Julio Antonio Gervacio (born 1967) is a former boxer and world Super Bantamweight champion from the Dominican Republic. As a child, he relocated to Puerto Rico. He always expressed pride in his national background; and he considered himself a Dominican-Puerto Rican. In fact, he usually took both the flags of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to most of his fights.

Boxing career

Gervacio had an award-winning amateur boxing career. His professional career as a boxer took off on December 21, 1985, after he knocked out Felix Llanos during the first round at Caguas. After two more wins, he participated, alongside

Juan Carazo Juan Carazo Serrano (born October 10, 1964 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a former boxer from Caguas, Puerto Rico. Carazo was considered to be a boxing reincarnation of Wilfred Benítez or Wilfredo Gómez by many of his fans, and he won his first fi ...

, at an undercard held in

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

on May 30, 1986. On June 22, he knocked out Pedro Arroyo in three rounds, as part of an undercard headlined by

Azumah Nelson Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title twice ...

's successful world Featherweight championship defense against Gervacio's Dominican countryman Danilo Cabrera. That win triggered off a streak of fourteen wins in a row, twelve of them by knockout, including a tenth round knockout over future Fabrice Benichou and Welcome Ncita world title challenger Ramon "Panadero" Cruz, leading Gervacio to a match for the world championship. WBA world Super Bantamweight champion

Louie Espinoza Louie Espinoza (born May 12, 1962 in Globe, Arizona) is an American boxer in the Featherweight division. He now resides in Chandler, Arizona. Espinoza turned pro in 1982 and won the Vacant WBA Super Bantamweight Title in 1987 by defeating Tomm ...

of Phoenix, Arizona, had defeated boxer Tommy Valoy by a knockout after a four round match at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum to win the vacant world title. Many fans attended the November 27, 1987, world championship fight between Gervacio and Espinoza. Gervacio became a world champion by defeating Espinoza with a relatively close (scores of 117-114, 116-113 and 116-112) but unanimous decision over Espinoza at San Juan's Roberto Clemente Coliseum. On his first attempt to defend his newly acquired title, his undefeated record and world title were lost to

Bernardo Pinango Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fra ...

after a split decision (scores of 113-114, 114-115 and 114-113). Despite reeling off four wins in a row after his first defeat, Gervacio's career began to slide after losing to Pinango. In his next world title attempt for the world Super Bantamweight title, he lost by a twelve round unanimous decision to

Kenny Mitchell Kenny Mitchell (born February 7, 1960 in Stockton, CA) is a former professional boxer. Amateur career Mitchell won the New York Golden Gloves three times. He won the 112 lb Open Championships in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Mitchell was defeated ...

on April 29, 1989. At his next bout held in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico on December 15, 1989, he lost by knockout for the first time in his career, sustaining a broken jaw and requiring hospitalization after being defeated by Orlando Fernandez after nine round match. The days following the fight, Gervacio had to undergo reconstructive jaw surgery, having to be fed with

intravenous Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutrie ...

cables. Although he would never regain his title, Gervacio nevertheless reeled off ten straight wins after that defeat. Among the boxers he beat during that streak were some top ranked fighters such as former

Jiro Watanabe is a Japanese former boxer. Watanabe, who fought only in Japan and South Korea, was one of the first World super flyweight champions, as the division was relatively new when he was crowned. Biography With a background in Shotokan Karate, he ...

world title challenger

Julio Soto Solano Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

, Pepillo Valdez, Lee Cargle and Lorenzo Tiznado, among others. When given another chance to win a world title on March 11 of 1995, he lost to

WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...

Super Bantamweight incumbent

Hector Acero Sanchez In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defe ...

by a twelve round unanimous decision. His next fight on March 25, 1996 against Sergio Pena was his debut in his birth country and it was for the Dominican Super Bantamweight title. It resulted in a seven round no contest decision. Gervacio lost his next three matches all by knockout, including one against future world champion Juan Manuel Márquez At his final professional match held on October 4, 1997 he lost to former Cuban amateur boxer and future world champion

Joel Casamayor Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the ...

. Gervacio retired with a record of 32 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, with 24 wins by knockout.

Illegal immigration arrest

On June 20, 2011, Gervacio, who identified himself as Julio Antonio Gervacio-Lynch, was arrested in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico by

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

officers after he illegally entered Puerto Rico (and thus also the United States) after crossing the Mona Channel that separates the island from the Dominican Republic aboard a rickety fishing boat commonly known as a ''yola'' by locals. Criminal and immigration records showed that Gervacio was convicted by a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

court in 2002 for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and was deported from the United States by orders from an immigration judge in 2009. If convicted for illegal entry, Gervacio faces a ten-year prison sentence and repatriation to the Dominican Republic once his sentence is served.''CBP Arrests Seven Undocumented Aliens After Landing Ashore: A former Super Bantam weight-boxing champion among those arrested and prosecuted''
from ''www.cbp.gov'' 20 June 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gervacio, Julio 1967 births Living people World Boxing Association champions Dominican Republic expatriates in Puerto Rico World super-bantamweight boxing champions Dominican Republic male boxers People from La Romana Province Afro-Dominican (Dominican Republic)