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May 28, 2005. The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California was filled to the rafters with over twenty-thousand fans that were saying goodbye to a legend as Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr. made his final walk to the ring, at least in California, and defeated “Mighty” Ivan Robinson over ten heats. Chavez, showing some flashes of his old self, completely dominated the fight, using his signature body attack and stiff straight right hand leads. He can still throw that left hook to the liver as good as anyone in the game can but it is just not the same punch anymore. “El Leon De Culiacan” put Robinson down with a powerful straight right hand lead and, for a second, it was a trip down memory lane as I could have sworn that I was watching that first memorable contest between Chavez and Meldrick Taylor. In that fight, in which Taylor was ahead on the scorecards, Julio would knock him out with two seconds left in the twelfth and final round. It was not really a one-punch knockout, as Meldrick really went down after taking a horrible beating for twelve rounds, but the final punch thrown was a straight right hand that landed flush, whipping Taylor’s head around.
You can argue whether that fight should have been stopped or not, but the fact is that Meldrick took such a horrible beating that he was never the same fighter again. The rematch was not even competitive, as Julio stopped Taylor in eight rounds. Chavez literally beat the fight of out Taylor in that first encounter. Do not misunderstand me fight fans, I am not comparing last night’s fight with the first Taylor classic, as that would be blasphemous, I am just saying that Julio captured a lot of the fans’ imaginations and his legend grew because of fights like the Taylor one. Now, watching him say goodbye last night, and I think most of us know that he will probably fight again, still stirred memories of growing up and having the privilege to bare witness to one of the greatest careers, and one of the most loved and respected champions in the history of our great sport.
It is a career which saw Chavez become the first Mexican fighter to capture world titles in three different weight classes. Also, it is one in which Julio holds wins over such names like: Mario Martinez, Ruben “Chucho” Castillo, Roger Mayweather (twice), Rocky Lockridge, Juan LaPorte, Edwin “Chapo” Rosario, Jose Luis Ramirez, Sammy Fuentes, Johnny Deplessis, Frankie Mitchell, Hector “Macho” Camacho, Greg Haugen, Frankie Randall, David Kamau, and Tony “The Tiger” Lopez. Chavez would not suffer his first defeat until his ninety-second bout in which “The Surgeon” Frankie Randall took a split decision victory.
I know that many people feel that he did not deserve to get a draw in his fight against Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, but that is the way that fight stands. If you are still one of those that refuse to accept it, then for you, Chavez was undefeated in his first eighty-eight contests. That is still an amazing feat to achieve for any fighter in any era. I also noticed that in the message boards here at SaddoBoxing.com, several of our great fans dared to compare the career of Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton to the great Chavez, saying that Hatton, though often criticized for his fight choices, has gone the same route that Julio did and is only starting to move up in class. A closer examination of those claims reveals that Hatton, who is in his eighth year as a professional fighter, has only fought thirty-eight contests, without having challenged for a legitimate world title (no, the WBU is not legitimate).
In his first eight years as a pro, Chavez partook in sixty-one contests, winning two legitimate world titles, the WBC super featherweight championship in 1984 and the WBC lightweight title in 1987. Also, within that same eight-year span, Julio fought and defeated contenders, champions, and former champions like Edwin “Chapo” Rosario, Juan LaPorte, Rocky Lockridge, Roger Mayweather, Ruben Castillo, and Mario Martinez. I am not saying that Ricky has not fought decent competition, but no one in the class of the aforementioned. So with all due respect British fans, I understand your frustration as Hatton does not get any credit for his achievements, but do not compare him to a legend, because he has not earned it yet. He may one day earn that comparison, but that day is far, far away.
Chavez is a legend, icon, and represented the very essence of Mexico. Julio was a workmanlike champion, who would get it done by taking the fight to his opponents, imposing his will, beating their bodies relentlessly, and stopping them late. Chavez did not possess great hand-speed, one-punch power, or amazing natural ability, but he was determined, strong, very heavy handed, and unforgiving as he would stalk his prey without a seconds rest. Also, “El Leon De Culiacan” was willing to take an extraordinary amount of punishment in order to get inside his opponent’s guard and go to work. Julio’s fights never really got going until after the sixth round, as he would start to impose his strengths, and that body attack would start to break the other fighter down. It always seemed that Chavez was behind on the scorecards entering the second half of fights, only to see him completely beat down his opponents and stop them late. He also possessed one of the greatest chins in the history of the sport and he was only down once in 115 fights, and Chavez faced some hellacious punchers in his time.
Julio is beloved by all Mexicans because he always fought for us, bled for us, took incredible amounts of pain for us, and represented us with honor and pride. This was very evident last night as, in his closing speech, Chavez said, “I’m sorry for not knocking out Robinson like I said I would and I hope you can forgive me. I just want to thank everyone that has supported me over all these years. Thank you for your love and your support. For that, I am leaving all of you with a gift, my son. I ask all of you to please love him and support him as you loved and supported me. Thank you again for everything.” His son, who fought on the under-card and won via a forty-two second blowout, now entrusted to us by his father who pleaded for us to love his seed as one of our own. How many “Fighting Gods” have ever bestowed such an honor and handed such a gift to his followers? His own flesh and blood offered to the boxing fans as a show of affection, respect, and love from the legend himself. That same son was the child that would enter the ring with his father, hoisted on the shoulders of a family member when he was just six-years-old. Now, he is a nineteen-year-old young man trying to fill shoes that are practically impossible to fill. It was truly a touching moment for those of us that have been with Julio Sr. for years.
So fight fans, it was truly a pleasure to be able to say that I was around when Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr. had his heyday, and that I attest to his greatness. Chavez has been immortalized in Mexican folklore, corridos (a type of Mexican folksong), and more importantly, in the hearts of people for all over the world. Just think of it my fellow fight fanatics that were around at the time. We witnessed the prime of “El Leon De Culiacan” Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr., and what a prime it was.
Editor’s note: Thank you to all of the boxing fans that continue to read our articles, but I must point out that our writer Sergio Martinez is not, nor is he affiliated with “The Contender” winner Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora. You can find more information on Sergio Mora at www.nbc.com/contender
Sergio Martinez can be reached at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com
