Standing Eight
The Inspiring Story of Jesus "El Matador" Chavez, Who Became Lightweight Champion of the World
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Here is the inspirational story of Gabriel Sandoval, who grew up in the small dirt-poor town of Delicias, Mexico. Crossing the U.S. border with his family as a young boy of seven, he settled in Chicago, where he learned to speak English and to box-winning three Gold Glove championships-and where he also joined a gang, committing a robbery in his teens that landed him in one of the most violent prisons in America, Statesville. After his three-year stint in prison was up, he was met by an INS agent and put on the first plane to Mexico City with fifty dollars in his pocket. He eventually re-entered the U.S. illegally. Settling in Austin, Texas, he resumed his boxing career and changed his name to Jesus "El Matador" -- after the Chicago gym in which he learned to box-Chavez, and went on to become the Lightweight champion of the world. But the story doesn't end with this crowning achievement. He applied for a driver's license, and his real name, Gabriel Sandoval, came up on the computer and he was found to be in the U.S. illegally. For the second time, he was deported to Mexico before gaining his U.S. citizenship after a long, protracted fight with the U.S. government. Standing Eight is the triumphant tale of a strong-willed fighter who refused to stay down for the count and overcame tremendous obstacles to become champion of the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Pitluk, a contributor to Time, charts Chavez's discovery of boxing while in the gang neighborhoods of Chicago's West Side, an apprenticeship that was interrupted by his imprisonment for armed robbery and later deportation to Mexico as an illegal alien named Gabriel Sandoval. (Chavez's nickname, El Matador, celebrates the Chicago gym where he learned the sport.) Born in 1972 in the Mexican town where Pancho Villa was killed and buried, Chavez was brought to the U.S. at age seven, after his father swam across the Rio Grande. Every one of the fistic life's clich s is here starting with the inspiring immigrant parents and gruff but softhearted Irish trainer who sees the boy's promise but that doesn't mean they're untrue. Pitluk's writing is stilted but serviceable, and he thoughtfully lays out the horrors of the Illinois prison system at the time Sandoval served his sentence. Still, the work is strictly for fans of El Matador who want to share the ride and relive the battles, especially the accounts of his tough losses to Floyd Mayweather and Erik Morales. Photos. Author tour.