Jesús Chávez
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| Jesús Chávez | |
 |
|
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Jesús Gabriel Sandoval Chávez |
| Nickname(s) | El Matador |
| Rated at | Lightweight |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in |
| Reach | 65 in |
| Nationality |  Mexican |
| Birth date | November 12, 1972 |
| Birth place | Parral, Mexico |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 47 |
| Wins | 43 |
| Wins by KO | 30 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Jesús Gabriel Sandoval Chávez (born November 12, 1972) is a Mexican professional boxer. He was born in Hidalgo del Parral in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Chávez has a career record of 43 wins, (30 knockouts) and 4 losses.
Chávez's first title opportunity came against WBC Super Featherweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. where he was knocked out in the 9th round after an entertaining and close, competitive bout. He rebounded to win Mayweather's vacated WBC title, but lost it to then two-time champion Erik Morales. In another exciting fight, Chávez rocked Morales early in the first round. Morales recovered and knocked Chávez down twice in the 2nd round, but Chávez came back and fought hard for the rest of the fight, despite having an injured hand. Morales pulled out a close decision, but Chávez gained further respect for his effort. In his next fight, he took on former IBF Champion Carlos Hernández, who in turn had also lost his own title to Morales. In an exciting 12-round war, Chávez pulled out a close decision. He then moved up to the Lightweight division to take on IBF champion Leavander Johnson. In an unfortunate bout, Chávez outhustled Johnson throughout the entire fight, beating him severely for the entire fight until the referee finally stepped in and ended it. Johnson died several days later when he went into a coma. Johnson's family have encouraged Chavez to keep fighting. In 2007, Chavez lost his IBF title to Julio Diaz.
His nickname is El Matador, meaning The Killer. He was given the nickname not because of anything he did in the ring, but in honor of the gym he fought out of, "the Matador".
Chavez was raised in Chicago and became a legal U.S. resident as a child, but at age sixteen he was convicted of being an accessory to armed robbery, spent four years in prison, and was subsequently deported back to Mexico. His struggle to attain legal U.S. residence and work his way up the boxing ranks was documented in the film "Split Decision".[1] His life story was also documented in the book "Standing Eight: The Inspiring Story of Jesus El Matador Chavez".[2] In 2004, Chavez married US National Guard intelligence officer Anuisa Stroklund before she was deployed to the war in Iraq. The couple now resides in Austin, Texas.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Split Decision
- ^ San Diego Reader | Standing Eight: The Inspiring Story of Jesus �El Matador� Chavez, Who Became Lightweight Champion of the World
- ^ Jesus Chavez To Wed Soldier On Eve Of Iraqi Deployment
- Jan Reid, The Contender, Texas Monthly, April 1998.
- Belinda Acosta, The Inspiration of Jesus Chavez, The Austin Chronicle, February 9, 2001.
- Jan Reid, The Bullet Meant for Me: A Memoir, Broadway, 2002, ISBN 0767905954.
- Marcy Garriott, Feature documentary SPLIT DECISION, First Run Features, 2004, ASIN B00013F2U4.
- Adam Pitluk, Standing Eight: The Inspiring Story of Jesús "El Matador" Chávez, Who Became Lightweight Champion of the World, Da Capo Press, 2006, ISBN 0306814544.
[edit] See also
- List of male boxers
- List of lightweight boxing champions
- List of WBC world champions
- Reigning boxing champions
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Sirimongkol Singwangcha |
WBC Super Featherweight Champion 15 Aug 2003–28 Feb 2004 |
Succeeded by Erik Morales |
| Preceded by Leavander Johnson |
IBF Lightweight Champion 17 Sep 2005–3 Feb 2007 |
Succeeded by Julio Díaz |
