Alexander Sánchez Sepúlveda (born June 5, 1973) is a former Puerto Rican professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

.Article (Spanish)
/ref> He held the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

minimumweight title from 1993 to 1997.

Boxing career

Sánchez began his professional boxing career on October 4, 1991, knocking out Carlos Figueroa in round one at

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...

. After one more win that year, he took 1992 off, but came back in 1993 to post nine wins in a row before facing

Orlando Malone Orlando Max Malone (born December 18, 1963), is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2007. He challenged for the WBO mini flyweight title in 1993. Professional career Malone started boxing at the age of 21. After a ...

for the

's world Strawweight championship. On December 22 of that year, Sánchez became a world champion by knocking Malone out in the first round at

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. He went on a European tour in 1994, retaining his title and winning a non-title bout in Spain, and retaining his title in Germany. By then, Sánchez was actively challenging

Michael Carbajal Michael Carbajal (born September 17, 1967) is an American five-time world boxing champion of Mexican descent. His nickname was "Little Hands Of Stone," after his favorite boxer,"Hands Of Stone" Roberto Durán. Amateur career Carbajal had an amat ...

into a fight. That fight, however, never came off. In 1995, he retained his title twice, and won four non-title bouts. In 1996, he only had one fight, knocking out Jose Luis Velardez in round five. In 1997, he started by suffering his first defeat, at the hands of

Edgar Cardenas Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...

, by a decision in ten rounds. He then beat future world champion Victor Burgos by a decision in twelve to retain the title, in what marked the beginning of their trilogy of bouts. He closed the year by getting his long anticipated unification bout with WBC world champion Ricardo López, but he lost the title to López when López knocked him out in round five at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. Sánchez has been active only on and off since. In 2002, he and Burgos had their second meeting, and this time the result was a draw. But in 2003, after López had conquered the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

world belt and retired, the IBF declared Sánchez and Burgos their official challengers for the world crown, and this time, Sánchez lost by a knockout in round 12 at

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Sánchez revealed that he had become a newborn

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

shortly before his next fight, an attempt at recovering the WBO world Strawweight championship, held this time by Ivan Calderón. On December 6, he lost to Calderón by a twelve-round unanimous decision at Bayamón. On August 6, 2004, Sánchez, who had shortly before expressed to local newspapers that he hoped to become a world champion again, beat Roberto Gomez by an eight-round decision, as part of a San Juan undercard highlighted by

José Miguel Cotto José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

's win over former world champion

Al Kotey Alfred Kotey (3 June 1968 – 30 June 2020) was a Ghanaian professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2012. He held the WBO bantamweight title from 1994 to 1995 and at regional level the Commonwealth flyweight title from 1989 to 1990. As an am ...

. Just over a month later, on September 11, he posted a first-round knockout over Arturo Velazquez, at the

José Miguel Agrelot Giuseppe Michael Agrelot Vilá (April 21, 1927 – January 28, 2004), also known as José Miguel Agrelot or Don Cholito, was a Puerto Rican comedian, radio and television host. Biography Agrelot was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He was the ...

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, also in San Juan. On January 29, 2005, Sánchez attempted to win the WBO world Jr. Flyweight title, but he lost to champion

Nelson Dieppa Nelson Dieppa-Gerena (born February 25, 1971) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur, he represented Puerto Rico in international events including the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships, 1991 Pan American Games and the 1992 S ...

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

by an eleventh-round knockout. Puerto Rican boxing experts commented that the Sánchez-Dieppa fight should have been considered for "fight of the year" in Puerto Rico. His next fight, once again for the WBO Jr. Lightweight title that Hugo Cazares had taken from Dieppa, was held in Ponce on August 20 of that year. After suffering an eye injury, Sánchez lost the fight by an eighth-round technical knockout, announcing his retirement from professional boxing immediately after the bout. At a moment in his career Alex Sánchez was trained by

Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...

's father Felix Trinidad Sr. Sánchez is now a boxing promoter in Puerto Rico.

Professional Record

Legacy

He is recognized at Ponce's Parque de los Ponceños Ilustres in the area of sports.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sánchez, Alex 1973 births Living people Mini-flyweight boxers World mini-flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Organization champions Sportspeople from Ponce, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male boxers

Boxing career

Professional Record

Legacy

See also

References

External links