Chavez captured a gold medal in the light welterweight division at the 1989 Southeast Asian Games in his first major international competition. He defeated Thai Arnit Suwanwijit in the final. A month after the SEA Games, Chavez was sent to the 1989 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Moscow along with Leopoldo Serantes and Isidro Vicera. He lost to Poland's Dariusz Czernij in his opening bout.