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Esteban De Jesus (1951-1990) was a Puerto Rican
world lightweight champion boxing|boxer whose life
was full of controversy, problems and scandals. De
Jesus, a native of the town of Carolina, Puerto
Rico, was a gymmate of Wilfredo Benitez and an
acquaintance of Benitez's mom, Clara Benitez. He
was trained by Wilfredo's father and Clara's
husband, Gregorio Benitez.

De Jesus debuted as a professional in 1969,
beating El Tarita by a knockout in three in San
Juan. He won his first 20 fights, 13 by knockout,
and then he stepped in class for the first time,
when he boxed future world title challenger Josue
Marquez in 1971, and beat him by a ten round
decision. His next fight was against Victor Ortiz,
a knockout win for de Jesus in four rounds. After
that, there was a rematch with Marquez, who was
beaten again, this time over 12 rounds. 

Next came his first international fight, in
Caracas against the future 4 time world title
challenger Leonel Hernandez. De Jesus won that
fight by a decision in 10, in what was the start
of a 4 fight tour of Venezuela. That Venezuelan
campaign ended with a ten round decision loss
against former world champion Antonio Gomez, also
at Caracas. 

1972 was pivotal for De Jesus' career. He won six
fights in a row, including a 12 round knockout win
in a third fight with Marquez, and a ten round
decision over Doug McClendon. Despite all those
wins, he was virtually an unknown boxer to most
boxing fans. That changed quickly in his last
fight of '72, against the undefeated new world's
Lightweight champion Roberto Duran, at the Madison
Square Garden arena. In a televised bout that
marked the beginning of the Duran-De Jesus
trilogy, De Jesus dropped Duran in round one and
went on to inflict Duran's first defeat with a ten
round decision. 

In 1973, he was rewarded for his efforts,
receiving a chance to challenge Ray Lampkin for
the regional, United States lightweight belt. he
became the United States' champion by beating
Lampkin by a 12 round decision. Then, he beat
Johnny Gant, by a ten round decision, and Raul
Montoya, also by decision in ten. Then, there was
a rematch in New York with Lampkin, whom he beat
again, by a decision. He finished '73 with a first
round knockout win over fringe contender Al Ford.

He began 1974 by knocking out former world Jr.
Welterweight champion Alfonso Peppermint Fraser in
10 rounds in San Juan, after which he travelled to
Panama City to receive his first world title shot,
and at the same time, face Duran in the second
fight of their trilogy. He once again dropped
Duran in round one, but this time Duran recovered,
and retained the title by a knockout in eleven
rounds. He recovered from that defeat with two
more wins before the end of the year. 

In 1975, he went up in weight briefly, and after
beating Jesse Lara by a knockout in three, he
returned to Panama City to challenge Colombia's
Antonio Cervantes for the world's Jr. Welterweight
title, losing by a 15 round decision. He beat Rudy
Barros by a knockout in five to end that year, and
he started 1976, by beating Valentin Ramos by a
knockout in two.

Next came his third world title try, when the
World Boxing Council|WBC's world Lightweight
champion Itshimatsu Suzuki of Japan travelled to
Puerto Rico to defend his title against De Jesus.
The third time proved to be the charm for De
Jesus, who won the world title by beating Suzuki
by a 15 round decision. Then, he retained the
title against Hector Medina by a knockout in
seven.  

De Jesus as a world champion started dabbling in
drugs, an element which would later threaten to
ruin his life, and definitely changed it. 

In 1977, he retained the title against Buzzaw
Yamabe by a knockout in six, and against Vicente
Mijares Saldivar by a knockout in eleven. 

1978 began with the third and final chapter of his
trilogy with Duran. In a title unification bout in
Las Vegas, De Jesus lost to Duran by a knockout in
round 12. 

De Jesus rebounded with three wins before the end
of that year, including one over former world
title challenger Edwin Viruet. 

In 1979, he had two more wins, including one over
Jimmy Blevins. After beating Jose Vallejo by a
knockout in seven in San Juan to start 1980, he
travelled to Bloomington, Minnesota, to challenge
Saoul Mamby for Mamby's WBC world Jr. Welterweight
title, in the major supporting event of the Larry
Holmes-Scott Le Doux world Heavyweight
championship bout's undercard. In what turned out
to be his last fight, he was beaten by a knockout
in thirteen rounds.

In 1981, in what became a famous case in Puerto
Rico, De Jesus was convicted of murder after
killing a man, allegedly in a dispute over drugs. 
He was sentenced to life in jail.  There, he
excelled in another sport, baseball, making the
Puerto Rico penal system all star team three
times. In 1984, he became a born-again Christian
and started to turn his life around, becoming a
preacher. After it became public knowledge that De
Jesus had acquired HIV and had become a sufferer
of full-blown AIDS, governor Rafael Hernández
Colón pardoned him.

After returning to spend his last days with his
family, De Jesus was visited by many celebrities,
including hall of fame baseball player Orlando
Cepeda, Salsa music superstar Cheo Feliciano and
his old nemesis Duran himself. By doing so, Duran
showed there was no animosity between himself and
De Jesus.

Esteban De Jesus died one month after being
pardoned.

His record was of 57 wins and 5 losses, with 32
wins by knockout.

==Also see==

*List of famous Puerto Ricans