Jesús Chávez


Jesús Gabriel Sandoval Chávez is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2010. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the World Boxing Council super featherweight title from 2003 to 2004, and the International Boxing Federation lightweight title from 2005 to 2007.

Early life

Chávez was born in Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He became a legal U.S. resident as a child, but at age 16 he was convicted of being an accessory to armed robbery, spent four years in prison, and was subsequently deported back to Mexico. Nevertheless, he struggled to regain American citizenship and work his way up in boxing ranks.

Professional career

Chávez's first title opportunity came against WBC Super Featherweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. where he retired in the 9th round after an entertaining bout. He rebounded to win Mayweather's vacated WBC title on a fight for the title against 43-1 world champion Sirimongkol Eaimthuam by a twelve round unanimous decision at the Austin Convention Center in his hometown Austin, Texas on August 15, 2003, but lost it on his first defense, to the 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 a torn rotator cuff and torn ACL. Morales won 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.

IBF lightweight champion and death of Leavander Johnson

He then moved up to the Lightweight division to take on IBF champion Leavander Johnson. In an unfortunate bout, Chávez out-hustled 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 after he went into a coma. Despite being implicated in the tragedy, Johnson's family encouraged Chávez to keep fighting.
In 2007, Chávez lost his IBF title to Julio Díaz.
On September 6, 2008, Jesús "El Matador" Chávez, knocked out visiting Andres Ledesma, of Colombia, 42 seconds into the 9th round of their lightweight bout, at the Toyota Center, in Houston, Texas. Chávez, of Austin, also floored Ledesma in the 7th round.
On April 4, 2009, Chávez was defeated by Michael Katsidis via 8th round TKO. He is trained by Richard Lord.
Chávez is the subject of the 2006 non-fiction book by Adam Pitluk titled Standing Eight.

Personal life

His struggle to attain legal U.S. residence and work his way up the boxing ranks was documented in the film "Split Decision". His life story was also documented in the book "Standing Eight: The Inspiring Story of Jesus El Matador Chavez". In 2004, Chávez married US National Guard intelligence officer Aunisa Stroklund before she was deployed to the war in Iraq.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
52Loss44–8Jorge LinaresRTD4, 3:00Oct 24, 2010Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan
51Loss44–7Humberto SotoUD10Dec 19, 2009Arena ITSON, Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
50Loss44–6David Díaz10Sep 26, 2009UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
49Loss44–5Michael KatsidisRTD8, 0:10Apr 4, 2009Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S.
48Win44–4Andrés LedesmaTKO9, 0:42Sep 6, 2008Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, U.S.
47Win43–4Daniel JiménezUD10Apr 4, 2008Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S.
46Loss42–4Julio DíazKO3, 0:22Feb 3, 2007Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Florida, U.S.Lost IBF lightweight title
45Win42–3Leavander JohnsonTKO11, 0:38Sep 17, 2005MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Won IBF lightweight title
44Win41–3Carlos HernándezSD12May 28, 2005Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
43Loss40–3Érik MoralesUD12Feb 28, 2004MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost WBC super featherweight title
42Win40–2Sirimongkol SingwanchaUD12Aug 15, 2003Convention Center, Austin, Texas, U.S.Won WBC super featherweight title
41Win39–2Carlos GerenaTKO6, 2:10Mar 22, 2003Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
40Win38–2Johnny WalkerTKO6, 2:03Nov 15, 2002Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas, U.S.
39Win37–2Julio Sánchez LeónTKO7, 2:34Jun 28, 2002Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
38Win36–2Gerardo ZayasKO3, 2:26Mar 22, 2002Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S.
37Loss35–2Floyd Mayweather Jr.RTD9, 3:00Nov 10, 2001Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S.For WBC super featherweight title
36Win35–1Juan José AriasUD12May 26, 2001Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.Retained NABF super featherweight title
35Win34–1Tom JohnsonTKO8, 0:10Feb 23, 2001Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S.Won vacant NABF super featherweight title
34Win33–1Benito RodríguezTKO6, 0:10Jan 14, 2001Deandas Tejano Saloon, Houston, Texas, U.S.
33Win32–1Miguel AndradeKO2Aug 4, 2000Ensenada, Mexico
32Win31–1Russell MosleyTKO2Jun 23, 2000Poliforum Zamna, Mérida, Mexico
31Win30–1Darryl PinckneyTKO4 Mar 3, 2000Chihuahua, MexicoRetained NABF super featherweight title
30Win29–1Adarryl JohnsonTKO5, 1:12Nov 15, 1999La Boom Discoteque, Mexico City, MexicoRetained NABF super featherweight title
29Win28–1Armando BósquezTKO4 Aug 27, 1999Gimnasio Municipal "Jose Neri Santos", Ciudad Juárez, MexicoWon vacant NABF super featherweight title
28Win27–1Bruno RabanalesTKO4Jul 31, 1999Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
27Win26–1Julio ÁlvarezUD12May 22, 1999Mexico City, MexicoWon vacant NABF super featherweight title
26Win25–1Rudolfo LunsfordTKO4 Oct 2, 1998Hala Ludowa, Wrocław, PolandRetained NABF super featherweight title
25Win24–1Eloy OrtegaTKO2Aug 15, 1998Mexico City, Mexico
24Win23–1Moisés RodríguezTKO3Apr 18, 1998Mexico City, Mexico
23Win22–1Troy DorseyRTD7, 3:00Oct 4, 1997Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained NABF super featherweight title
22Win21–1Wilfredo NegrónTKO5, 0:10Aug 19, 1997Convention Center, Austin, Texas, U.S.Retained NABF super featherweight title
21Win20–1John BrownUD12Jun 10, 1997Luedecke Arena, Austin, Texas, U.S.Retained NABF super featherweight title
20Win19–1Louie Espinoza8 May 5, 1997Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained NABF super featherweight title;
Unanimous TD after Espinoza was cut from an accidental head clash
19Win18–1Louie LeijaTKO6, 2:26Mar 3, 1997Austin, Texas, U.S.Won vacant NABF super featherweight title
18Win17–1Miguel TepanacatlKO2, 0:45Nov 8, 1996Austin, Texas, U.S.
17Win16–1Javier JáureguiUD12Aug 9, 1996Austin, Texas, U.S.Won vacant NABF featherweight title
16Win15–1Felipe CastilloUD10May 17, 1996Austin, Texas, U.S.
15Win14–1Cedric MingoUD12Mar 31, 1996Jacob Brown Auditorium, Brownsville, Texas, U.S.Won vacant WBC Continental Americas featherweight title
14Win13–1Eldon SneedTKO2, 1:38Feb 22, 1996Austin, Texas, U.S.
13Win12–1Roberto Ávila10Dec 6, 1995Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
12Win11–1Gilbert SalinasUD8Nov 2, 1995Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S.
11Win10–1Lupe RodríguezKO6, 1:25Sep 21, 1995International Convention Center, Brownsville, Texas, U.S.
10Win9–1Héctor VicencioTKO6 Aug 25, 1995Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S.
9Win8–1Arturo Rangel2Jul 29, 1995Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
8Win7–1Manuel Mendez2, 3:00Jul 13, 1995International Convention Center, Brownsville, Texas, U.S.
7Win6–1Emanuel AugustusTKO7Jun 20, 1995Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
6Win5–1Tony DuranTKO3May 3, 1995Dallas, Texas, U.S.
5Loss4–1Carlos Gerena8Jan 7, 1995Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
4Win4–0César Armando MartínezTKO4 Oct 15, 1994West Martin Field, Laredo, Texas, U.S.
3Win3–0Jamie Cooper4Oct 13, 1994Expo Hall, Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
2Win2–0Rudy HernandezUD4Aug 19, 1994Municipal Stadium, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
1Win1–0Lewis Wood4Aug 5, 1994Houston, Texas, U.S.