Today’s Video: From Sprinter to Senator

Last Monday we looked at the life of famed Cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson who was only one of three pugilists to win three gold medals at the Olympics. Over the next few days we’ll look at other athletes from Latin America and the Caribbean who excelled in previous editions of the Summer Games.

It is not unusual for some athletes to enter the world of politics after retiring from the sports scene. Before his tragic death in 2009 Nicaraguan pugilist Alexis Arguello served as mayor of Managua while former Brazilian soccer superstar turned congressman Romario has been very vocal in criticizing the organization of the 2016 Rio Games.

Months before the Beijing Games in 2008, sprinter Ana Guevara retired from the track alleging that she was tired of the corruption and “dirty politics” in Mexican athletics. Since then the outspoken Guevara has not shied away from throwing her hat into the political ring.

In 2009 she attempted to run for local office in Mexico City as a candidate of a leftist alliance but lost by a slim margin. Despite the electoral reversal and having to pay a fine for tax evasion this May, Guevara aimed this year for a seat on the Mexican Congress. She received the backing of several politicos including presidential candidate Andres Manuel López Obrador. Earlier this month, Guevara won and she will be a senator as part of the opposition expected to serve as a counterweight to alleged president-elect Enrique Peña Nieto.

Nicaraguan boxing great Arguello dead

One of the greatest Latin American boxers of all time died on Wednesday of an apparent suicide.

Legendary Nicaraguan pugilist Alexis Arguello died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The 57-year-old had problems with depression, alcohol and drug use including almost killing himself in front of his young son in 1984.

During the 1980s, Arguello allied himself with the anti-Sandinista Contras after the revolutionary government seized his assets and homes in Nicaragua. In recent years, however, he had a change in heart and was elected as Managua mayor last November while running on the Sandinista party ticket. (The current Sandinista government declared three days of national mourning in Arguello’s honor).

Nicknamed “El Flaco Explosivo” ("The Explosive Thin Man"), Arguello was one of the few pugilists to be a champion in three weight divisions (featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight.). His career spanned over 25 years where he amassed an extraordinary 82-8 record with 65 knockouts. Yet Arguello’s most famous bout was one he lost: his unforgettable fight against Aaron Pryor in 1982.

Nearly three decades ago, a ferocious puncher and a brilliant ring tactician waged one of boxing's epic brawls under the twinkling lights of the Orange Bowl in Miami, a fight so big that few remember Roberto Duran was on the undercard.

After 14 back-and-forth rounds, Aaron Pryor brutally knocked out Alexis Arguello to retain his junior welterweight title. The fight on Nov. 12, 1982, left an indelible impression on the 23,000-plus who crowded near the ring in the aging football stadium in Little Havana.

"That was something I will never, ever forget as long as I live," said 77-year-old Bob Arum, who promoted the bout. "That was one of the most memorable fights I ever did”…

"It was a great fight we had," Pryor told The Associated Press, not long after learning of Arguello's death. "This was a great champion."

Image- Guardian UK
Online Sources- AP, BBC Sport, AFP, Deadspin, Guardian UK