Jesus Gabriel Sandoval Chavez

Nickname – “El Matador”

Height – 5-5

Weight – 135 (Lightweight)

Date of Birth – November 12, 1972

Birthplace – Parral, Mexico

Hometown – Austin, Texas

Pro Record – 44-4 (30 Knockouts)

Jesus Chavez has lived through trials and tribulations in his life that would have broken lesser men, but as a world champion in two weight classes, it’s obvious that this journey has not weakened the former junior lightweight and lightweight champion, but made him stronger.

Born in Parral, Mexico on November 12, 1972, Chavez and his family later moved to Chicago, and the young Jesus discovered boxing at an early age in the Windy City.  In 1987, he was voted Chicago’s amateur boxer of the year, but soon Jesus got mixed up with the wrong crowd and in 1990, the 17-year-old was arrested and imprisoned for his role in a grocery store robbery.

Upon his release in 1994, Jesus was deported from the United States back to Mexico because of his undocumented alien status in the country.  Chavez returned to the States later that year though and moved to Texas, where he still makes his home today.

Eager to get his boxing career back on track, Jesus returned to the ring, this time as a professional.  He made his debut on August 5, 1994 with a four round decision win over Lewis Wood, and followed it up with three more wins that year.

In his first bout of 1995, Chavez lost a split decision to unbeaten Carlos Gerena in San Antonio, but he wouldn’t lose again for another six years.  After the defeat to Gerena, Chavez jumped right back into the win column with a three round stoppage of Tony Duran, and by 1996, Jesus was not only the WBC Continental Americas featherweight champion (a feat achieved by a 12 round decision over Cedric Mingo on March 31, 1996), but one of the sport’s brightest prospects.

August of 1996 saw Chavez add the NABF belt to his trophy case after a 12 round decision over future champion Javier Jauregui, and in 1997 he tore through some of the best fighters in his new weight class (130 pounds), defeating Louie Leija (TKO6), Louie Espinoza (WTD8), John Brown (W12), Wilfredo Negron (TKO5), and Troy Dorsey (TKO7).

Unfortunately, just as his world title shot was approaching, Chavez was deported yet again due to recently enacted immigration laws, despite his status as a pillar of the community and a role model to Texas youth.

Forced to fight in Mexico (and once in Poland), Chavez stayed busy with ten consecutive wins from 1998 to 2000 while friends, family, and even strangers did their best to have him pardoned and brought back to the US.  Finally, in February of 2001, Chavez was granted permanent residence in the United States at the US consulate in Juarez, Mexico.

Chavez wasted no time getting back into the swing of things, stopping former world champion Tom Johnson in seven rounds in February of 2001.

After defending his crown against Juan Jose Arias (W12) in May of 2001, Chavez finally got his world title shot on November 10, 2001, when he faced off against unbeaten former Olympian Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the WBC super featherweight crown.

And though Jesus was courageous throughout the bout, Mayweather was at his best, and he stopped Chavez in nine rounds.

Undeterred, Chavez ran off three straight stoppage victories after the loss to Mayweather, and was then matched with the man who handed him his first defeat – Carlos Gerena – on March 22, 2003.  At stake was a shot at the title vacated by Mayweather.

Well, Chavez got even with Gerena, stopping him in six rounds, and less than five months later, on August 15, 2003, Jesus Chavez finally achieved his dream of becoming a world champion as he decisioned Sirimongkol Singwangcha over 12 rounds to earn the WBC super featherweight crown.

On February 28, 2004, Chavez put his title on the line against Mexican legend Erik Morales.  Chavez hurt Morales badly early in the fight, but soon after Chavez would seriously injure his shoulder and his knee.  Despite being able to punch with only one hand, Chavez put on one of the most courageous performances ever seen in the boxing ring, and he gave Morales all he could handle before losing a 12 round decision.

His unforgettable performance against Morales earned Chavez another WBC elimination bout, this one on May 28, 2005 against former world champ Carlos Hernandez.  And though many wondered whether Chavez would be 100% after his injuries, his performance against ‘El Famoso’ silenced any critics as he gutted out a 12 round split decision in a fight few who witnessed it will ever forget.

On September 17, 2005, Chavez became a two division world champion when he scored an 11^th round TKO over veteran Leavander Johnson for the IBF lightweight crown on the ‘Parade of Champions’ show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  Unfortunately, Johnson passed away from injuries suffered during the bout, a tragedy that hit Chavez hard.

He would not come back to the ring until February 3, 2007, but his bout against Julio Diaz was cursed from the start, with Chavez being counted out in the third round due to a severe knee injury.

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