Jesús Poll: Venezuela’s NABF Super-Bantamweight Champion
Venezuelan boxer Jesús Poll competed in the super-bantamweight and featherweight divisions, winning a North American regional title and challenging for a world championship. His professional career also included meetings with Kevin Kelley, Jesús Salud and Jesse James Leija.
Regional success in the United States
Poll began his professional career in December 1985. He built an early unbeaten record before winning the NABF super-bantamweight championship against Louie Espinoza in Las Vegas in May 1988. He followed that success with a unanimous-decision victory over former world champion Julián Solís that October.
The regional championship belonged to the 122-pound division, which is also called junior featherweight. It should be distinguished from the featherweight contests that appear later in his record.
A world-title challenge and difficult opposition
In April 1989, Poll challenged Juan José Estrada for the WBA super-bantamweight championship at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood. Estrada retained the title by stoppage, bringing Poll’s unbeaten professional run to an end.
Poll continued competing and later defeated opponents including Capri Lipkin, Arnaldo Ballardo and Alberto Rendon. His subsequent schedule included losses to Leija in San Antonio and Salud in San Diego during 1992, followed by a technical-knockout defeat to Kelley in New York in May 1993.
Those results show a career with distinct phases: an early rise, a regional championship, a world-title opportunity and later contests against accomplished opponents. The available professional record lists 24 wins, 11 losses and three draws. His NABF success remains an achievement in its own right, while the Estrada bout was an unsuccessful attempt to win a world championship.
Sources
Sources: Professional bout record; NABF championship history; Contemporary report on the world-title challenge.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
