Upon return from the trials in Worcester, Massachusetts, Wood decided to go professional and has since cut a swath through the featherweight ranks. But one night in 1994, Wood accepted the challenge of an unknown boxer fighting out of Austin. Jesus Chavez had never been in a professional fight before. You know, I said to myself, 'I can't lose this fight. My family came all the way down from Chicago just to see me fight and do good.
Wood is left-handed, and lefties usually throw off even the most experienced boxers.
A few good uppercuts and roundhouses usually do the job, and it usually takes months, if not years, to perfect a defense. But Chavez learned in only one round. The first round of that fight went to Wood. The Wood fight opened the floodgates of media attention. Chavez lit up opponent after opponent and eventually attracted the interest of boxing legend Lou Duva, who has managed and trained the likes of Evander Holyfield and Pernell Whitaker.