| Salvador Sánchez | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Salvador Sánchez Narváez |
| Nickname(s) | The Invincible Eagle The Champ Chava |
| Rated at | Featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft. 7 in. (168 cm.) |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Born | January 26, 1959 Santiago Tianguistenco, EdoMex, Mexico |
| Died | August 12, 1982 (aged 23) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 44 |
| Wins | 44 |
| Wins by KO | 32 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 0 |
Salvador Sánchez Narváez (January 26, 1959 - August 12, 1982) was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that, had it not been for his premature death, Sanchez could have gone on to become the greatest Featherweight boxer of all time.[1] He is also the uncle of Salvador Sánchez II.[2]
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Sánchez started his professional career at the age of 16, as a teenager (after a brief amateur career consisting of reportedly 4 amateur bouts) he started piling up wins against tough Mexican opposition. His first fight of note came in his 19th professional fight against the Mexican bantamweight champion Antonio Becerra. Becerra proved too experienced for the young Sánchez, the bout ended in a split decision defeat for Sánchez.
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 the 21 year old Sánchez, who knocked out the defending champion in 13 rounds in Phoenix, Arizona, United States on February 2, 1980. Sanchez defended his title for the first time with a 15 round unanimous decision against Ruben Castillo (47-1). Thinking it was just a case of 'beginner'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 Sánchez defeated Lopez by 14th round TKO. In his next fight, he defeated Patrick Ford (15-0).
On December 13, 1980, Sánchez defeated future champion Juan Laporte by unanimous decision. Sánchez then defended his title against Roberto Castanon (43-1-0) and scored a win over Nicky Perez (50-3-0). Then undefeated World Jr Featherweight champion Wilfredo Gómez (32-0-1) 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 was an unknown to the casual boxing fan no more. He became a household name all over the United States that night.
In his next fight, he defeated Olympic medalist Pat Cowdell. 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.
On July 21, 1982, Sánchez faced future champion Azumah Nelson at Madison Square Garden. Nelson was unknown at the time 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. Azumah Nelson went on to have a glittering career and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004 [1]
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 Porsche 928 sports car along the federal highway from Santiago de Querétaro to San Luis Potosí, dying instantly.[3] At the time of his death, there were talks about a rematch with Gómez or a challenge of world lightweight champion Alexis Argüello, Salvador Sanchez finish his career undefeated as champion (due to his early death). Sánchez was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
| 44 Wins (32 knockouts, 12 decisions), 1 Loss , 1 Draw[2] | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 44-1-1 | Azumah Nelson | TKO | 15 (15), 1:49 | July 21, 1982 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 43-1-1 | Jorge Garcia | UD | 15 | May 8, 1982 | Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 42-1-1 | Pat Cowdell | SD | 15 | December 12, 1981 | Astrodome, Houston, Texas | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 41-1-1 | Wilfredo Gómez | TKO | 8 (15), 2:09 | August 21, 1981 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 40-1-1 | Nicky Perez | PTS | 10 | July 11, 1981 | Los Angeles, California | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 39-1-1 | Roberto Castanon | TKO | 10 (15), 1:09 | March 22, 1981 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 38-1-1 | Juan Laporte | UD | 15 | December 13, 1980 | County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 37-1-1 | Patrick Ford | MD | 15 | September 13, 1980 | Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 36-1-1 | Danny Lopez | TKO | 14 (15), 1:42 | June 21, 1980 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 35-1-1 | Ruben Castillo | UD | 15 | April 12, 1980 | Civic Auditorium, Tucson, Arizona | Retained WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 34-1-1 | Danny Lopez | TKO | 13(15), 0:51 | February 2, 1980 | Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona | Won WBC Featherweight title. |
| Win | 33-1-1 | Rafael Gandarilla | TKO | 5 (?) | December 15, 1979 | Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | |
| Win | 32-1-1 | Richard Rozelle | KO | 3 (?) | September 15, 1979 | Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California | |
| Win | 31-1-1 | Felix Trinidad Sr | TKO | 5 (10) | August 7, 1979 | Summit, Houston, Texas | |
| Win | 30-1-1 | Rosalio Muro | KO | 3 (?) | July 22, 1979 | San Luis Potosi, San Luis Potosí, Mexico | |
| Win | 29-1-1 | Fel Clemente | UD | 12 | June 17, 1979 | Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 28-1-1 | Salvador Torres | TKO | 7 (?) | May 19, 1979 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 27-1-1 | James Martinez | UD | 10 | March 13, 1979 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 26-1-1 | Carlos Mimila | KO | 3 (?) | February 03, 1979 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 25-1-1 | Jose Santana | TKO | 2 (10) | December 16, 1978 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 24-1-1 | Edwin Alarcon | TKO | 9 (?) | November 21, 1978 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 23-1-1 | Francisco Ponce | KO | 2 (?) | September 26, 1978 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 22-1-1 | Hector Cortez | TKO | 7 (?) | August 13, 1978 | Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico | |
| Win | 21-1-1 | Jose Sanchez | UD | 10 | July 01, 1978 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Draw | 20-1-1 | Juan Escobar | MD | 10 | March 15, 1978 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 20-1 | Eliseo Cosme | UD | 10 | December 05, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 19-1 | Jose Luis Soto | UD | 10 | November 11, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Loss | 18-1 | Antonio Becerra | SD | 12 | September 09, 1977 | Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico | vacant Mexico Bantamweight title on the line. |
| Win | 18-0 | Rosalio Badillo | TKO | 5 (?) | May 21, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 17-0 | Daniel Felizardo | KO | 5 (?) | March 12, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 16-0 | Raul Lopez | TKO | 10 (?) | February 05, 1977 | Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico | |
| Win | 15-0 | Antonio Leon | TKO | 10 (?) | December 25, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 14-0 | Saul Montana | TKO | 9 (10) | October 31, 1976 | Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico | |
| Win | 13-0 | Joel Valdez | TKO | 9 (?) | August 11, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 12-0 | Pedro Sandoval | TKO | 9 (?) | July 05, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 11-0 | Fidel Trejo | KO | 6 (10) | May 26, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 10-0 | Jose Chavez | TKO | 7 (?) | April 24, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 9-0 | Serafin Isidro Pacheco | TKO | 4 (?) | March 31, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 8-0 | Javier Solis | TKO | 7 (?) | February 25, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 7-0 | Juan Granados | TKO | 3 (?) | January 24, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 6-0 | Fidel Trejo | UD | 8 | December 11, 1975 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 5-0 | Candido Sandoval | TKO | 7 (?) | November 25, 1975 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 4-0 | Cesar Lopez | KO | 4 (?) | October 19, 1975 | Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Win | 3-0 | Victor Martinez | KO | 2 (?) | August 10, 1975 | Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Win | 21-0 | Miguel Ortiz | KO | 3 (?) | May 25, 1975 | Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Win | 1-0 | Al Gardeno | KO | 3 (4) | May 04, 1975 | Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico | Salvador's professional debut. |
In the movie 21, Ben Campbell, played by Jim Sturgess, introduces himself to a girl as Salvador Sanchez [3].
Folk Rock band Sun Kil Moon recorded an eponymous song about Sanchez on their 2003 album Ghosts of the Great Highway.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Danny Lopez |
WBC Featherweight Champion Feb 2 1980 – Aug 12 1982 Died in car crash |
Succeeded by Juan LaPorte |
| Preceded by Thomas Hearns |
Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year Shared award with Sugar Ray Leonard 1981 |
Succeeded by Larry Holmes |
