Julio Antonio Gervacio (born 1967) is a former boxer and world Super Bantamweight champion from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. As a child, he relocated to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. 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.

Boxing career

Gervacio had an award-winning amateur boxing career. His professional career as a boxer took off on December 21, 1985, after he knocked out Felix Llanos during the first round at

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

. After two more wins, he participated, alongside Juan Carazo, at an undercard held in

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on May 30, 1986. On June 22, he knocked out Pedro Arroyo in three rounds, as part of an undercard headlined by

Azumah Nelson Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958, affectionately known as the Professor) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and ...

's successful world Featherweight championship defense against Gervacio's Dominican countryman Danilo Cabrera. That win triggered off a streak of fourteen wins in a row, twelve of them by knockout, including a tenth round knockout over future

Fabrice Benichou Fabrice Benichou (born 5 April 1965) is a French former professional boxer. In 1987 Benichou was rated as the #4 bantamweight in the world. He become World Champion of boxing in 1989. He is three times super bantamweight World Champion, and two t ...

and

Welcome Ncita Welcome Ncita (born 21 October 1965) is a South African retired professional Boxing, boxer and former IBF Super Bantamweight Champion. Professional career Known as "The Hawk", Ncita turned professional in 1984 and in 1990 captured the Internat ...

world title challenger Ramon "Panadero" Cruz, leading Gervacio to a match for the world championship. WBA world Super Bantamweight champion

Louie Espinoza Louie Espinoza (born May 12, 1962) is an American boxer in the Featherweight division. He now resides in Chandler, Arizona. Espinoza turned pro in 1982 and won the Vacant WBA Super Bantamweight Title in 1987 by defeating Tommy Valoy, becoming ...

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, had defeated boxer Tommy Valoy by a knockout after a four round match at the

Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, also called the Madhouse Coliseum or Phoenix Memorial Coliseum, is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, located at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. It hosted the Phoenix Su ...

to win the vacant world title. 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 Roberto Clemente Coliseum (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the large ...

. On his first attempt to defend his newly acquired title, his undefeated record and world title were lost to Bernardo Pinango after a split decision (scores of 113-114, 114-115 and 114-113). Despite reeling off four wins in a row after his first defeat, Gervacio's career began to slide after losing to Pinango. In his next world title attempt for the world Super Bantamweight title, he lost by a twelve round unanimous decision to Kenny Mitchell on April 29, 1989. At his next bout held in

Yabucoa, Puerto Rico Yabucoa () is a Yabucoa barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern region, north of Maunabo, Puerto Rico, Maunabo; south of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, San Lorenzo, Las Piedras, Puerto ...

on December 15, 1989, he lost by knockout for the first time in his career, sustaining a broken jaw and requiring hospitalization after being defeated by Orlando Fernandez after nine round match. The days following the fight, Gervacio had to undergo reconstructive jaw surgery, having to be fed with

intravenous Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutr ...

cables. Although he would never regain his title, 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 former Jiro Watanabe world title challenger Julio Soto Solano, Pepillo Valdez, Lee Cargle and Lorenzo Tiznado, among others. When given another chance to win a world title 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 in his birth country and it was for the Dominican Super Bantamweight title. It resulted in a seven round

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

decision. Gervacio lost his next three matches all by knockout, including one against future world champion

Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He held multiple quadruple champion#Boxing, world championships in four weight classes, from featherweight to light welte ...

At his final professional match held on October 4, 1997 he lost to former Cuban amateur boxer and future world champion

Joel Casamayor Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and th ...

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

Illegal immigration arrest

On June 20, 2011, Gervacio, who identified himself as Julio Antonio Gervacio-Lynch, was arrested in

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a Aguadilla barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of ...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...

officers after he illegally entered Puerto Rico (and thus also the

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) after crossing the Mona Channel that separates the island from the Dominican Republic aboard a rickety fishing boat commonly known as a ''yola'' by locals. Criminal and immigration records showed that Gervacio was convicted by a

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court in 2002 for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and was deported from the United States by orders from an immigration judge in 2009. If convicted for illegal entry, Gervacio faces a ten-year prison sentence and repatriation to the Dominican Republic once his sentence is served.''CBP Arrests Seven Undocumented Aliens After Landing Ashore: A former Super Bantam weight-boxing champion among those arrested and prosecuted''
from ''www.cbp.gov'' 20 June 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gervacio, Julio 1967 births Living people World Boxing Association champions Dominican Republic expatriates in Puerto Rico World super-bantamweight boxing champions Dominican Republic male boxers People from La Romana Province African diaspora in the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen