Boxing Look Back: The Career of Salvador Sanchez

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History has given us many examples of greatness cut short. The loss of a noted figure long before their time has touched many different strata of society over the years, and it always seems as though they were taken from us long before they should have rightfully moved towards the final exit. John F. Kennedy, James Dean and Lady Diana, Princess of Wales immediately come to mind, but such is the nature of this life that there are indeed no guarantees. In boxing it is no different and if there was one fighter over the last 30 years that left us long before the bell rightfully should have sounded it was Mexico’s rising world featherweight champion, the great Salvador Sanchez.

The word on Sanchez was that he had an almost non-existent amateur career with just four known bouts to his credit. Standing a tall for the weight 5’7” and blessed with a modest reach of 67”, he boxed effectively from the orthodox stance, opting to carefully out-think his opponents but open to exchanges when the need presented itself. Not considered a huge puncher, he was primarily a boxer and observant ring tactician. He once stated “The knockouts come through undermining my opponents.”

Embarking on a professional career just a few months past his 16th birthday in May 1975, and fighting as a flyweight, Sanchez carefully utilized a measured aggression, scoring a 3rd round knockout over one Al Gardeno buried on some club fight card in Veracruz, Mexico. Whatever amateur experience he lacked going into the paid ranks was made up for over the next two years where he amassed a perfect 18-0 record with 17 knockouts over tough Mexican opposition. His schooling kicked into another gear altogether in September 1977 when he lost a close competitive split 12-round decision to the tough Antonio Becerra for the vacant Mexico bantamweight title. It was the sort of loss where nobody really lost, rather it told you more about Sanchez at the foundational level, and what he was destined to become, more than about any great skill deficit or flaw in his makeup.

Rebounding quickly, and having moved up to the featherweight division, Sanchez scored two return 10-round distance wins over modest opposition before finding himself on the canvas at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles in April 1978. Dropped in the 5th round against Juan Escobar, Sanchez rallied late to pull out a split 10-round draw. Undaunted, he carried on with a busy schedule, going to the post five additional times to close out the year, along the way stopping the well traveled Ecuadorian journeyman Hector Cortez.

1979 proved to be a pivotal year for Sanchez. At age 20 he rose to international prominence, ranked 8th in the world at featherweight by Ring Magazine. Key wins over the 44-8-1 James Martinez and former world title challenger Fel Clemente cemented his momentum on the world stage and the notable drubbing of Felix Trinidad SR, then a humble if underrated 7-3 as a fighter, and a man who would one day spawn and give rise to one of the most sensational three-division champions of the last fifty years, ensured an alternate if truncated link to greatness beyond his yet-to-come championship exploits.

After a stellar 8-0 campaign the previous year, ‘Chava’ found himself standing across the ring from WBC featherweight champion Danny ‘Little Red’ Lopez at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona on February 2nd 1980. With a record of 42-3, 39 KO’s, with a 4” reach advantage, and coming off a stellar 15th- round KO of Mike Ayala in 1979, a performance that Ring Magazine called Fight of the Year, Lopez was hell on wheels and looking to make his 9th title defense. Their bout was competitive through the first five rounds but starting in the 6th Sanchez fluid boxing acumen kicked into a higher realm, a point where a systematical disassembly of the American champion took place. At 0:51 of the 13th round referee Waldemar Schmidt waved off the contest, saving ‘Little Red’ for another day and making Sanchez a world champion. So thorough was his dominance up until the end, the fight judge with the closest margin had ‘Chava’ seven points ahead. Salvador Sanchez had arrived.

A fighting champion, Sanchez kept a busy schedule, making four title defenses that year, among them a competitive rematch with former champion Lopez just four months into his reign, the return lasting slightly longer, this time until the 14thround, a TKO victory that underlined his appointment as WBC featherweight champ. Rounding out matters, Sanchez turned back the 47-1 Ruben Castillo by 15-round unanimous decision, future WBC featherweight champ Juan La Porte via the same route, and what RSR’s CEO and Webmaster, Brad Berkwitt called “a great rumble”, the network televised 15-round majority decision victory over Patrick Ford, then an undefeated top contender.

In his second year as the reigning WBC featherweight champion, Sanchez scored his signature win, the sort of victory over another great fighter that has lasting ramifications where history is concerned. In what will go down as the pinnacle of a career ultimately cut short, ‘Chava’ put his cards on the table in August 1981 at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas against WBC super bantamweight champion Wilfredo Gomez, the highly destructive Puerto Rican wrecking machine with a 32-0-1 record, who despite having been held to a draw in his initial outing as a professional, was on a 32-bout knockout streak. In a bout billed as “The Battle of the Little Giants”, Sanchez dropped Gomez twice before stopping him in the 8thround of a bout that was touch and go on the cards up until matters were waved off. Four months later, Sanchez retained his title for the 7th time, dropping Pat Cowdell in the 15th round to pull out a split decision win at the Houston Astrodome in Texas.

1982 proved to be the final lap for Sanchez, in both his career and life. A wide unanimous decision victory over Jorge Garcia in May was quickly followed by another key career moment, a summertime struggle with future two-division great Azumah Nelson. In a tight and closely contested match, Sanchez floored the gifted Ghanaian in the 15th and final round, forcing referee Tony Perez to intervene and wave matters off. It’s a win that has taken on far greater significance with the passage of time given Nelson’s lofty achievements as a decorated world champion in the years that followed, and the fact it was the last time the world would ever see Sanchez perform in the squared circle.

Just a few weeks removed from that last ring appearance, Salvador Sanchez was killed instantly when his Porche 928 collided with a pickup truck in his native Mexico in the early morning of August 12, 1982. At the time of his death he was set for a rematch with former foe Juan La Porte, and there had been talk of an eventual rise up to the lightweight division to challenge reigning champion Alexis Arguello for the WBC lightweight crown. ‘Chava’ was just 23 years-old.

To this day many boxing writers, as well as his contemporaries believe that Salvador Sanchez could have gone on to become the greatest featherweight champion of all-time. As stated at the beginning of this article, the career of this great Mexican fighter is an example of greatness cut short. Salvador Sanchez’ final career tally stands at 44-1-1 with 32 knockouts. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.

Salvador Sanchez
Division: Featherweight
Professional Record: 44-1-1, 32 KO’s

Date Opponent Location Result

1982-07-21 Azumah Nelson New York, US W TKO 15
WBC Featherweight Title
1982-05-08 Jorge Garcia Dallas, US W UD 15
WBC Featherweight Title

1981-12-12 Pat Cowdell Houston, US W SD 15
WBC Featherweight Title
1981-08-21 Wilfredo Gomez Las Vegas, US W TKO 8
WBC Featherweight Title
1981-07-11 Nicky Perez Los Angeles, US W PTS 10
1981-03-22 Roberto Castanon Las Vegas, US W TKO 10
WBC Featherweight Title

1980-12-13 Juan La Porte El Paso, US W UD 15
WBC Featherweight Title
1980-09-13 Patrick Ford San Antonio, US W MD 15
WBC Featherweight Title
1980-06-21 Danny Lopez Las Vegas, US W TKO 14
WBC Featherweight Title
1980-04-12 Ruben Castillo Tucson, US W UD 15
WBC Featherweight Title
1980-02-02 Danny Lopez Phoenix, US W TKO 13
WBC Featherweight Title

1979-12-15 Rafael Gandarilla Guadalajara, MX W TKO 5
1979-09-25 Richard Rozelle Los Angeles, US W KO 3
1979-08-07 Felix Trinidad Sr Houston, US W TKO 5
1979-07-22 Rosalio Muro San Luis Potosi, MX W KO 3
1979-06-17 Fel Clemente San Antonio, US W UD 12
1979-05-19 Salvador Torres Mexico City, MX W TKO 7
1979-03-13 James Martinez San Antonio, US W UD 10
1979-02-03 Carlos Mimila Mexico City, MX W KO 3

1978-12-16 Jose Santana Mexico City, MX W TKO 2
1978-11-21 Edwin Alarcon San Antonio, US W TKO 9
1978-09-26 Francisco Ponce Houston, US W KO 2
1978-08-13 Hector Cortez Mazatlan, MX W TKO 7
1978-07-01 Jose Sanchez Mexico City, MX W PTS 10
1978-04-15 Juan Escobar Los Angeles, US D MD 10

1977-12-05 Eliseo Cosme Mexico City, MX W PTS 10
1977-11-11 Jose Luis Soto Los Mochis, MX W PTS 10
1977-09-09 Antonio Becerra Mazatlan, MX L SD 12
vacant Mexico Bantamweight Title
1977-05-21 Rosalio Badillo Mexico City, MX W TKO 5
1977-03-12 Daniel Felizardo Mexico City, MX W KO 5
1977-02-05 Raul Lopez Mexicali, MX W TKO 10

1976-12-25 Antonio Leon Mexico City, MX W TKO 10
1976-10-31 Saul Montana Nuevo Laredo, MX W TKO 9
1976-08-11 Joel Valdez Mexico City, MX W TKO 9
1976-07-05 Pedro Sandoval Mexico City, MX W TKO 9
1976-05-26 Fidel Trejo Mexico City, MX W KO 6
1976-04-24 Jose Chavez Mexico City, MX W TKO 7
1976-03-31 Serafin Isidro Pacheco Mexico City, MX W TKO 4
1976-02-25 Javier Solis Mexico City, MX W TKO 7
1976-01-24 Juan Granados Mexico City, MX W TKO 3

1975-12-11 Fidel Trejo Mexico City, MX W UD 8
1975-11-25 Candido Sandoval Mexico City, MX W TKO 7
1975-10-19 Cesar Lopez Misantla, MX W KO 4
1975-08-10 Victor Martinez Misantla, MX W KO 2
1975-05-25 Miguel Ortiz Misantla, MX W KO 3
1975-05-04 Al Gardeno Veracruz, MX W KO 3

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