# Jesús Chávez

Jesús Gabriel Sandoval Chávez (/ˈtʃævɛz/; born November 12, 1972) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2010. 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, (44-4 with 31 Win by TKO) 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. As of 2017 Chávez and Stroklund are divorced and Chávez now resides in Dallas, Texas.

## Professional boxing record

| 52 fights | 44 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 30 | 4 |
| By decision | 14 | 4 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 52 | Loss | 44–8 | Jorge Linares | RTD | 4 (10), 3:00 | Oct 24, 2010 | Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo, Japan | |
| 51 | Loss | 44–7 | Humberto Soto | UD | 10 | Dec 19, 2009 | Arena ITSON, Ciudad Obregón, Mexico | |
| 50 | Loss | 44–6 | David Díaz | MD | 10 | Sep 26, 2009 | UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |
| 49 | Loss | 44–5 | Michael Katsidis | RTD | 8 (10), 0:10 | Apr 4, 2009 | Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 48 | Win | 44–4 | Andrés Ledesma | TKO | 9 (10), 0:42 | Sep 6, 2008 | Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, U.S. | |
| 47 | Win | 43–4 | Daniel Jiménez | UD | 10 | Apr 4, 2008 | Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California, U.S. | |
| 46 | Loss | 42–4 | Julio Díaz | KO | 3 (12), 0:22 | Feb 3, 2007 | Silver Spurs Arena, Kissimmee, Florida, U.S. | Lost IBF lightweight title |
| 45 | Win | 42–3 | Leavander Johnson | TKO | 11 (12), 0:38 | Sep 17, 2005 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Won IBF lightweight title |
| 44 | Win | 41–3 | Carlos Hernández | SD | 12 | May 28, 2005 | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| 43 | Loss | 40–3 | Érik Morales | UD | 12 | Feb 28, 2004 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | Lost WBC super featherweight title |
| 42 | Win | 40–2 | Sirimongkol Singwancha | UD | 12 | Aug 15, 2003 | Convention Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | Won WBC super featherweight title |
| 41 | Win | 39–2 | Carlos Gerena | TKO | 6 (12), 2:10 | Mar 22, 2003 | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | |
| 40 | Win | 38–2 | Johnny Walker | TKO | 6 (10), 2:03 | Nov 15, 2002 | Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas, U.S. | |
| 39 | Win | 37–2 | Julio Sánchez León | TKO | 7 (10), 2:34 | Jun 28, 2002 | Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
| 38 | Win | 36–2 | Gerardo Zayas | KO | 3 (10), 2:26 | Mar 22, 2002 | Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 37 | Loss | 35–2 | Floyd Mayweather Jr. | RTD | 9 (12), 3:00 | Nov 10, 2001 | Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California, U.S. | For WBC and lineal super featherweight titles |
| 36 | Win | 35–1 | Juan José Arias | UD | 12 | May 26, 2001 | Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. | Retained NABF super featherweight title |
| 35 | Win | 34–1 | Tom Johnson | TKO | 8 (12), 0:10 | Feb 23, 2001 | Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | Won vacant NABF super featherweight title |
| 34 | Win | 33–1 | Benito Rodríguez | TKO | 6 (10), 0:10 | Jan 14, 2001 | Deandas Tejano Saloon, Houston, Texas, U.S. | |
| 33 | Win | 32–1 | Miguel Andrade | KO | 2 | Aug 4, 2000 | Ensenada, Mexico | |
| 32 | Win | 31–1 | Russell Mosley | TKO | 2 | Jun 23, 2000 | Poliforum Zamna, Mérida, Mexico | |
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | Darryl Pinckney | TKO | 4 (12) | Mar 3, 2000 | Chihuahua, Mexico | Retained NABF super featherweight title |
| 30 | Win | 29–1 | Adarryl Johnson | TKO | 5 (12), 1:12 | Nov 15, 1999 | La Boom Discoteque, Mexico City, Mexico | Retained NABF super featherweight title |
| 29 | Win | 28–1 | Armando Bósquez | TKO | 4 (12) | Aug 27, 1999 | Gimnasio Municipal "Jose Neri Santos", Ciudad Juárez, Mexico | Won vacant NABF super featherweight title |
| 28 | Win | 27–1 | Bruno Rabanales | TKO | 4 | Jul 31, 1999 | Ciudad Juárez, Mexico | |
| 27 | Win | 26–1 | Julio Álvarez | UD | 12 | May 22, 1999 | Mexico City, Mexico | Won vacant NABF super featherweight title |
| 26 | Win | 25–1 | Rudolfo Lunsford | TKO | 4 (12) | Oct 2, 1998 | Hala Ludowa, Wrocław, Poland | Retained NABF super featherweight title |
| 25 | Win | 24–1 | Eloy Ortega | TKO | 2 | Aug 15, 1998 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 24 | Win | 23–1 | Moisés Rodríguez | TKO | 3 | Apr 18, 1998 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 23 | Win | 22–1 | Troy Dorsey | RTD | 7 (12), 3:00 | Oct 4, 1997 | Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | Retained NABF super featherweight title |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Wilfredo Negrón | TKO | 5 (12), 0:10 | Aug 19, 1997 | Convention Center, Austin, Texas, U.S. | Retained NABF super featherweight title |
| 21 | Win | 20–1 | John Brown | UD | 12 | Jun 10, 1997 | Luedecke Arena, Austin, Texas, U.S. | Retained NABF super featherweight title |
| 20 | Win | 19–1 | Louie Espinoza | TD | 8 (12) | 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 |
| 19 | Win | 18–1 | Louie Leija | TKO | 6 (12), 2:26 | Mar 3, 1997 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | Won vacant NABF super featherweight title |
| 18 | Win | 17–1 | Miguel Tepanacatl | KO | 2 (10), 0:45 | Nov 8, 1996 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 17 | Win | 16–1 | Javier Jáuregui | UD | 12 | Aug 9, 1996 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | Won vacant NABF featherweight title |
| 16 | Win | 15–1 | Felipe Castillo | UD | 10 | May 17, 1996 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 15 | Win | 14–1 | Cedric Mingo | UD | 12 | Mar 31, 1996 | Jacob Brown Auditorium, Brownsville, Texas, U.S. | Won vacant WBC Continental Americas featherweight title |
| 14 | Win | 13–1 | Eldon Sneed | TKO | 2 (8), 1:38 | Feb 22, 1996 | Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 13 | Win | 12–1 | Roberto Ávila | PTS | 10 | Dec 6, 1995 | Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 12 | Win | 11–1 | Gilbert Salinas | UD | 8 | Nov 2, 1995 | Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 11 | Win | 10–1 | Lupe Rodríguez | KO | 6 (10), 1:25 | Sep 21, 1995 | International Convention Center, Brownsville, Texas, U.S. | |
| 10 | Win | 9–1 | Héctor Vicencio | TKO | 6 (10) | Aug 25, 1995 | Music Hall, Austin, Texas, U.S. | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Arturo Rangel | KO | 2 | Jul 29, 1995 | Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
| 8 | Win | 7–1 | Manuel Mendez | RTD | 2 (6), 3:00 | Jul 13, 1995 | International Convention Center, Brownsville, Texas, U.S. | |
| 7 | Win | 6–1 | Emanuel Augustus | TKO | 7 | Jun 20, 1995 | Will Rogers Coliseum, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. | |
| 6 | Win | 5–1 | Tony Duran | TKO | 3 | May 3, 1995 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |
| 5 | Loss | 4–1 | Carlos Gerena | SD | 8 | Jan 7, 1995 | Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | César Armando Martínez | TKO | 4 (8) | Oct 15, 1994 | West Martin Field, Laredo, Texas, U.S. | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Jamie Cooper | TKO | 4 | Oct 13, 1994 | Expo Hall, Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Rudy Hernandez | UD | 4 | Aug 19, 1994 | Municipal Stadium, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Lewis Wood | UD | 4 | Aug 5, 1994 | Houston, Texas, U.S. | Professional debut |