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5'3" junior featherweight Jackie Chavez was born on June 1, 1983. She began her career in
combat sports as an amateur kickboxer training with Tony Rosales at the
Rosales Karate and Kickboxing Academy in Los Lunas, New Mexico, south of
Albuquerque. After winning a national kickboxing title at age 16 in a
close fight with Audrey Vela of Austin, Texas, Jackie decided to try her hand at
professional boxing.
She made her pro boxing debut on October 5, 2001 at the Sky City Casino in Acoma, New Mexico,
winning by a TKO at 0:29 in the third round over Brandy Leon of Prescott, Arizona.
Chavez pressured Leon with combinations throughout the bout and knocked her
down with a hard right before it was stopped. Leon fell to 1-5 with the loss.
Returning to the Sky City Casino on December 14, 2001, Jackie
moved her record to 2-0 (1 KO) with a four-round majority decision over Nicole Gallegos
of Albuquerque who fell to 0-2-1.
These wins persuaded Chavez to focus on her boxing and to begin training with her uncle, Ray Sanchez II,
in nearby Albuquerque.
"For one thing, Ray is family,” Jackie
told Chris Cozzone of
New Mexico Boxing. “The other reason is, Ray is more
boxing-based. My uncle’s worked with boxing all his life. Tony works with both
kickboxing and boxing. So, there’s going to be a difference. You learn
different things from different people.”
Sanchez worked on adapting Jackie's stance and teaching her to
throw a boxer's combinations. “My stance is more narrow and my legs are bent more,” said
Jackie, "plus my training has a lot more movement now. It’s more speed and
movement, and working my jab more. The strategy is not so much to be
aggressive but to stay busy and keep punching.”
Jackie Chavez (left) vs. Vangie Abeyta
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On March 23, 2002 at Pojoaque, New Mexico, Jackie (121½ lbs) moved her
record to 3-0 (1 KO) with a KO over debut fighter Vangie Abeyta of Denver, Colorado at 0:50 in the
first round. Abeyta went to the canvas twice before the stoppage.
According to Chris Cozzone: "When the bell rang for the
first, as Chavez attempted to touch gloves with her opponent, Abeyta answered
with a sneaky attack. Chavez covered up, got her bearings, and returned Abeyta’s
sloppy shots with a vengeful combination.
Almost immediately, a right hand put Abeyta down. She made the count but Jackie went in for the finish,
re-depositing Abeyta on the canvas. At just 50 seconds, Chavez was given the KO win."
On April 13, 2002 at Isleta Casino, Isleta, New Mexico, a hometown crowd saw Jackie (124 lbs)
move her record to 4-0 (3 KO)
with a TKO of debut boxer Jodi Johnson (122 lbs) from Phoenix, Arizona
at 1:41 in the opening round. Chris Cozzone
wrote:
"Jodi Johnson made her pro debut last night
against Chavez ... with pitiable attempts to hit and hold, constantly turning away from Chavez’s
punches and continually shutting her eyes — perhaps to convince herself this was all a bad dream
and to make it all go away — Johnson had absolutely no business being in the ring.
Not only did she display inexperience that could’ve gotten her injured, she looked as if
she’d never laced on a pair of gloves before in her life."
Jackie Chavez (left) vs. RaquelTebo
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On August 17, 2002 at the Santa Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo, New Mexico, Jackie (119¾ lbs)
faced a far more capable opponent and won a hard-fought four-round split
(39-37,39-37,37-39) decision over Raquel Tebo (119½ lbs) of Las
Vegas. Chavez spent the first two rounds boxing from the outside, sniping with good
combinations, but Tebo tagged her with some good counterpunches.
Chavez picked up her pace in the second but Tebo closed effectively in the third
and began to score with good
shots to Chavez's body. Chavez was still landing cleanly but Tebo came on strong
in the fourth and had her backed against
the ropes. Chavez fought back hard in an exciting and close round and came away
with the split. Chavez was now 5-0-0 (3 KO) while Tebo fell to 3-2-1.
Although
Chavez seemed set to progress to the next level as a pro boxer, she instead
took an extended time out in 2003 while enrolled in school to study physical
therapy. “I had a lot going on,”
she says, “I was trying to get it all together."
But eventually she returned to Ray Sanchez's gym and began to recondition herself.
Jackie Chavez (right) vs. Leanne Villareal
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On February 20, 2004 at the High School, Roswell, New Mexico, USA, Jackie won a
four-round unanimous (39-37,39-37,39-38) decision over
a very game debut fighter Leanne Villareal. Despite some ring rust, Chavez, who
ended the fight covered in blood from her nose, improved to 6-0 (3 KO) after
winning three of the four rounds against a tough opponent.
"I was a little nervous in that fight", Chavez told Chris Cozzone.
"I
was too cautious and should’ve been more aggressive. I could’ve landed a lot
more punches and I was standing up a lot, not following through with my punches.
Overall, I was happy with my performance, despite bleeding all over the place. I
was able to get through it and focus on the fight."
A week later, she was preparing for
her next fight by sparring with Yvonne Chavez, Holly Holm and amateur Archie Ray
Marquez.
Jackie Chavez (right) vs. Mercedes Mercury
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On April 10, 2004 in front of a near-sellout crowd of 2,200 at the Convention
Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico Jackie (124 lbs) won a controversial six-round
split decision over southpaw Mercedes Mercury (125 lbs) from Denver, Colorado.
Mercury was just 3-3, but she was also on a three-fight winning streak coming
into the fight.
The evening did not begin well for Chavez, as a misunderstanding about when the
fight was to begin left Sanchez still wrapping Chavez's hands when
they were called to the ring. Chavez
skipped her usual warm-up, entered the ring cold, then got off to a slow
start. Mercury established her right jab and used her left to catch Chavez
coming in. Chavez landed a hard overhand right just before the bell, but Mercury
controlled the opening round.
In the second, Mercury again kept Chavez at bay with her right jab, then use hard lefts to deter
her from working her way inside.
Mercury began to taunt Chavez,
but Chavez eventually broke through Mercury's defense and
started to land with both fists i the third.
Chavez picked up her pace in the fourth and tagged Mercury with solid rights.
The fifth was a contest between Chavez’s short rights and Mercury’s
strong straight lefts. Realizing that she might be in trouble, Chavez
pressured Mercury hard in the sixth but
Mercury appeared to give as good as she got. Chris Cozzone reports
that he scored it 58-56 for Mercury. This matched one judge's tally, but two others scored it 58-56 for Chavez, giving her
a controversial split decision. Chavez advanced her to 7-0 (3 KOs) while Mercury
dropped to 3-4 (1 KO).
“It’s all a learning experience,” Chavez later told Cozzone.
“These are the kinds of opponents I need to fight. My number one goal is not just to win fights but to
improve. You can win a fight with just one punch,
like what happened in my pro debut, but my goal is
to beat someone who’s skillful, and knows what
they’re doing. Like Mercury.” For
her part, Mercury said she thought she won the fight
easily. Her corner vowed never to return to Albuquerque but
offered Chavez a rematch ... in Denver!
Jackie Chavez (right) vs. Jayla Ortiz
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On November 20, 2004 at the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio, Colorado, Jackie fought the experienced
and elusive Jayla Ortiz of Santa Fe, New Mexico for the vacant IFBA World Junior Featherweight
belt, outpointing her by 96-94,96-94 and 100-90 over ten rounds.
According to Chris Cozzone, the battle of
the two world-rated contenders from New Mexico "wavered between tactical and explosive—and not without
its share of controversy. The question of the night was whether Chavez would be able to chase down the ever-elusive
Ortiz and let her have it; or whether the more experienced Ortiz would out-slick Chavez. The answer was ‘yes
’ and ‘yes,’ making a very close fight. The first round was tentative and fairly close, with Chavez
’s right hands on a par with Ortiz’s slightly busier counter-punching, until the closing moments when
Chavez pinned Ortiz against the ropes and let loose with a volley of punches that gave her the round. Round Two could
have gone either way, depending on whether you liked Ortiz’s quicker combos, albeit of the pitter-pat
variety, or Chavez’s more authoritative right hands. Chavez, though, was still waiting too long and a couple
right hands were not enough to give her the nod. In the 3rd, Chavez started to work, landing right hands more often
and closing the round in explosive fashion by trapping her opponent in her own corner, unloading several power shots
and forcing Ortiz to tie up until the bell. Chavez continued to pull ahead in the fourth, pressuring Ortiz who showed
heart but spent the round on her bike. It looked as if the bigger, stronger Chavez was starting to dominate. But Ortiz
turned the fight around in Rounds Five, Six and Seven. Chavez took the 5th off, letting Ortiz outhustle her, and in
the 6th and 7th, Ortiz simply counterpunched her way back into the fight, avoiding the less-busy Chavez’s right
hands while dictating the pace by outhustling. Chavez had a better round in the 10th but Ortiz was proving too
slippery for her. Instead of applying pressure, Chavez simply let Ortiz control the action. With the 8th round 10-10,
I had the fight dead even going into the ninth round. The ninth was, once again, very close but I thought Chavez
eked the round out with her right hands—usually thrown in predictable three-punch combos—although
Ortiz was showing grit by coming at Chavez with her own furious flurries. Chavez closed the show, however, finally
taking the fight to Ortiz in a way that would’ve closed the show early if she’d done it this way from the
start. At the end of ten, I had it 97-95 for Chavez."
"When I won I was shocked,"
said Chavez. “I felt Ortiz won some of the middle rounds and thought it was even before the last
two rounds, but I was confident I’d won after the tenth. She was difficult to fight. She moved a lot and
although I thought I hurt her a couple times, I couldn’t finish her off.”
Ortiz complained about the scoring. “I gave the fight all I had and I know it was a close fight,”
she said “But ‘100-90?’ C’mon! "
Ortiz fell to 11-6-4 (3 KOs) with the loss
Chavez vowed to go back to the more aggressive style she had used in her earlier fights,
before her layoff. "I've got to stay busy. One of my biggest fall-backs (in the layoff)
is that I lost my aggressiveness. My first two fights I was very
aggressive. Then I was coming up against boxers and realized, 'Hey, I've got to
quit getting hit so much.' I pulled back from my style. Now I need to let it go.
In my fight against Jayla, I should've opened up
more. Punched more. I should be doing more than throwing one-twos and
backing off. The problem is, I've been too nice in the ring."
Jackie Chavez (right) vs. Audrey Vela
© Copyrighted photo by Chris Cozzone
On June 12, 2005 at the
Ohkay Casino at San Juan Pueblo near
Española, New Mexico, Jackie defended the IFBA Junior
Featherweight title against her former kickboxing rival, Audrey Vela of Austin,
Texas. When she had fought Vela in Austin four years earlier, she felt intimidated by Vela's muscular
physique and speed ... but won a close bout, stripping
the hard-punching Vela of her title. "It was a
tough match," Jackie told the Albuquerque
Journal's Mike Hall. "Whenever we traded punches, she was schooling me. If it
had been boxing, I honestly have to say she was the better boxer than I was.
What saved me was my kickboxing skills"
With Vela challenging for
Chavez's world boxing title, the rivalry was set for Round Two! Chavez
pulled off the double over Vela in another close fight, winning by a ten-round split (97-93,97-94,93-97)
decision as Vela tired in the later rounds.
Vela appeared to be the stronger fighter at first as she used her strength to
muscle her way in and dominate Chavez in the early going. But although
Vela could outmuscle Chavez early, she lacked
something in endurance and began to tire as the fight went on.
Chavez began to make inroads as she fought back and staggered
Vela with a right in the sixth. Urged on by a partisan crowd, Chavez gained the
upper hand in the later rounds as Vela lost the smooth rhythm that she displayed early in
the fight. Vela landed several hard counters as Chavez
pressed her attack in the tenth, but Chavez came out the winner on the
score-cards after a close, difficult battle.
"I was a little disappointed in my
performance," Chavez said after the fight. "I should have stayed outside.
I needed to throw more punches."
Española fighter Isaac Brown was
among those who thought Chavez was lucky to get the decision. "I thought Audrey got robbed,
but that's no disrespect to Jackie," he
said. "Both
of them fought like hell." Chavez
said she would like to take on the top two fighters in her
division: Kelsey Jeffries and
Alicia Ashley, but not right away! "I'm not ready yet for them," she said.
"But in a few fights, I hope to
be. Vela is a step toward them."
"It’s awesome to be a world champion,” says Chavez.
“It’s the best feeling in the world. A lot of girls are coming after me now,
it forces me to keep my head on straight. Before, I did this for fun, to improve my skill. Now,
it's different. There's a lot to lose."
On September 23, 2005 at Jean Pierre Sport Complex in Port of
Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Lisa Brown (121¾ lbs) of
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada used a relentless body attack to pound out a clear
ten-round unanimous (98-92,100-90,100-90) decision over Jackie for the WIBC and
WIBA Junior Featherweight titles. According to local reports, Lisa peppered
Jackie with left hooks to run up a big lead before Chavez tried to make a
comeback in the late going. Lisa Borwn, who was fighting in her
birthplace for the first time as a pro boxer, improved to 12-1-2 (4 KOs) while
Chavez suffered her first pro loss. (Jackie's IFBA Junior Featherweight title was not on the line.) Chavez prepared for the bout by
sparring with Holly Holm, who had pulled off a big upset
by beating Christy Martin in Albuquerque the previous
weekend.
On January 27, 2006 at the
Palladium in Hollywood, California,
Jeri Sitzes (124 lbs) of Springfield, Missouri won
a 10-round unanimous (99-91,98-92,98-92) decision over Jackie (124½ lbs) for
the NABF World Featherweight title.
According to the report from WBAN correspondent David Avila, "The
main event ... saw Jeri Sitzes give away the first round to Jackie Chavez
then stepped on the gas while over-powering her willing opponent. Sitzes
plowed through Chavez with a blistering but controlled attack ... and won
nine of 10 rounds with counter-rights and stinging left hooks against the
tough New Mexican". Jeri Sitzes
improved to 9-6-1 (4 KOs) with the win while Jackie fell to 9-2-0 (3
KOs) with her second straight pro loss.
Lisa Brown vs. Jackie Chavez in March 2007
© Copyrighted photograph by Mary Ann Owen
On March 22, 2007 at the Isleta Casino near Albuquerque, New Mexico,
Lisa Brown (122 lbs) of Canada won the IFBA Junior Featherweight title with a 10-round unanimous
(99-91,97-93,97-94) decision over Jackie (122 lbs). Lisa's power and ring experience controlled most of the bout
while Chavez's best round was in the fifth, when she came alive with the
home crowd chanting her name throwing a barrage of sharp combos with Brown
pinned near the ropes in the closing moments. Lisa Brown improved to
13-3-3 (4 KOs). (For coverage of the
weigh-in, and more fight photos by Mary Ann Owen and Patricia Butaud, see
MPEG/Photo Galleries #419 and #420
on the WBAN Member Site).
Ada Velez and Jackie Chavez, Sept. 2007
© Copyrighted photograph by J.B.Gallegos
courtesy Fresquez Productions
On September 21, 2007 at the Santa Ana Star Casino
in Bernalillo, New Mexico, Ada Velez (122 lbs) of
Hollywood, Florida won a six-round majority
(58-56,58-56,57-57) decision over Jackie (122 lbs). Velez wasn't slowed by anything that a busy Chavez threw, but was
more effective with her own punches. Chavez's ineffective opening right
appeared to be her undoing. "I
wasn't necessarily trying to land a big right hand, but when it didn't work, I
should have been better prepared with
some combinations," said Chavez. "I got frustrated with that, and then I kind of
tensed up." Chavez implied that her future in boxing is unclear, having lost four straight decisions after starting at 9-0.
"I'll sit down and talk with my manager
(Andy Rivera)," she said.
Velez
improved her record to 15-3-2 (6 KOs) with the win, while Chavez fell to 9-4-0 (3 KOs).
(For
more fight photos by J.B.Gallegos, see
Photo Gallery #450
on the WBAN Member Site).
Chavez works for Intel in Rio Rancho, New Mexico by day as a parts expediter,
then trains in the evenings at Sanchez's gym in Albuquerque's South Valley. She also goes to school
part-time for physical therapy and massage. She plans to return to school
full-time if she makes more money from boxing. "But that might take some
time," she says, adding that "women's boxing needs to pick up."
Many thanks to Chris Cozzone of
New Mexico Boxing for the use of his
photos and reports in this profile of Jackie! Please visit the original
coverage of her fights at his web site ... links below.
Other Jackie Chavez links
To check out fight reports, complete up-to-date boxing records, with huge digital photos you can go to
the WBAN Records Member Site
Page last updated:
Tuesday, 23 October 2007 |
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