Jackie Chavez
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Jackie Chavez (born June 1, 1983) is a female boxer from Las Cruces, New Mexico. She is the IFBA world Super Bantamweight champion, and considered by many to be one of women's boxing's future stars. As far as it is known, she has no relation with Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez.
Chavez began her professional boxing career on October 5, 2001, when, at the age of eighteen, she knocked out the more experienced Brandy Leon in three rounds at Acoma, New Mexico.
Her second fight came on December 14 of that year, and she beat Nicole Gallegos by a majority decision in four rounds, also at Acoma.
On March 23, 2002, she had her first fight outside the Acoma area, when she knocked out Evangelina Abeyta in the first round. This fight was held at Pojoaque, New Mexico.
Chavez kept her winning ways on her next fight when, on April 13, she fought Jodi Johnson on the Isleta Indian Reservation. She scored her second first round knockout in a row that night.
Jackie Chavez next made her Albuquerque debut, when she faced Raquelle Tebo on September 17. She outpointed Tebo, who had only one defeat before that fight, in four rounds.
Chavez had a forced lay-off from boxing after that fight, spending 2003 without fighting anyone. But, on February 21, 2004, she returned to the boxing ring, in Roswell, the town that is better known for the alleged spaceship crash of the 1950s. In Roswell, she beat LeAnne Villareal by a four round unanimous decision in a somewhat unusual scenario for a boxing fight: Roswell high school.
Already ranked among the top ten Super Bantamweights in women's boxing by the IFBA, Chavez next boxed Mercedes Mercury on April 10 in Albuquerque. She outpointed Mercury after six rounds, solidifying her ranking among the women fighters in the Super Bantamweight division.
On November 20, Chavez had her first world championship try, in what also marked her first fight outside of New Mexico. Fighting for the IFBA's vacant world Super Bantamweight title, she outpointed Jayla Ortiz over ten rounds in Ignacio, Colorado, to become a world champion boxer.
Chavez is undefeated in 8 bouts, with 3 wins by knockout.
