Eric Chavez: Boxing Career and Notable Fights
Algerico “Eric” Chávez was a Filipino southpaw from Talisay City, Cebu, who boxed professionally from 1985 to 1998 and also fought under the name Kenta Sato.
A brief IBF title reign
Chávez won the IBF minimumweight title on September 21, 1989, by knocking out defending champion Nico Thomas in the fifth round in Jakarta. His reign ended five months later: Fahlan Sakkreerin stopped him in the seventh round in Bangkok. BoxRec lists no successful defenses.
Chávez later challenged Rosendo Álvarez for the WBA minimumweight title in 1996, losing a majority decision. That challenge came several years after his IBF championship reign.
Before and after the world championship
Chávez built an unbeaten record before facing Thomas, with overseas wins against Udin Baharudin in Jakarta and Mikio Uchida in Nagoya among his earlier results. In the championship bout, Thomas led on two scorecards before Chávez’s fifth-round knockout changed the outcome and brought the belt to the Filipino challenger.
After losing the title, Chávez sought to regain it in a rematch with Fahlan on August 15, 1990. This time the contest reached the twelve-round limit, with Fahlan winning a unanimous decision. Chávez continued competing rather than ending his career after the unsuccessful return challenge.
Another notable achievement arrived on December 2, 1995, when he stopped Kwanjai 3K Battery in the first round in Sa Kaeo, Thailand, to win the PABA minimumweight title. That regional victory preceded the Álvarez world-title attempt. The sequence shows a career extending well beyond the brief IBF reign, through rebuilding wins, domestic rivals and further international championship opportunities.
Further career results
Chávez also faced Manny Melchor twice and later boxed South Africa’s Masibulele Makepula. BoxRec records defeats against those fellow world champions alongside the two Fahlan losses and the Álvarez challenge. Those opponents connect his career with successive groups of leading minimumweights and light flyweights, extending the championship-level opposition well beyond the 1989 Thomas victory.
Sources
- BoxRec: Eric Chávez
- BoxRec: IBF minimumweight title fights
- PhilBoxing: Eric Chávez, IBF world champion
- PhilBoxing: Eric Chávez profile and record
