Jesús Chávez


Jesús Gabriel Sandoval Chávez is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2005. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC super featherweight title from 2003 to 2004, and the IBF 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.

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].
As of 2017 Chávez and Stroklund are divorced and Chávez now resides in Dallas, Texas.

Professional boxing record

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