Salvador Sánchez’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story
By Henry Morales
| Intro | Argentinian association football player |
| Is | Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From | Argentina |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 31 July 1995, Tres Algarrobos, Carlos Tejedor Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina |
| Age: | 24 years |
| Star sign | Leo |
Salvador Sánchez Narváez (January 26, 1959 – August 12, 1982) was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Sanchez was the WBC and lineal featherweight champion from 1980 to 1982. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that, had it not been for his premature death, Sanchez could have gone on to become the greatest Featherweight boxer of all time. He is also the uncle of Salvador Sánchez II.
Career
Sánchez started his professional career at the age of 16, as a teenager (after a brief amateur career consisting of reportedly 4 amateur bouts) he started piling up wins against tough Mexican opposition. His first fight of note came in his 19th professional fight against the Mexican bantamweight champion Antonio Becerra. Becerra proved too experienced for the young Sánchez, the bout ended in a split decision defeat for Sánchez.
Sánchez kept on fighting and moved to the Featherweight division. Soon he had beaten people like the Puerto Rican featherweight champion Felix Trinidad Sr., on his way to securing a title shot at world champion Danny “Little Red” Lopez, a popular TV fighter of the late 1970s who was an impressive fighter and had won some spectacular fights against the likes of former world champion David Kotei (twice), Juan Malvares and Mike Ayala. Confident and hard to beat, Lopez was beaten by the 21-year-old Sánchez, who knocked out the defending champion in 13 rounds in Phoenix, Arizona, United States on February 2, 1980. Sanchez defended his title for the first time with a 15-round unanimous decision against Ruben Castillo (47–1). Thinking it was just a case of ‘beginner’s luck’ (as it was Sánchez’s first world title fight ever), Lopez looked for a rematch and this he got, in Las Vegas. This time Sánchez defeated Lopez by 14th-round TKO. In his next fight, he defeated Patrick Ford (15–0) .
On December 13, 1980, Sánchez defeated future champion Juan Laporte by unanimous decision. Sánchez then defended his title against Roberto Castanon (43–1–0) and scored a win over Nicky Perez (50–3–0). Then undefeated World Jr Featherweight champion Wilfredo Gómez (32–0–1) went up in weight and challenged Sánchez. Sánchez retained the crown by a knockout in round eight on August 21, 1981, in Las Vegas, and Gómez had to return to the Jr. Featherweight division.
With that victory, Salvador was an unknown to the casual boxing fan no more. He became a household name all over the United States that night.
In his next fight, he defeated Olympic medalist Pat Cowdell by split decision. His defense vs unheralded Jorge “Rocky” Garcia was the first fight featuring two featherweights ever to be televised by HBO. He beat Garcia punch after punch, but the challenger gave honor to his nickname, an unknown fighter who lasts the distance with the world champion.
On July 21, 1982, Sánchez faced future champion Azumah Nelson at Madison Square Garden. Nelson, a late substitute for mandatory challenger Mario Miranda, was unknown at the time however, and was expected to only go a few rounds with the champ. It was an intense battle, with Sánchez managing to drop his young charge in the 7th round. After that they engaged in violent exchange after violent exchange. In the 15th, Sánchez broke out finally, connecting with a serious combination that dropped the challenger almost outside the ring. Referee Tony Perez had to stop the fight seconds later. Azumah Nelson went on to have a glittering career and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.
Sanchez’s dominance as featherweight champion was such that he held title defense victories over the next three fighters (LaPorte, Gomez, and Nelson) who won the WBC title after his death. Also notably, he went 4-0, all four wins by knockouts, against fellow members of the International Boxing Hall of Fame (Danny Lopez twice-KO 13, KO 14-Wilfredo Gomez-KO 8-and Azumah Nelson-KO 15)
Death
As he was training for a rematch with Laporte set for September, he crashed on the early morning of August 12, 1982, while driving his Porsche 928 sports car along the federal highway from Santiago de Querétaro to San Luis Potosí, dying instantly. At the time of his death, there were talks about a bout with Miranda, a rematch with Gómez or a challenge of world lightweight champion Alexis Argüello. The latter was already off the table. There had been negotiations between the Sanchez and Argüello camps but they broke off when Argüello chose to campaign as a junior welterweight. Salvador Sánchez finished his career 44-1-1.
Sánchez was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
Acting
Sanchez appeared as himself, albeit as a Junior Lightweight world champion, in the 1983 film The Last Fight, released after his death. The movie was dedicated to him. In it, Sanchez shared scenes with Ruben Blades, who played a challenger to Sanchez’s title.
Professional record
| 44 Wins (32 knockouts, 12 decisions), 1 Lost, 1 Draw | |||||||
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Win | 44–1–1 | Azumah Nelson | TKO | 15 (15), 1:49 | July 21, 1982 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 43–1–1 | Jorge Garcia | UD | 15 | May 8, 1982 | Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 42–1–1 | Pat Cowdell | SD | 15 | December 12, 1981 | Astrodome, Houston, Texas | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 41–1–1 | Wilfredo Gómez | TKO | 8 (15), 2:09 | August 21, 1981 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 40–1–1 | Nicky Perez | PTS | 10 | July 11, 1981 | Los Angeles | |
| Win | 39–1–1 | Roberto Castanon | TKO | 10 (15), 1:09 | March 22, 1981 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 38–1–1 | Juan Laporte | UD | 15 | December 13, 1980 | County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 37–1–1 | Patrick Ford | MD | 15 | September 13, 1980 | Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 36–1–1 | Danny Lopez | TKO | 14 (15), 1:42 | June 21, 1980 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 35–1–1 | Ruben Castillo | UD | 15 | April 12, 1980 | Civic Auditorium, Tucson, Arizona | Retained WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 34–1–1 | Danny Lopez | TKO | 13(15), 0:51 | February 2, 1980 | Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona | Won WBC & Lineal Featherweight titles. |
| Win | 33–1–1 | Rafael Gandarilla | TKO | 5 (10) | December 15, 1979 | Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | |
| Win | 32–1–1 | Richard Rozelle | KO | 3 (10), 1:55 | September 15, 1979 | Sports Arena, Los Angeles | |
| Win | 31–1–1 | Félix Trinidad Sr. | TKO | 5 (10) | August 7, 1979 | Summit, Houston, Texas | |
| Win | 30–1–1 | Rosalio Muro | KO | 3 (10) | July 22, 1979 | San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico | |
| Win | 29–1–1 | Fel Clemente | UD | 12 | June 17, 1979 | Convention Center Arena, San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 28–1–1 | Salvador Torres | TKO | 7 (10) | May 19, 1979 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 27–1–1 | James Martinez | UD | 10 | March 13, 1979 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 26–1–1 | Carlos Mimila | KO | 3 (10) | February 3, 1979 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 25–1–1 | José Santana | TKO | 2 (10) | December 16, 1978 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 24–1–1 | Edwin Alarcon | TKO | 9 (10) | November 21, 1978 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 23–1–1 | Francisco Ponce | KO | 2 (10) | September 26, 1978 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 22–1–1 | Hector Cortez | TKO | 7 (10) | August 13, 1978 | Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico | |
| Win | 21–1–1 | José Sánchez | UD | 10 | July 1, 1978 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Draw | 20–1–1 | Juan Escobar | MD | 10 | March 15, 1978 | Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 20–1 | Eliseo Cosme | UD | 10 | December 5, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 19–1 | José Luis Soto | UD | 10 | November 11, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Loss | 18–1 | Antonio Becerra | SD | 12 | September 9, 1977 | Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico | vacant Mexico Bantamweight title on the line. |
| Win | 18–0 | Rosalio Badillo | TKO | 5 (10) | May 21, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 17–0 | Daniel Felizardo | KO | 5 (10) | March 12, 1977 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 16–0 | Raúl López | TKO | 10 (10) | February 5, 1977 | Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico | |
| Win | 15–0 | Antonio Leon | TKO | 10 (10) | December 25, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 14–0 | Saul Montana | TKO | 9 (10) | October 31, 1976 | Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico | |
| Win | 13–0 | Joel Valdez | TKO | 9 (10) | August 11, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 12–0 | Pedro Sandoval | TKO | 9 (10) | July 5, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 11–0 | Fidel Trejo | KO | 6 (10) | May 26, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 10–0 | Jose Chavez | TKO | 7 (10) | April 24, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 9–0 | Serafin Isidro Pacheco | TKO | 4 (8) | March 31, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 8–0 | Javier Solis | TKO | 7 (8) | February 25, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 7–0 | Juan Granados | TKO | 3 (8) | January 24, 1976 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 6–0 | Fidel Trejo | UD | 8 | December 11, 1975 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 5–0 | Candido Sandoval | TKO | 7 (8) | November 25, 1975 | Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico | |
| Win | 4–0 | Cesar Lopez | KO | 4 (6) | October 19, 1975 | Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Win | 3–0 | Victor Martinez | KO | 2 (6) | August 10, 1975 | Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Win | 2–0 | Miguel Ortiz | KO | 3 (6) | May 25, 1975 | Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Win | 1–0 | Al Gardeno | KO | 3 (4) | May 4, 1975 | Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico | Salvador’s professional debut. |
Trivia
In the movie 21, Ben Campbell, played by Jim Sturgess, introduces himself to a girl as Salvador Sánchez.
Folk Rock band Sun Kil Moon recorded an eponymous song about Sanchez on their 2003 album Ghosts of the Great Highway.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Danny Lopez | WBC Featherweight Champion Feb 2 1980 – Aug 12 1982 Died in car crash | Vacant Title next held by Juan Laporte |
| Lineal Featherweight Champion Feb 2 1980 – Aug 12 1982 Died in car crash | Vacant Title next held by Eusebio Pedroza | |
