 On March 18, 1991, he defeated WBC number four ranked fighter John Duplessis (34-1) by fourth-round TKO.On September 14, 1991, Chávez won a twelve-round unanimous decision over former champion Lonnie Smith.On April 10, 1992, he scored a TKO victory over number-one ranked contender Angel Hernandez (37-0-2, 22 KOs) in the fifth round.