Salvador Sánchez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Salvador Sanchez | |
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| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Salvador Sánchez Narvaez |
| Nickname(s) | Sal |
| Rated at | Featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft. 7 in. (168 cm.) |
| Nationality |  Mexican |
| Birth date | January 26, 1959 |
| Birth place | Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico |
| Death date | August 12, 1982 (aged 23) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 46 |
| Wins | 44 |
| Wins by KO | 32 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Salvador Sánchez Narvaez (January 26, 1959 - August 12, 1982) was an all-time great Mexican boxer born in the small town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México.
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[edit] Career
Sánchez started his career very young, as a teenager, and he started piling up wins against tough Mexican opposition. His first fight of note came against the Mexican bantamweight champion Antonio Becerra, and Becerra proved far too experienced for the young Sánchez, dropping him in the first round, en route to a 12 round split decision. This would turn out to be Sánchez's last knockdown and loss suffered during his career.
Sánchez kept on fighting and moved to the Featherweight division. Soon he had beaten people like the Puerto Rican featherweight champion Felix Trinidad Sr., on his way to securing a title shot at world champion Danny "Little Red" Lopez, a popular TV fighter of the late 1970s who was an impressive fighter and had won some spectacular fights against the likes of former world champion David Kotei (twice), Juan Malvares and Mike Ayala. Confident and hard to beat, Lopez was beaten by 19 year old Sánchez, who knocked out the defending champion in 13 rounds in Phoenix, Arizona. Thinking it was just a case of 'beginer's luck' (as it was Sánchez's first world title fight ever) Lopez looked for a rematch and this he got, in Las Vegas. This time he lasted one more round.
After defeating the young future world champion Juan Laporte, Sánchez embarked on a string of defenses against men like Patrick Ford and Roberto Castanon, retaining his title each time. Then World Jr Featherweight champion Wilfredo Gómez went up in weight and challenged Sánchez. Sánchez retained the crown by a knockout in round eight on August 21, 1981 in Las Vegas, and Gómez had to return to the Jr. Featherweight division.
With that victory, Salvador Sánchez was an unknown to the casual boxing fan no more. He became a household name all over America that night.
Two fights later, his defense vs unheralded Jorge "Rocky" Garcia was the first fight featuring two featherweights ever to be televised by HBO. He beat Garcia punch after punch, but the challenger gave honor to his nickname, an unknown fighter who lasts the distance with the world champion.
Then came Azumah Nelson at Madison Square Garden. The unknown Nelson came from Ghana and would later become a 3 time world champion and a future hall of famer. He was unknown however, and was expected to only go a few rounds with the champ. It was an intense battle, with Sánchez managing to drop his young charge in the 7th round. After that they engaged in violent exchange after violent exchange. In the 15th, Sánchez broke out finally, connecting with a serious combination that dropped the challenger almost outside the ring. Referee Tony Perez had to stop the fight seconds later.
[edit] Death
The fight with Nelson proved to be Sánchez's last. As he was training for a rematch with Laporte set for September, he crashed on the early morning of August 12, 1982 while driving his brand new Porsche sports car, dying instantly. At the time of his death at 23, there were talks about a rematch with Gómez or a challenge of world lightweight champion Alexis Argüello.
Sánchez was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1991.
[edit] Sánchez in popular culture
- The American alternative/folk-rock group Sun Kil Moon composed two songs on their 2003 album Ghosts of the Great Highway which were eulogies to Sánchez. One of the album's recurrent themes is boxers who died before their natural time: Duk Koo Kim, Benny Paret, Pancho Villa and Sonny Liston are also mentioned.
| Preceded by Danny Lopez |
WBC Featherweight Champion Feb 2 1980– Aug 12 1982 Dies in car crash |
Succeeded by Juan LaPorte |
[edit] See also
- List of male boxers
- List of WBC world champions
- Salvador Sanchez vs. Juan Laporte
- Salvador Sánchez vs. Wilfredo Gómez
