Tragedies Of The Year: Alexis Arguello, Arturo Gatti, Vernon Forrest
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Tragedies Of The Year: Alexis Arguello, 57; Arturo Gatti, 37; Vernon Forrest, 38.
FanHouse finds the successive, July, deaths of three former world champions, Arguello, Forrest and Gatti, among the most tragic of any era, let alone the year of 2009.
A Hall Of Fame fighter and former three-time world champion, Arguello was found dead on July 1 of a gunshot wound to the chest in his home outside of his native Managua, Nicaragua, where he had recently become mayor. Authorities ruled Arguello’s death a suicide, but his son, Alexis Jr., told Lisa Olson of FanHouse that he does not believe it.
“I’ll do whatever I need to do to prove my dad didn’t commit suicide,” said Arguello Jr., the eldest of Arguello’s seven children and a producer for CBS College Sports Network. “Like dad used to always say, ‘Tough times don’t last but tough guys do.’ “
On July 11, Gatti was found dead in his hotel room in Brazil where he was vacationing with his wife, who was originally arrested and charged with his murder, but later, released. Additionally ruled a suicide, the circumstances surrounding Gatti’s death still are being investigated.
On July 25, Forrest was shot several times in the back and pronounced dead at the scene in Atlanta following a robbery. Forrest was known for his youth charity work with an organization called, Destiny’s Child, a not for profit group home that assists people with developmental, emotional, psychological disabilities and needs.
