Augustine Anthony Sanchez (born November 17, 1977 in Las Vegas, NV, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) was an American featherweight

Featherweight

Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...

 boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. He was known for his devastating punching power.

Amateur career

Augie Sanchez was a stellar amateur boxer, highlighted by his winning the 1996 United States Amateur Featherweight title. He defeated Floyd Mayweather in the Olympic Trials in one of their three amateur bouts. He lost a chance to represent the United States in the 1996 Olympic Games, by losing twice to Mayweather in the Olympic Box-Offs.

Professional career

Known as "Kid Vegas", Sanchez turned professional in 1996. As a professional Sanchez was able to achieve some success, but was hampered by a questionable chin, which resulted in three brutal knockout losses. He was considered a very hard puncher, which was highlighted in his high-profile fight with Naseem Hamed

Naseem Hamed

Naseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer.He is the former WBO, WBC, IBF, & Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion....

. He knocked Hamed down (although the referee did not rule it an official knockdown), and landed some hard bombs that shook Naseem. Sanchez in return suffered a brutal KO loss at the hands of Hamed, which resulted in him leaving the ring on a stretcher. He did return, beating a shot Luisito Espinosa

Luisito Espinosa

Luisito Pio Espinosa is a retired boxer from the Philippines who won World titles in two different weight divisions....

, but losing by a 30 second KO to John Michael Johnson

John Michael Johnson

John Michael Johnson was an American bantamweight boxer. He briefly held a championship in that division.- Professional career :...

 in 2001. Following this loss the Nevada State Athletic Commission denied the renewal of Sanchez's boxing license. Sanchez has attempted to regain his boxing license once with Nevada, but was denied, due to the brutality of his knockout losses.

Life After Boxing

Sanchez currently works as a boxing trainer, and trains Michael Hunter (American boxer)

Michael Hunter (American boxer)

Michael Hunter Jr. is an American heavyweight boxer best known to win the National Super Heavyweight championships in 2007 and 2009. He is the son of Mike "the Bounty" Hunter...

, son of former boxer Mike Hunter

Mike Hunter (boxer)

Mike Hunter was an American boxer who won the NABF Heavyweight title.-Professional career:...

.

He trains his fighters at Barrys Boxing Center in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

. He is married to the daughter of the owners Pat and Dawn Barry.

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