July 08,
1966
San
Antonio,
TX, USA
San
Antonio,
TX, USA
Super
Featherweight
Orthodox
67”
5’5”
(65”)
Lester
Bedford
Ronnie
Shields
Jesse
Leija,
Sr.
Joe
Souza
John
Leija
Leo
Zuniga
Nate
Canales
For
16+
years,
he
brought
civility
and
honor
to a
sport
that
rarely
offers
any
of
it.
Very
few
in
boxing
history
can
claim
to
have
won
them
all.
In
today’s
era,
very
few
attempt
to
fight
them
all.
Leija
can
take
great
pride
in
the
fact
that
he
can
at
least
subscribe
to
the
latter.
Born
and
raised
in
San
Antonio,
Texas,
Leija
was
practically
born
into
the
boxing
game.
His
grandfather
and
uncle
were
pro
fighters,
as
was
his
father,
a
former
Texas
Golden
Gloves
champion.
Despite
this
pugilistic
pedigree,
Leija’s
parents
didn’t
allow
him
to
box
until
he
graduated
high
school.
When
a
coach
told
Leija
he
was
too
small
to
play
football
at
Harlandale
High
School,
he
became
a
boxer.
He
was
then
told
that
he
was
too
small
to
be a
boxer,
so
he
became
a
world
champion.
As a
boxer,
in
addition
to
being
too
small,
they
said
he
didn't
have
enough
power
to
ever
amount
to
anything.
All
he
did
was
last
16+
years
and
make
millions.
He's
short,
but
that
wasn't
his
biggest
shortcoming
in
the
ring.
He
never
seemed
mean
enough
to
be a
fighter,
but
in
the
end
maybe
that
was
a
good
thing.
And
in
San
Antonio,
he
became
a
hero
and
symbol
of
hope,
particularly
on
the
South
and
West
sides
where
boxing
always
has
been
a
desirable
outlet
for
aggression
and
a
way
out
of
the
barrio.
Boxing
was
Leija’s
ticket
out,
too.
But
it
came
at a
price.
He
took
up
the
sport
at
age
19,
much
to
the
concern
of
his
mother.
As
an
amateur,
the
first
time
Leija
came
home
with
a
broken
nose,
he
expected
warmth
and
words
of
encouragement
from
his
mother.
Instead,
his
mother
told
him
to
give
up
the
sport;
she
wanted
her
son
to
become
a
physical
therapist.
But
he
wouldn't
be
discouraged
easily,
he
already
had
wrapped
himself
around
a
dream
— to
become
a
world
champion
prizefighter
—
and
wouldn't
let
go.
He
started
out
as
an
amateur,
competing
in
the
Golden
Gloves
and
early
on,
Leija
showed
himself
to
be a
top
prospect.
Boxing
fit
like
a
second
skin.
Compiling
a
23-5
record
in a
short
amateur
career,
despite
his
relative
inexperience,
he
won
a
San
Antonio
Golden
Gloves
title
and
earned
a
spot
in
the
1988
Olympic
Trials,
where
he
lost
a
razor-thin
decision
to
two-time
world
amateur
champion
Kelcie
Banks.
With
his
Olympic
dreams
derailed,
Leija
turned
to
the
pro
ranks,
the
victories
began
piling
up
at
an
alarming
rate.
He
won
his
first
17
bouts,
10
by
knockout.
On
October
2,
1988,
Leija
won
his
1st
professional
fight
by
stopping
Oscar
Davis
in a
single
round.
14
consecutive
wins
followed
before
Leija
and
Edward
Parker
fought
to a
disputed
ten
round
draw
in
October
of
1990.
He
set
the
standard
locally
for
how
to
conduct
a
career.
With
few
exceptions,
Leija
kept
the
same
team
together
from
beginning
to
end.
He
overachieved
but
was
under
appreciated
for
his
ring
skills.
He
was
a
thinking
fighter,
first
and
foremost.
He
carried
bravery
in
his
heart.
He
was
substance
over
style,
character
over
charisma.
Leija
approached
boxing
as
an
athletic
contest
— he
touched
gloves
with
an
opponent
before
every
round
in a
sign
of
sportsmanship
—
not
a
life-and-death
struggle.
Other
fighters
sometimes
didn't
like
that
about
him,
but
they
faded
long
before
Leija.
He
wasn't
considered
an
A-list
fighter,
but
he
fought
virtually
all
the
big
names
in
four
divisions.
Oscar
De
La
Hoya.
Azumah
Nelson.
Gabe
Ruelas.
Kostya
Tszyu.
Shane
Mosley.
Arturo
Gatti.
World
champions,
all.
He
knew
how
to
fight,
and
how
to
retire.
During
his
retirement
speech,
the
only
person
he
didn't
thank
was
the
doctor
who
brought
him
into
the
world.
He
went
out
the
right
way.
Not
in
leg
irons
and
handcuffs.
Not
cursing
and
claiming
he
was
robbed.
Not
penniless
and
picking
up
cans
along
the
side
of
the
road.
Now
retired,
he
is
already
turning
his
attention
to
life
after
boxing.
He
is
soon
to
open
his
ChampionFit
Gym
(a
boxing
gym/fitness
center),
he
is
endorsing
his
own
line
of
sausage
and
chorizo
that
is
soon
to
be
available
throughout
Texas
and
one
of
the
projects
he
seems
proudest
to
be
involved
with
is a
program
called
the
Miracle
League.
The
program
allows
handicapped
and
underprivileged
children
to
play
baseball.
Content
in
his
new
role
as
entrepreneur
and
businessman,
Jesse
James
Leija’s
record
will
show
that
he
lost
his
last
fight,
but
he
went
out
the
same
way
he
came
in —
a
winner.
"I
fought
the
best
guys
in
the
world,
I
not
only
beat
some
of
them,
we
were
trying
to
kill
each
other
inside
the
ring,
but
afterwards
I
became
friends
with
a
lot
of
them.
They
brought
out
the
best
in
me.”
"When
you
look
at
Jesse
James
Leija,
he
overcame
every
challenge
in
front
of
him
not
only
in
boxing,
but
in
life,
and
he
faced
them
with
courage
and
determination.
He
dared
to
be
great.
There
are
not
many
fighters
who
do
that,”
–
Lester
Bedford,
Leija’s
manager
throughout
his
pro
career.
