Alexander De Jesus
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Alexander De Jesus (born February 2, 1983) is a Puerto Rican boxer who is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico. A resident of the Manuel A. Perez residential area, De Jesus has constantly shown pride in his background, despite the area being infamous for crimes and other things. He often dedicates his victories to residents of that apartment complex.
De Jesus had a stellar amateur boxing career, and as a professional, he is undefeated in four bouts, with three knockout wins. He earned a silver medal at the 2003 Central American and Caribbean Games, held at El Salvador. In the same year he won the silver medal at the Pan American Games.
During the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, De Jesus became the first Puerto Rican to win an Olympic boxing fight since WBO world Jr. Middleweight champion Daniel Santos earned a Bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta, Georgia games. De Jesus beat a Brazilian opponent by decision during the first round of the competition to achieve that accomplishment. In the second round, however, he lost by one point (23-24), to an Ugandan opponent.
De Jesus' nickname used to be "El Pollo Whitaker", meaning "Chicken Whitaker". "El Pollo" was given to him by his parents because he was a very small child. As a matter of a fact, he competes in the 132 pounds division currently. "Whitaker" was given to him by his trainers at the boxing gym, because they thought Alexander's style of fighting was reminiscent of that of legendary four division world champion and 1984 gold medalist Pernell Whitaker. He announced just before the Olympics, however, that he was dropping off the "Whitaker" part from his nickname because he wants to form his own identity as a boxer.
