Jesse James Leija (The Texas Tornado) is a 58-year-old retired American professional boxer. He is a former super-featherweight world champion. In a career spanning 16 years, 3 months, and 27 days, Leija amassed a record of 47-7-2, which includes 19 wins via KO.
Jesse James Leija was born in San Antonio, Texas, U.S. on July 8, 1966. He made his professional debut at the age of 22 years on October 2, 1988 against Oscar Davis. Leija defeated Davis via 1st round TKO, making a successful beginning of his pro career.
Leija got his first shot at a world title at the age of 27 after 27 professional fights. On September 10, 1993 Leija challenged Azumah Nelson's WBC super-featherweight title but lost via 12-round split decision.
He became a world champion on May 7, 1994 at the age of 27 years, after by defeating Azumah Nelson, the then-reining WBC super-featherweight champion, via 12-round unanimous decision. This was his 30th fight as a professional.
Leija's last fight was a 5th-round KO loss to Arturo Gatti at age 38, on January 29, 2005, in which he was fighting for the WBC super-lightweight title.
Some of Jesse James Leija's best fights have been against Azumah Nelson (HOFer), Micky Ward, Ivan Robinson, and Jeff Mayweather. For a complete list of Leija's best fights and their details, refer to "Best fights of Jesse James Leija".
Leija has 7 losses on his record. For details about these losses refer to "Jesse James Leija Losses".
# | Date | Age | Opponent | Res | Via |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
57 | Jan 29, 2005 | 38 |
Arturo Gatti 32 38-6 | loss | KO 5 |
56 | Jul 24, 2004 | 38 | Francisco Bojado | win | SD 10 |
55 | Apr 30, 2004 | 37 | Marteze Logan | win | TD 8 |
54 | Nov 15, 2003 | 37 | Fernando Mena | win | TKO 2 |
53 | May 22, 2003 | 36 | Adan Casillas | win | TKO 4 |
52 | Jan 19, 2003 | 36 |
Kostya Tszyu 33 29-1 | loss | RTD 6 |
51 | Jan 05, 2002 | 35 |
Micky Ward 36 37-10 | win | TD 5 |
50 | Jul 07, 2001 | 34 | Héctor Camacho Jr. | nc | NA
|
49 | Jan 07, 2001 | 34 | Fred Ladd | win | TKO 3 |
48 | Nov 11, 2000 | 34 |
Ivan Robinson 29 29-4-1 | win | UD 10 |
47 | Aug 05, 2000 | 34 | Juan Lazcano | loss | SD 10 |
46 | Apr 14, 2000 | 33 | Jorge Luis Lopez | win | KO 3 |
45 | Dec 02, 1999 | 33 | Wayne Boudreaux | win | TD 5 |
44 | Aug 20, 1999 | 33 | Verdell Smith | win | UD 10 |
43 | Nov 14, 1998 | 32 |
Shane Mosley 27 29-0 | loss | RTD 9 |
42 | Jul 11, 1998 | 32 |
Azumah Nelson 39 38-4-2 | win | UD 12 |
41 | May 01, 1998 | 31 | Troy Crain | win | KO 2 |
40 | Jan 20, 1998 | 31 | Joel Perez | win | UD 12 |
39 | Nov 14, 1997 | 31 | Effie Schneider | win | UD 10 |
38 | Jun 14, 1997 | 30 | Jose Rodriguez | win | UD 8 |
37 | Mar 22, 1997 | 30 | Joel Perez | win | UD 12 |
36 | Dec 10, 1996 | 30 | Roberto Avila | win | UD 10 |
35 | Jun 01, 1996 | 29 |
Azumah Nelson 37 37-3-2 | loss | TKO 6 |
34 | Dec 15, 1995 | 29 |
Oscar De La Hoya 22 19-0 | loss | RTD 2 |
33 | Jul 29, 1995 | 29 | Rodney Garnett | win | KO 7 |
32 | May 02, 1995 | 28 |
Jeff Mayweather 30 29-6-4 | win | UD 10 |
31 | Sep 17, 1994 | 28 |
Gabriel Ruelas 24 38-2 | loss | UD 12 |
30 | May 07, 1994 | 27 |
Azumah Nelson 35 36-2-2 | win | UD 12 |
29 | Mar 23, 1994 | 27 | Tomas Valdez | win | TKO 3 |
28 | Sep 10, 1993 | 27 |
Azumah Nelson 35 36-2-1 | draw | SD 12 |
27 | Mar 23, 1993 | 26 | Louie Espinoza | win | UD 12 |
26 | Dec 03, 1992 | 26 | Gabriel Castro | win | UD 10 |
25 | Oct 03, 1992 | 26 | Troy Dorsey | win | RTD 5 |
24 | Jul 15, 1992 | 26 | Jesus Poll | win | PTS 10 |
23 | Mar 03, 1992 | 25 | Jose Luis Martinez | win | TD 9 |
22 | Oct 18, 1991 | 25 | Steve McCrory | win | UD 10 |
21 | Aug 30, 1991 | 25 | Silvestre Castillo | win | TKO 2 |
20 | May 31, 1991 | 24 | Miguel Arrozal | win | DQ 8 |
19 | Apr 19, 1991 | 24 | Rafael Soliman | win | UD 8 |
18 | Feb 25, 1991 | 24 | Mark Fernandez | win | UD 10 |
17 | Jan 07, 1991 | 24 | Felipe de Jesus | win | UD 10 |
16 | Oct 08, 1990 | 24 | Edward Parker | draw | SD 10 |
15 | Aug 13, 1990 | 24 | Ricky Alvarez | win | TKO 1 |
14 | Jul 16, 1990 | 24 | Bobby McCarthy | win | TKO 5 |
13 | May 13, 1990 | 23 | Boyd Gardner | win | UD 6 |
12 | Mar 25, 1990 | 23 | Roy Muniz | win | KO 3 |
11 | Mar 15, 1990 | 23 | Gary Spencer | win | KO 2 |
10 | Jan 08, 1990 | 23 | Joe Thompson | win | TKO 3 |
9 | Dec 11, 1989 | 23 | Carlos Flores | win | KO 4 |
8 | Oct 16, 1989 | 23 | Tony De La Rosa | win | KO 1 |
7 | Sep 11, 1989 | 23 | Jaime Castellano | win | TKO 3 |
6 | Jul 24, 1989 | 23 | Capri Lipkin | win | UD 6 |
5 | May 29, 1989 | 22 | Chilo Guzman | win | PTS 6 |
4 | Apr 10, 1989 | 22 | Manuel Gomez | win | UD 4 |
3 | Jan 21, 1989 | 22 | Joe Mitchell | win | UD 4 |
2 | Nov 03, 1988 | 22 | Martin Melendez | win | TKO 2 |
1 | Oct 02, 1988 | 22 | Oscar Davis | win | TKO 1 |