Papa Voo
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Salvador Sanchez
Many believe that if Sanchez was not to lose his life at such a young age, he could have become the greatest Featherweight boxer of all-time.
A native of Mexico, Sanchez began boxing at age 16.
His first notable win was against Felix Trinidad, Sr. The Trinidad fight moved him into the position to take on Danny "Little Red" Lopez for the Featherweight championship.
On February 2, 1980, Sanchez, then 21, knocked out Lopez in the 13th Round in Phoenix, Arizona to become the new champion. In rematch, Sanchez beat up Lopez again and won with a TKO in the 14th round. Sanchez beat all challengers in front of him.
Wilfredo Gomez was another up and coming boxer. He was the Jr. Featherweight champion and had a record of 32-0-1. He moved up confident that he could beat Sanchez for the Featherweight title. Sanchez knocked Gomez in Round 8 on August 21, 1981. Wit that victory, Sanchez's popularity took off with boxing fans.
Sanchez went on to defeat Olympic medalist Pat Caldwell and Jorge "Rocky" Garza. Sanchez then squared off against a young and relatively unknown boxer at the time by the name of Azumah Nelson. It was assumed Nelson would only last a few rounds with the champion Sanchez. Sanchez put Nelson on the canvas in Round 7, but after that round, many described one of the most engaging and violent punching exchanges in Featherweight history. Sanchez finally got the best of Nelson in the 15th round and not only knocked him out but knocked him clear out of the ring for the win. Nelson went on to have a very successful career as a professional boxer.
On August 12, 1982, was in a car wreck while driving his Porsche 928. He died instantly outside of Mexico City. Sanchez was 23 years old. He was still the undefeated Featherweight champion at that time. There were rumors of rematch with Gomez or maybe a possible match against legendary Alexis Arguello.
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