Alan Chaves (right) follows through a hook against Raul Morillo – Photo by Nelson Quispe/Boxeo de Primera
Looks like the youngest member of the Chaves fighting clan is ready to take it to the next level.
Alan Chaves, nephew to former contender Diego and member of a three-generation boxing clan in his native Argentina, will be taking on his biggest challenge yet on Saturday, July 20 when he will face South Africa’s Xolisani Ndongeni in a ten-round main event at the fabled Argentine Boxing Federation stadium in Buenos Aires.
The card will be available in the TyC Sports channel or its TyCSportsPlay app in the US starting at 9 PM EST.
“Veneno” (“Poison”) Chaves (16-0, 14 knockouts) has been climbing steadily through the ranks in Argentina in his first three years as a professional fighter, and has been improving his level of opposition dramatically as of late. His last four opponents combine for a 30-1-1 record, and now he’s jumping in the deep end of the pool against his most experienced foe so far.
“I was happy when I learned (Ndongeni) was going to be my opponent,” said Chaves. “It adds an additional motivation being able to fight with such experienced fighters. He’s coming off two brutal fights. This is the right time to improve my level of opposition.”
The polished 23-year-old southpaw will have the support and the underlying pressure of a family corner that includes a total of 11 fighters including his father Abel and uncles Ismael, Diego and Ariel, all three sons of 1970’s light heavyweight journeyman Rudecindo Chaves.
“Today, I am the most active fighter in my family, and they motivate me a lot by being close to me”, said Chaves, in reference to his brother Brian and his amateur cousins Taiel and Sebastian. “We always hang out together and talk about boxing, fights, training and all that. I want to continue making history for them.”
Ndongeni (32-5, 19 KO), counts fighters such as Raymond Muratalla, Arnold Barboza Jr. and Devin Haney, but has only been stopped twice in a 14-year career. “The Wasp” is 1-3 in his last four bouts, with all of his losses coming against unbeaten fighters, and Chaves aims to make it four before going for his international debut after fighting all of his fights locally.
In the co-main event, crowd-pleasing boxer-puncher Pablo “Pacman” Corzo (19-0, 16 KO) will also get his chance to test his skills at the international level as he takes on Mexico’s Luis Vidales (24-10, 10 KO) with a regional super middleweight title at stake.
Earlier, Marco García (13-1, 10 KO) will clash in a welterweight six-rounder against Juan Segovia, and Baltazar Noria (10-0, 9 KO) will take on trialhorse Matías Díaz (9-13, 1 KO) in a junior middleweight six-rounder. Also, Kevin Gómez (2-0, 2 KO) and Lautaro Estigarribia (1-3, 1 KO) will meet in a four-rounder at the super middleweight level.
In the first bout of the card, another legacy will begin in Argentine boxing with the debut of Isaias “Pichu” Garay (son of former light heavyweight titlist Hugo) against fellow first-timer Franco Nieto in a four-round middleweight bout.
Diego M. Morilla has written for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
