Augie Sanchez

Augustine Anthony Sanchez (born November 17, 1977 in Las Vegas, NV, U.S.) was an American bantamweight boxer. He was known for his devastating punching power.

Amateur career

Augie Sanchez was a stellar amateur boxer, highlighted by his winning the 1996 United States Amateur Featherweight title. He defeated Floyd Mayweather in the Olympic Trials in one of their three amateur bouts. He lost a chance to represent the United States in the 1996 Olympic Games, by losing twice to Mayweather in the Olympic Box-Offs.

Professional career

Known as "Kid Vegas", Sanchez turned professional in 1996. As a professional Sanchez was able to achieve some success, but was hampered by a questionable chin, which resulted in three brutal knockout losses. He was considered a very hard puncher, which was highlighted in his high-profile fight with Naseem Hamed. He knocked Hamed down (although the referee did not rule it an official knockdown), and landed some hard bombs that shook Naseem. Sanchez in return suffered a brutal KO loss at the hands of Hamed, which resulted in him leaving the ring on a stretcher. He did return, beating a shot Luisito Espinosa, but losing by a 30 second KO to John Michael Johnson in 2001. Following this loss the Nevada State Athletic Commission denied the renewal of Sanchez's boxing license. Sanchez has attempted to regain his boxing license once with Nevada, but was denied, due to the brutality of his knockout losses.

Life After Boxing

Sanchez currently works as a boxing trainer, and trains Michael Hunter (American boxer), son of former boxer Mike Hunter.He trains his fighters at Barrys Boxing Center in Las vegas NV. He is married to the daughter of the owners Pat and Dawn Barry

See also

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