Julio Gervacio

Julio Gervacio (born 1967) is a former boxer from the Dominican Republic who was world Super Bantamweight champion.

Gervacio moved to Puerto Rico, where he grew, as a young kid. He always expressed pride in his national background; and he considered himself a Dominican-Puerto Rican. In fact, he usually took both the flags of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to most of his fights.

Likewise, Gervacio became a symbol of prosperity to Dominicans living in Puerto Rico, and a well admired personality by Puerto Rican boxing fans. Many of his earlier fights were televised nationally by Tele Once, whose boxing producer, Ivonne Class, was the president of Video Deportes, one of the most important boxing promotion companies of the time in Puerto Rico. Class, who also was one of Tele Once's boxing broadcasters, sometimes compared him to Mike Tyson.

Gervacio had an award winning amateur boxing career. He became a professional boxer on December 21, 1985, knocking out Felix Llanos in the first round at Caguas.

After two more wins, he participated, alongside Juan Carazo, at an undercard held in Curaçao on May 30, 1986. There, he fought to a draw (tie), with another future world champion, Jesus Poll.

On June 22, he knocked out Pedro Arroyo in three rounds, as part of an undercard headlined by Azumah Nelson's successful world Featherweight championship defense against Danilo Cabrera. That win triggered off a streak of fourteen wins in a row, twelve of them by knockout, including another knockout win over Llanos, leading Gervacio to a world championship try.

WBA world Super Bantamweight champion Louie Espinoza of Phoenix, Arizona, had beaten another Dominican who was well liked in Puerto Rico, Tommy Valoy, by a knockout in four rounds at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum to win the vacant world title. With revenge on their minds, many fans attended the November 27, 1987, world championship fight between Gervacio and Espinoza. Gervacio became a world champion by defeating Espinoza with a relatively close (scores of 117-114, 116-113 and 116-112) but unanimous decision over Espinoza, at San Juan's Roberto Clemente Coliseum.

On his first defense, however, he lost both his undefeated record and his world title, when he was challenged by the former WBA world Bantamweight champion, Bernardo Pinango, also in San Juan. Gervacio lost a twelve round split decision to Pinango (scores of 113-114, 114-115 and 114-113). As illustrated by the scoring, Gervacio basically lost that fight by only one point.

Despite reeling off four wins in a row after his first defeat, Gervacio's career began to slide after losing to Espinoza: In his next world title try, for the vacant WBO world Super Bantamweight title, he lost by a twelve round unanimous decision to Kenny Mitchell, on April 29, 1989.

On his very next fight, held at Yabucoa on December 15 of that year, he lost by knockout for the first time in his career, sustaining an extremely broken jaw and requiring hospitalization after being beaten in nine rounds by future world champion Orlando Fernandez. During the days after the fight, Gervacio had to undergo reconstructive jaw surgery, having to be fed with IV cables because of his injury. This knockout was Puerto Rico's knockout of the year for 1989.

Although he would never regain his status as a world champion, Gervacio nevertheless reeled off ten straight wins after that defeat. Among the boxers he beat during that streak were some top ranked fighters, such as Julio Soto Solano, "Pepillo Valdez", Lee Cargle and Lorenzo Tiznado, among others.

When given another chance to win a world title, however, on March 11 of 1995, he lost to WBC Super Bantamweight incumbent Hector Acero Sanchez by a twelve round unanimous decision.

His next fight, on March 25, 1996 against Sergio Pena, was his debut on his birth country and it was contested for the Dominican Super Bantamweight title. It resulted in a seven round no contest.

Gervacio then lost his next three fights in a row, all by knockout, including one against future world champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

On his last fight, he lost by a knockout in two, on October 4, 1997, to former Cuban amateur boxing team starand future world Jr. Lightweight and Lightweight champion Joel Casamayor.

Gervacio retired with a record of 32 wins, 7 losses and 1 draw, with 24 wins by knockout.