Chavez Shifts His Goals So He Can Keep Dream of Glory Intact : Boxer Lost Olympic Chance but Progresses as Pro

Ernie Chavez has learned all that’s gold doesn’t necessarily glitter.

For more than two years, Chavez thought of nothing but winning the Olympic gold medal in Seoul. It was a dream that vanished in March of 1988 when he came up one victory short of making the Olympic Trials.

But it was not so much an end as it was a beginning.

Chavez has turned his thoughts of gold into cash. He started his professional career last October and is unbeaten in five fights, winning three of them by a knockout.

Monday, the 27-year-old welterweight will have his biggest bout to date as he faces Daryl Colquitt in the main event at the Marriott Hotel in Irvine.

“I feel fantastic, except for the usual nervousness that I have before a fight,” said Chavez, a graduate of Westminster High School. “The workouts have been great. I’m in the best shape of my life. And I’m happy.”

It has been a year of good fortune for Chavez. There are no scars--physical or otherwise--from his attempt to reach the Olympics.

Instead, Chavez chatted about his love-at-first-sight meeting with his wife Emma, whom he married in April.

Chavez also is excited and apprehensive. Not about his upcoming fight, but about moving from his apartment in Huntington Beach to a condominium in Santa Ana.

Chavez said he will miss running on the beach. It has been a source of security ever since he was struck by a hit-and-run motorist while jogging in Beaumont, Tex., in 1986. He spent five days in the hospital with a broken leg and lacerated kidney.

“I was a little schizo about running on the street after that,” Chavez said. “But we need the tax break. I’ll run against traffic or maybe in the park. I’ll adjust.”

There have been a lot of adjustments for Chavez this year. But going from amateur to pro--even bachelor to husband--has been easy for him.

“I decided I had the talent to fight as a pro and I wasn’t going to let the opportunity slide by,” he said.

As an amateur, Chavez built an impressive record. He was the American Boxing Federation California welterweight champion from 1984 to 1988 and was the state’s Golden Gloves champion in 1985.

He competed in Goodwill Games in Moscow in 1986, winning one of two fights. He has fought in several national tournaments and was considered one of the United States’ top amateur welterweights.

By the middle of 1986, Chavez had a 26-7 record and was talking about not only competing in the 1988 Olympics, but of winning the gold medal.

Chavez even did a commercial for a beer company. This guy was on the move.

“I expect he’ll make either the U.S. Pan Am team (in 1987) or the Olympic team,” Dick McCarthy, his trainer, said in 1986.

Instead, Chavez made neither. He concentrated his efforts on the Olympics, but it was a goal he would not achieve.

He lost to Paul Vaden in the final of the western regional and went home.

“I beat him up pretty good, but that doesn’t count for much in amateur boxing,” Chavez said. “He was a tall guy and he had a longer reach. He kept jabbing me and scoring points. By the third round, he began to tire. I creamed him.”

But the judges awarded Vaden the victory on points. Chavez accepted the decision, although he believed Vaden had received far more punishment.

“He left the ring bloody,” Chavez said. “He had the fat lip. He had the bloody nose. But under amateur rules, he had won the first two rounds and the fight. But I’d love to get him in a 10-round fight.”

Chavez, who began boxing at age 7, re-evaluated his career after the loss. At 27, he was getting old for the amateur ranks and time was dwindling to start a professional career.

He also realized that his skills were better suited for professional fighting.

“I rely more on strength,” Chavez said. “In amateurs, you score more points with the pity-pat style. You don’t get extra points for beating someone up, unless you knock him out.

“I debated a long time on what to do next. My age had a lot to do with the decision. Most guys are turning pro when they’re 20.”

Chavez signed with Jackie McCoy, who manages several talented fighters. McCoy’s stable includes Tony Perez, one of the top junior middleweight contenders.

On Oct. 8, Chavez won his first professional fight in a four-round decision. He won his next, again in a four-round decision.

But, despite his success, Chavez said McCoy was not pleased with his performance.

“He told me to relax in the ring, that I was too tense,” Chavez said. “I never thought you could relax when you fight. It sounded crazy to me.”

But it worked. In his next fight, Chavez won on a fourth-round knockout. He won the next two fights with knockouts in the third and fifth rounds.

“I relax and fight now,” Chavez said. “It sounds silly, but it works.”

Chavez pointed to the balcony at his apartment and a box of trophies.

“That’s what married life will do,” he said.

Despite the housecleaning, Chavez gives plenty of credit to Emma for his success as a professional. He said that she has given him stability, not to mention improving his diet.

“I used to always eat out at fast-food places and sometimes get sick,” Chavez said. “She’s got me eating a healthy diet now. It’s made me much stronger. She also takes care of the apartment, which gives me more time to sleep.”

Chavez works full time for a beer distributor in Garden Grove. He also plays guitar and sings, something he hopes to do professionally after he’s done fighting.

Last October, a friend asked Chavez to come down to a bar in Anaheim and sit in on a set. Emma, who was visiting from England, was also there that night and literally knocked Ernie off his feet.

That’s something no boxer has been able to do.

“I saw her when I walked in, but didn’t do anything,” Chavez said. “Some of my friends were telling me to go over and say hello to her, so I walked over and pretended to trip.”

Said Emma: “That’s not true. He fell down and it wasn’t on purpose. He tells me now it was intentional, but it wasn’t.”

What ever the circumstance, the two hit it off. They met the next day and, a little more than two months later, decided to get married.

They originally planned to be married in September. But because Emma’s visa was about to expire, they pushed the date up to April.

“She’s been great,” Chavez said. “She runs with me and sometimes comes down to the gym to watch me train. She keeps me going.”

Emma has no concerns about her husband’s boxing. In fact, she’s more worried about his motorcycle, which she says is going to be sold.

“I know if Ernie got hurt boxing, he’d give it up,” she said. “But he’s not going to get hurt. He’s quite good, you know.”

Chavez figures he will continue boxing until he is in his early 30s. Then he will concentrate on music; he already has made five demonstration tapes.

“Music is something I can always do,” Chavez said. “But right now, boxing makes me happy.”