Garden Grove Fighter 1 for 2 at Games

Welterweight Ernie Chavez of Garden Grove, one of several last-minute substitutes on the U.S. boxing team, made his international debut at the Goodwill Games here Sunday and broke even.

Chavez, who four months ago lay in the hospital, the victim of a hit-and-run driver, outpointed three-time Irish national champion William Walsh, 4-1, in his opening bout, then lost to Bogomil Aleksandrov of Bulgaria, 5-0.

That Chavez was even here was an upset. A Pentagon order barring nine leading military boxers from the games sent team officials scrambling to find substitute boxers who were in shape, willing to travel and able to produce passports quickly.

In April, he suffered a broken left leg and internal injuries in a hit-and-run accident. Doctors said that it would be at least a year before he fought again.

“The leg felt fine, though I didn’t have a chance to test it real hard,” he said. “It gets a little better each time.”