I wouldn't call MAB classy at all.No amateur career pretty much means a lot of on the job training. Really it ain't that hard to figure out. Fools pay to much attention to the early part of Chavez's career. It was on the job training. For people to expect someone with little to no amateur experience to get in there with "great fighters" early in there career is just moronic. Straight stupid. All these so-called great fighters today fighting other so-called great fighters early in there careers are all fighters with tons of amateur experience.With JC Superstar back in the news as a 1st timer on the HOF ballet, I’d like to make the case against him. I think he deserves HOF status to be sure, but perhaps not on the first ballet. Here’s why.
The upper-echelon of the cream of the crop should be reserved for those who successfully fought other potential HOFers in their prime, i.e. those in similar weight-classes and on the 1b-4-1b lists of the day. If no such fighters were available, then of course the candidate should not be punished. But if they were and the boxer in question did not fight them, then that should be considered a demerit (unless its apparent the other fighter was doing the dodging). It is here that JCC falls short.
Let’s look at his best available completion.
1. Sweet Pea. He was the best fighter of the era and was of similar size to JCC. Chavez lost decisively. I know he benefited from the judges generosity, but history is another judge. Just as important, he never fought Pernell again. Suspicious.
2. Meldrick Taylor. JCC’s shining moment, imo. He showed his deceptive power, his chin, and won the fight morally (ie Meldrick was a beaten man). In a just world Taylor would’ve gotten the decision and then gotten KOed in an immediate rematch. But in what became a pattern, there was no immediate rematch (though I’m uncertain if JCC really did the dodging here) and the 2nd fight happened when Taylor was shot. So, JCCs best performance against a fellow great is arguably a loss.
3. Frankie Randall. Randall was not a lb-4-lber but he makes the list by virtue of being the first to officially beat Chavez. He was beating him again in the rematch when Chavez quit and got a gift. The 3rd match was not held until Randall was shot. Severe discredit is due here. Another decisive loss for Chavez.
4. ODLH. JCC is forgiven here b/c he was past his prime. But he was not that past his prime and he got whupped. Chavez appeared to quit in the 2nd fight. Another patern.
5. Azumah Nelson: Nelson was of similar size to JCC, was a great boxer-brawler, a 1b-4-1ber, and they never fought.
6. Buddy McGirt: like Nelson, similar size, great boxer, was considered formidable after schooling the great Simon Brown, but never got a shot at Chavez
7. Simon Brown: slightly bigger than the other guys but still within range of JCC. Never fought.
8, 9, and 10 : Norris, Trinidad, and Starling: JCC can be forgiven for not fighting these bigger guys. But he needed something on his resume, they were available, and they weren’t that much bigger.
So there you have it. These 10 boxers were better than any boxer JCC defeated. Those include Haugen (who had already lost to Paz twice and Camacho), Ramirez (already lost to Haugen) Roger Mayweather, Lockerage, and Camacho (all of whom had suffered loses prior). They were good fighters, and JCC dominated them. But they were not the best available.
Against the best available, JCC either lost, quit, was gifted, or did not fight.
Good post, and one you're sure to get raked over the coals for. I agree... HOF'er for sure, just not 1st ballot. MY point is that people go "goo-goo eyed" over the record, and neglect to see it for what it's worth. 107 wins... oh wow! Big, fukking deal. First 40-some fights were against a bunch of tomato cans in Mexico. Sound familiar? Oh yeah... that's how he's grooming his OWN coddled son. But back to JCC Sr.... I don't buy into this "well he didn't have an amateur career" bullshet argument. So how exactly does that translate into being able to accumulate dozens of victories over dead bodies to fatten a pro record? Sounds grossly unfair to me. A lot of the great boxers from this generation are fighting other great fighters early on in their careers. I'm talking into their 15th fight, and by the 20th for sure.
The great JCC began regularly fighting fighters of high caliber around his 45th fight. So everything before that was just " filling" in the 100-win pie. How's this for a stat? The cumulative winning percentage of his opponents after his 44th fight was 46 percent. Forty-six frigging percent!! In other words, they had more losses than wins. Forty-six percent may be a terrific batting average in baseball, but it means you're nothing more than a street bum, in boxing. Even after he won his first championship and moved into the elite level, his record was sprinkled with it's share of "4-3" and "5-8" fighters. Hell, he even made time for a few debutantes ("0-0" records), and a "1-12" palooka.
Oh, and if someone wants to criticize me for using BoxRec as my statistical source, please provide a credible alternative and I'll gladly do the same research.
I have vivid memories of JCC as he moved toward his 100th victory. After his fight with Randall, which he CLEARLY lost by a country mile... he was graceless and classless. Obsessed with his record, much like he's raising Junior to be.
HOF'er, unfortunately yes. 1st ballot? Not in MY book.
Chavez is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Without a doubt. I noticed most of the hate towards him comes from the PR's. Which is understandable I guess. The man did wreck the great Edwin Rosario and completely embarrassed Hector "Not So Macho" Camacho
I was never a fan of Camacho's, and Edwin Rosario was over-confident and under-trained for that fight. He was a waste of talent. No... my dislike for JCC isn't based on those two encounters. And for the record, I've always been a big fan of CLASSY Mexican fighters, such as MAB and the great "Finito" Lopez.
Bookmarks