The Great Salvador Sánchez recounts the inspiring journey of a Mexican sports icon who ascended from modest beginnings to become a world boxing champion. Recognized as one of the greatest fighters in boxing history, Salvador Sánchez’s promising life was tragically cut short by a car accident at the age of 23.
In 1980, after clinching the WBC featherweight championship from the renowned Danny “Little Red” Lopez, Sánchez successfully defended his title nine times against the era’s top featherweights, including Danny Lopez, Juan Laporte, Ruben Castillo, Patrick Ford, Rocky Garcia, and Azumah Nelson.
The “Invincible Eagle” is perhaps best remembered for his 1981 bout against Wilfredo Gomez, the WBC junior featherweight champion who was undefeated in 33 fights with 32 knockouts. Sánchez dismantled the future Hall of Famer, knocking Gomez down in the first round and dominating the Puerto Rican legend until the fight was stopped in the eighth round.
At the time of Sánchez’s death, negotiations were underway for a bout between Sánchez and Alexis Arguello, which many boxing pundits believe would have been one of the greatest match-ups of all time. A unification bout with Eusebio Pedroza and a face-off with the rising Mexican star Julio Cesar Chavez left all to ponder what might have been.
In his final bout on July 21, 1982, Sánchez defeated another future Hall of Famer, the young and aggressive Azumah Nelson. This Madison Square Garden fight marked Sánchez’s ninth and final title defense. Tragically, Salvador died three weeks later in the prime of his career.
Boxing historian and author F. Daniel Somrack highlights the meteoric rise and tragic end of the legendary Salvador Sanchez, arguably one of Mexico’s greatest fighters and one of the featherweight division’s best pound-for-pound boxing champions of all time.