Esteban de Jesús


Esteban de Jesús was a Puerto Rican world lightweight champion boxer. De Jesús, a native of the town of Carolina, Puerto Rico, was a gymmate of Wilfred Benítez and was trained by Benitez's father, Gregorio Benitez. He was the first boxer to defeat Roberto Durán as a pro, and the only fighter to defeat Duran during his lightweight reign. His career was mired in controversy, problems, and scandals.

Professional career

De Jesús debuted as a professional in 1969, he won his first twenty fights, thirteen by knockout. He then stepped up in class, for the first time, when he boxed future world title challenger Josue Marquez in 1971, beating him in a twelve-round decision to claim the Puerto Rican national Lightweight championship.. His next fight was a fourth-round knockout victory over Victor Ortíz. After that, there was a rematch with Marquez, who was beaten again, also over twelve rounds, to retain the Puerto Rican Lightweight title.
Next came his first international fight, in Caracas, Venezuela, against the future four-time world title challenger Leonel Hernandez. De Jesús won the ten round fight by unanimous decision in what was the start of a four fight tour of Venezuela. That Venezuelan campaign ended with a ten-round decision loss against former world champion Antonio Gomez in Caracas.
1972 was a pivotal year in de Jesús' career. He won six fights in a row, including a twelve-round knockout win in a third fight with Marquez to again retain the Puerto Rican Lightweight title, and a ten-round decision over Doug McClendon. Despite all the wins, he was virtually unknown to most boxing fans. That changed quickly in his last fight of 1972 against the undefeated new world's Lightweight champion Roberto Durán at the Madison Square Garden arena. In a televised bout that marked the beginning of the "Durán - de Jesús trilogy", de Jesús dropped Durán in round one and went on to inflict Durán's first defeat in a ten-round decision.
In 1973, he was rewarded for his efforts, receiving a chance to challenge Ray Lampkin for the North American Boxing Federation lightweight belt. He won the vacant title by beating Lampkin in a twelve-round decision. He went on to beat Johnny Gant and Raul Montoya in ten-round decisions and beat Lampkin by decision in a rematch in New York. He finished 1973 with a first-round knockout win over fringe contender Al Foster.
He began 1974 by knocking out former world Jr. Welterweight champion Alfonso "Peppermint" Frazer in ten rounds in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after which he traveled to Panama City to receive his first world title shot and, at the same time, face Durán in the second fight of their trilogy. He once again dropped Durán in round one, but this time Durán rebounded and dominated the bout, retaining the title in an eleventh-round knockout. He recovered from that defeat with two more wins before the end of the year.
In 1975, he went up in weight briefly, and after beating Jesse Lara by a knockout in three, he returned to Panama City to challenge Colombia's Antonio Cervantes for the world's Jr. Welterweight title, losing in a fifteen-round decision. He beat Rudy Barros by knockout in round five to end that year, and started 1976 by beating Valentin Ramos by knockout in round two.
Next came his third world title try when the WBC's world Lightweight champion Ishimatsu Suzuki of Japan traveled to Puerto Rico to defend his title against de Jesús. The third time proved to be the charm for de Jesús, who won the world title by beating Suzuki in a fifteen-round decision. He retained the title against Hector Medina with a knockout in round seven.
De Jesús admitted publicly to using drugs during his boxing career. He began using cocaine and heroin early in his boxing career with an older brother, Enrique.
In 1977, he retained the title against Buzzsaw Yamabe by knockout in round six and against Vicente Mijares Saldivar by knockout in round eleven.
1978 began with the third and final chapter of his trilogy with Durán. In a title unification bout in Las Vegas, which displayed Durán at the peak of his power, Durán systematically broke down de Jesús resulting in a twelfth-round knockout.
De Jesús rebounded with three wins before the end of that year, including one over former world title challenger Edwin Viruet.
In 1979, he had two more wins, including one over Jimmy Blevins. After beating José Vallejo by a knockout in round seven in San Juan to start 1980, he traveled to Bloomington, Minnesota, to challenge Saoul Mamby for Mamby's WBC world Jr. Welterweight title, in the major supporting event of the Larry Holmes-Scott Le Doux world heavyweight championship bout's undercard. In what turned out to be his last fight, he was beaten by a knockout in thirteen rounds.
His record was 57 wins and 5 losses, with 32 wins by knockout.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
62Loss57–5Saoul MambyTKO13 1980-07-07Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.For WBC super lightweight title
61Win57–4José VallejoKO7 1980-05-10San Juan, Puerto Rico
60Win56–4Ruby OrtizUD10 1979-11-09Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
59Win55–4Jimmy BlevinsUD10 1979-10-04Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
58Win54–4Edwin ViruetSD10 1978-10-27Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
57Win53–4Chuchu HernandezTKO2 1978-07-08San Juan, Puerto Rico
56Win52–4Pablo BaezTKO3 1978-06-03Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
55Loss51–4Roberto DuránTKO12 1978-01-21Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost WBC/WBA/The Ring lightweight unification match
54Win51–3James BrackettPTS10 1977-09-10Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
53Win50–3Vicente MijaresKO11 1977-06-25Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamon, Puerto RicoRetained WBC lightweight title
52Win49–3Buzzsaw YamabeTKO6 1977-02-12Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamon, Puerto RicoRetained WBC lightweight title
51Win48–3Hector Julio MedinaKO7 1976-09-10Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamon, Puerto RicoRetained WBC lightweight title
50Win47–3Guts IshimatsuUD15 1976-05-08Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamon, Puerto RicoWon WBC lightweight title
49Win46–3Valente RamosTKO2 1976-03-06Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
48Win45–3Rudy BarroTKO5 1975-10-11Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
47Loss44–3Antonio CervantesUD15 1975-05-17Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, PanamaFor WBA super lightweight title
46Win44–2Jesse LaraKO3 1975-03-15El Poliedro, Caracas, Venezuela
45Win43–2Javier AyalaPTS10 1974-09-02Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
44Win42–2Gerardo FerratTKO5 1974-06-10San Juan, Puerto Rico
43Loss41–2Roberto DuránKO11 1974-03-16Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, PanamaFor WBA lightweight title
42Win41–1Alfonso FrazerKO10 1974-01-07Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
41Win40–1Al FosterKO1 1973-11-22San Juan, Puerto Rico
40Win39–1Miguel MayanPTS10 1973-10-29San Juan, Puerto Rico
39Win38–1Radames ChecoKO1 1973-09-08Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
38Win37–1Ray LampkinUD12 1973-07-14Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained NABF lightweight title
37Win36–1Raul MontoyaPTS10 1973-05-21Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico
36Win35–1Johnny GantUD10 1973-04-16San Juan, Puerto Rico
35Win34–1Ray LampkinUD12 1973-02-16Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto RicoWon vacant NABF lightweight title
34Win33–1Roberto DuránUD10 1972-11-17Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
33Win32–1Doc McClendonPTS10 1972-10-30San Juan, Puerto Rico
32Win31–1Raimundo DiasPTS10 1972-09-18San Juan, Puerto Rico
31Win30–1Chuck WilburnUD10 1972-07-28Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
30Win29–1Angel Robinson GarciaPTS10 1972-07-08San Juan, Puerto Rico
29Win28–1Josue MarquezTKO12 1972-05-01Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained Puerto Rican lightweight title
28Win27–1George FosterTKO8 1972-04-10Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
27Win26–1Percy HaylesUD10 1972-02-18Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
26Win25–1Milton MendezKO5 1971-11-30Caracas, Venezuela
25Win24–1Johnny HarpUD10 1971-11-19Parque Isidoro García, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
24Win23–1Frank LeroyKO5 1971-10-30La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
23Win22–1Josue MarquezUD12 1971-09-04Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto RicoRetained Puerto Rican lightweight title
22Win21–1Victor OrtizTKO5 1971-08-07Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
21Win20–1Josue MarquezPTS12 1971-07-24San Juan, Puerto RicoWon Puerto Rican lightweight title
20Win19–1Armando MendozaTKO6 1971-06-05Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela
19Win18–1Leonel HernandezUD10 1971-05-03Palacio de Deportes, Caracas, Venezuela
18Win17–1Gustavo BricenoUD10 1971-04-24La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
17Loss16–1Antonio GómezUD10 1971-02-27Nuevo Circo, Caracas, Venezuela
16Win16–0Jose LlanosKO7 1970-10-24Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
15Win15–0Johnny SandovalUD10 1970-08-22La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
14Win14–0Jose JimenezTKO5 1970-07-30Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
13Win13–0Coverly Kid DanielsKO2 1970-05-20Parque Isidoro García, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
12Win12–0Ike EstradaKO2 1970-05-02La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
11Win11–0Jose JimenezPTS10 1970-04-30Ponce, Puerto Rico
10Win10–0Bobby ParnellTKO1 1970-03-28La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
9Win9–0Braulio RodriguezTKO8 1970-02-28La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
8Win8–0Chino GuerreroTKO3 1970-02-14La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
7Win7–0Ramon DominguezTKO2 1970-01-24La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
6Win6–0Ivelaw EastmanKO5 1969-11-22Country Club Stadium, Carolina, Puerto Rico
5Win5–0Tommy SheffieldTKO2 1969-10-18San Juan, Puerto Rico
4Win4–0Ramon MontesTKO1 1969-09-27La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
3Win3–0Johnny SandovalUD6 1969-08-23La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2Win2–0Francisco MaldonadoKO3 1969-08-02La Cancha Country Club, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1Win1–0Braulio RodriguezTKO4 1969-07-19Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico