Arguello) as well as his surroundings.
With great
sacrifice and work, Giudice introduces the reader into the world of
Alexis, and the multiple personalities the champion had. He brings to
live the social pressures and responsibilities Arguello assumed during
his lifetime, and he introduces us to the group of people who knew
Arguello best: father Guillermo Arguello Bonilla, mother Zoila Rosa
Bohorquez, son Alexis Arguello Jr., wife Loretto, promoter Walter
Alvarez, and rival Aaron Pryor-who needs no introduction really but
whose feelings about Arguello are detailed in the book.
Giudice
even traveled to Nicaragua to get more acquainted with the topic at
hand. This is a sign of a great writer, like the actor or actress who
visits the character's playground in order to relate to him|her before a
movie is filmed. That is one of Giudice's trademarks, as he also
traveled to Panama for the book about Duran.
So, in a way,
Beloved Warrior also works as a tourist guide, and sometimes it reads
better than that. At least for boxing fans it should be important also
to know the places that Arguello hung out at before, during, and after
his historical boxing career and when he was alongside Eden Pastora at
the trenches during the Nicaraguan civil war, and when he became
involved in politics with Daniel Ortega and was elected vice-mayor and
mayor, successively, of Managua.
The description of the most
important fights in Arguello's career is also breath-taking in this
tome, such as when he beat Roberto Elizondo (did any of you Arguello
fans who remember that fight know that he broke one of Elizondo's teeth
and the Texan had to await two days before it was fixed?)
This
book is the perfect gift for anyone who is a fan of traveling, boxing or
history. Maybe more importantly, it's the perfect gift for anyone who
is a fan of Alexis Arguello. With a cover colored in white, black and
red, and a photo of Arguello battling my countryman Alfredo Escalera in
the famous "Bloody Battle of Bayamon", it starts by painting, for us,
the many different colors Arguello's personality had.
Beloved warrior is truly a beloved book.
Please send all Questions and comments to Antonio at TJ69662094@aol.com.
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