The great athletes of Nicaragua
The great athletes of Nicaragua are marked by two particular disciplines: baseball and boxing; in a country with serious political problems and poverty, sports serve as a source of inspiration and hope.
¿Who could we consider as the top five athletes in Nicaragua of all time? There can be more, but it’s undisputed that Alexis Argüello and Dennis Martínez are on the podium.
The great athletes of Nicaragua
ALEXIS ARGÜELLO, One of Nicaragua’s great athletes:
Argüello has been Nicaragua’s most complete boxer. Between the late 1970s and early 1980s, he achieved his major successes, becoming a world champion in featherweight, super featherweight, and lightweight divisions.
He tried twice to add a fourth world title in the 140-pound category but was defeated in close fights against Aaron Pryor. In total, he, also known as the “Explosive Thin Man,” won 82 fights, 65 of them by knockout, and lost only eight times.
After retiring from boxing, Argüello entered politics and became the mayor of Managua in 2009. However, in the same year, on July 1st, his suicide by a gunshot to the chest shocked the country.
His death still remains controversial, with the family of the three-time world champion not accepting the authorities’ verdict and believing that Argüello was murdered.
Argüello is the only Nicaraguan boxer inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, located in Canastota, New York. In 1999, he was awarded the title of “Sportsman of the Millennium” in his country, and the “Day of the Athlete” is celebrated on April 19th in his honor, which is also his birthday.
DENNIS MARTÍNEZ, another undisputed among Nicaragua’s great athletes:
Dennis Martínez was the first Nicaraguan baseball player to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 1976 with the Baltimore Orioles and remained with the team for a decade.
During this time, he became a successful starting pitcher, although not without controversies due to his issues with alcohol.
Between 1987 and 1993, he played for the Montreal Expos.
In this period, he achieved one of the greatest accomplishments of a Nicaraguan athlete: on July 28, 1991, he pitched a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the thirteenth pitcher in MLB history to achieve this feat.
In 1994, he signed with the Cleveland Indians, and his contributions were instrumental in taking the franchise to the 1995 World Series against the Atlanta Braves.
A year later, Martínez suffered an elbow injury that jeopardized his career’s continuity. He later pitched for the Seattle Mariners and the Braves, but his best moments were already in the past.
In his 23-year MLB career, Dennis Martínez won 245 games, struck out 2,145 batters, was a four-time All-Star, and participated in three World Series.
After retiring, he became a coach, leading the Nicaraguan national team at one point and taking on various roles with MLB teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros. The national stadium in Managua is named after him.
VICENTE PADILLA:
Another prominent Nicaraguan pitcher, with notable performances in MLB and also in Japanese baseball, was Vicente Padilla. From the beginning of his career in amateur baseball, Padilla showed that he could become a dominant pitcher. He won a bronze medal with the Nicaraguan national team at the 1998 World Cup, where he served as a closer.
In 1999, he made his MLB debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Over the next 13 years, Padilla played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers (his most successful period in MLB), Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox.
In total, he earned contracts worth $51 million, won 108 games, lost 91, struck out 1,121 batters, and had an earned run average (ERA) of 4.32. He was selected to the All-Star Game in 2002.
After concluding his MLB career, Padilla signed a one-year contract with the Fukuoka Hawks in Japan. In 2022, it was announced that Padilla would support the construction of a baseball academy with a clubhouse and training field in the city of Estelí.
ROMÁN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZÁLEZ:
“Chocolatito” González achieved what his sports idol, Alexis Argüello, couldn’t do: win four world boxing titles in different weight divisions.
This formidable Nicaraguan boxer secured his first World Boxing Association (WBA) title in 2008 in the minimum weight category when he defeated Japanese boxer Yutaka Niida in Tokyo. “Chocolatito” held the title for two years.
In 2010, he moved up to the light flyweight category and won the WBA title by defeating Francisco Rosas, also in Tokyo.
Four years later, now in the flyweight category, “Chocolatito” secured his third title, this time from the World Boxing Council (WBC), by knocking out Japanese boxer Akira Yaegashi. This achievement matched Argüello’s feat.
One of his career highlights took place on September 10, 2016, in Los Angeles. On that day, “Chocolatito” made history by defeating Mexican boxer Carlos Cuadras in the fight for the WBC super flyweight world title.
With this achievement, he became the only Nicaraguan to win world titles in four different weight divisions.
In 2022, “Chocolatito” had a successful start to the year by defeating Mexican boxer Julio César Martínez by unanimous decision in a super flyweight fight held at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
This improved his record to 51 wins, with 41 of them coming by knockout, and only three losses.
Also read: Mexican Edson Álvarez is an example of perseverance and discipline.
