Boxing: Julio Cesar Chavez
On Saturday, boxing fans will celebrate the Mexican festival of Cinco de Mayo by watching an American and a Puerto Rican do battle in the Nevada desert. More than anybody else, Oscar De La Hoya -- an American of Mexican descent -- popularized Cinco de Mayo (or the Saturday nearest to it) as a big fight weekend in Las Vegas, but since his retirement, the aforementioned American (Floyd Mayweather Jr.) and the Philippines' Manny Pacquiao have been the date's biggest pugilistic stars. Hey, imagine how crazy it would be if the two of them ever ... no, let's not go there. We have an actual fight to look forward to this weekend, a title bout between Mayweather and Miguel Cotto, and in the meantime, here's a reminder of some of the best May 5(ish) fights in Sin City's recent history.
5. Julio Cesar Chavez TD8 Frankie Randall, May 7, 1994, MGM Grand
Earlier in the year, Randall's points victory in the same venue brought Chavez his first official loss, in his 91st professional bout. The rematch was closely fought, but when Chavez said he was unable to continue after being cut by an accidental clash of heads, he was declared the winner on a technical decision (aided by a WBC rule that the accidental butter always be deducted a point; without that stipulation, the result would have been a split-decision draw.) The fight was the main event of a Don King card called "Revenge: the Rematches" that featured Terry Norris, Simon Brown, Julian Jackson, Gerald McClellan, Azumah Nelson and Jesse James Leija in perhaps the most stacked pay-per-view broadcast in boxing history.
4. Oscar De La Hoya TKO6 Ricardo Mayorga, May 6, 2006, MGM Grand
De La Hoya's final victory on the Las Vegas stage, and what a stirring one it was. Mayorga had genuinely infuriated the Golden Boy with his prefight taunts, and the vastly superior former Olympian punished him for it, dropping him once in the first and twice in the sixth. At his peak, De La Hoya brought an unmatched electricity to fight crowds, and this night was no exception. The atmosphere was off the hook, and as De La Hoya climbed the ropes to salute his fans in victory, it felt at the time like the perfect coda to a Hall of Fame career.
3. Manny Pacquiao D12 Juan Manuel Marquez, May 8, 2004, MGM Grand
The first installment of an intense and ongoing rivalry almost didn't make it past the first round of this encounter. Pacquiao, fresh off his shocking annihilation of Marco Antonio Barrera, flattened Barrera's countryman three times in that opening frame. Somehow, Marquez survived and fought his way back into the contest. Two fights and eight years later, Marquez remains Pacquiao's nemesis, and vice versa.
2. Manny Pacquiao KO2 Ricky Hatton, May 2, 2009, MGM Grand
This year was Pacquiao's annus mirabilis, in which he followed his 2008 demolition of De La Hoya with stoppage wins over Cotto and, previously, Hatton. The Englishman was down twice in the first round, unable to escape Pacquiao's right hooks, but was working his way back into the contest until PacMan uncorked a thunderbolt of a left hand at the end of the second to leave him spread-eagle on the canvas.
1. Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo, May 7, 2005, Mandalay Bay
One of the greatest fights of all time -- heck, one could make a case that it was the greatest fight of all time -- will be forever remembered for its conclusive 10th round. Castillo put down Corrales hard and seconds later knocked him down again. Corrales spat out his mouthpiece and earned a point deduction for doing so, but it bought him precious time while the mouthpiece was cleaned, time that trainer Joe Goossen used to tell Corrales, "You'd better f---ing get inside of him now." And so Corrales did, summoning the strength to crack Castillo with a perfect right hand and then tearing into him on the ropes until referee Tony Weeks stopped the contest.
Corrales never won another fight. Two years later, to the very day, he was dead. But his memory, and the memory of his greatest moment in a boxing ring, will live forever.
5. Julio Cesar Chavez TD8 Frankie Randall, May 7, 1994, MGM Grand
Earlier in the year, Randall's points victory in the same venue brought Chavez his first official loss, in his 91st professional bout. The rematch was closely fought, but when Chavez said he was unable to continue after being cut by an accidental clash of heads, he was declared the winner on a technical decision (aided by a WBC rule that the accidental butter always be deducted a point; without that stipulation, the result would have been a split-decision draw.) The fight was the main event of a Don King card called "Revenge: the Rematches" that featured Terry Norris, Simon Brown, Julian Jackson, Gerald McClellan, Azumah Nelson and Jesse James Leija in perhaps the most stacked pay-per-view broadcast in boxing history.
4. Oscar De La Hoya TKO6 Ricardo Mayorga, May 6, 2006, MGM Grand
De La Hoya's final victory on the Las Vegas stage, and what a stirring one it was. Mayorga had genuinely infuriated the Golden Boy with his prefight taunts, and the vastly superior former Olympian punished him for it, dropping him once in the first and twice in the sixth. At his peak, De La Hoya brought an unmatched electricity to fight crowds, and this night was no exception. The atmosphere was off the hook, and as De La Hoya climbed the ropes to salute his fans in victory, it felt at the time like the perfect coda to a Hall of Fame career.
3. Manny Pacquiao D12 Juan Manuel Marquez, May 8, 2004, MGM Grand
The first installment of an intense and ongoing rivalry almost didn't make it past the first round of this encounter. Pacquiao, fresh off his shocking annihilation of Marco Antonio Barrera, flattened Barrera's countryman three times in that opening frame. Somehow, Marquez survived and fought his way back into the contest. Two fights and eight years later, Marquez remains Pacquiao's nemesis, and vice versa.
2. Manny Pacquiao KO2 Ricky Hatton, May 2, 2009, MGM Grand
This year was Pacquiao's annus mirabilis, in which he followed his 2008 demolition of De La Hoya with stoppage wins over Cotto and, previously, Hatton. The Englishman was down twice in the first round, unable to escape Pacquiao's right hooks, but was working his way back into the contest until PacMan uncorked a thunderbolt of a left hand at the end of the second to leave him spread-eagle on the canvas.
1. Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo, May 7, 2005, Mandalay Bay
One of the greatest fights of all time -- heck, one could make a case that it was the greatest fight of all time -- will be forever remembered for its conclusive 10th round. Castillo put down Corrales hard and seconds later knocked him down again. Corrales spat out his mouthpiece and earned a point deduction for doing so, but it bought him precious time while the mouthpiece was cleaned, time that trainer Joe Goossen used to tell Corrales, "You'd better f---ing get inside of him now." And so Corrales did, summoning the strength to crack Castillo with a perfect right hand and then tearing into him on the ropes until referee Tony Weeks stopped the contest.
Corrales never won another fight. Two years later, to the very day, he was dead. But his memory, and the memory of his greatest moment in a boxing ring, will live forever.
Chavez Sr.'s sour San Antonio experience
February, 1, 2012
Feb 1
11:25
AM ET
By
Kieran Mulvaney | ESPN.com
Since he first stepped foot into the ring as a professional prizefighter, looking for all the world as though he were just 12 years old, his every step has inevitably been compared to his father's -- not only because they share name, but because that father was also one of the greatest boxers of all time, a first-ballot Hall of Famer and perhaps the most celebrated pugilist in Mexico's long fistic history.
On Saturday night, the linkages will be stronger than ever; but whereas Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. may at times have wished that comparisons of his career with his father's had to this point been more favorable, he will certainly be hoping to exit San Antonio's Alamodome with more positive reviews than did his father 18 years and change ago.
Chavez Jr. will face Marco Antonio Rubio on HBO in a defense of a middleweight belt that many believe rightfully belongs to Sergio Martinez, who was stripped of the title as a result of the kind of political chicanery and machinations that have granted boxing permanent residency in the Red Light District of sports. But it is also, perhaps more accurately, a measuring stick by which fans can judge the progress of a young contender who, much maligned in his earlier career, is showing signs of developing an all-round game that will meet potentially its toughest test yet in the form of veteran Marco Antonio Rubio.
On Sept. 10, 1993, Chavez Sr. walked into the ring in the very same arena, in front of 56,959 paying fans, placing his 87-0 record on the line against Pernell Whitaker, who had suffered a larcenous loss to Jose Luis Ramirez in his first tilt at a world title five years earlier but was otherwise undefeated in 33 contests. The two men were meeting for the welterweight championship of the world -- which Whitaker had snatched from Buddy McGirt in his previous fight -- but also for more than that: recognition as the best fighter in the world, pound for pound.
(A brief aside: The notion of two welterweights actually deciding who is the best fighter in the world by meeting in the ring might, to today's generation of boxing fans, seem an absurdity, a fiction so improbable as to be without any kind of credibility. Time was, however, when such things happened. But that's another story ...)
Chavez, the betting favorite, began aggressively, looking to bury his patented left hook to Whitaker's liver, as the champion wheeled away and popped his pursuer with a retreating right jab from a southpaw stance. Beginning in the third, Whitaker threw that jab with greater authority, combining it with the footwork and slippery defense for which he was renowned, befuddling Chavez and taking away seemingly every aspect of his game, beating him with punches from inside and outside. From Round 4 onward, it was, to ringside observers, largely a shutout -- a masters class culminating in what was surely a nine rounds-to-three or, at worst, eight rounds-to-four victory.
Except that it wasn't.
One judge scored the fight for Whitaker, 115-113. The other two saw it dead-even, 115-115 -- a result that even many in the pro-Chavez crowd, who had become progressively quieter as their man had been given a boxing lesson, booed.
The New York Times dubbed the result "an oddity of a decision even for this most confusing of sports."
"I went to talk to one of the judges afterward, but I tripped over his seeing-eye dog," Bert Sugar quipped.
"Whitaker put on one of the most dazzling ring performances in recent years," wrote Sports Illustrated, "yet, within minutes, two of the three judges reduced this magnificent show to a mockery."
SI's cover featured a picture of Whitaker landing a right hand on Chavez's jaw, accompanied by a one-word headline: 'Robbed!' (Hey, on the plus side, boxing was on the cover of Sports Illustrated! Yes, kids, sometimes that happened, too.)
Three fights later, Chavez suffered his first official loss, when he was dropped and outpointed by Frankie Randall, and things were never really the same after that. He beat up the likes of Ken Sigurani, Verdell Smith and Marty Jakubowski, but he lost comprehensively to Oscar De La Hoya (twice), Kostya Tszyu (in a fight that never should have been made) and even Willy Wise and Grover Wiley.
Junior avenged the last of those defeats, in a way, splattering the man -- in three one-sided rounds in 2007 -- who had ended Senior's career. And although a clean and clear win on Saturday won't exactly atone for the flimflam that spared his old man from defeat that long-ago September night, it will enable him to boast one accomplishment that eluded his more celebrated father: to walk out of the Alamadome, with his hands in the air and head held high, to the sound of his fans celebrating a Chavez victory.
On Saturday night, the linkages will be stronger than ever; but whereas Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. may at times have wished that comparisons of his career with his father's had to this point been more favorable, he will certainly be hoping to exit San Antonio's Alamodome with more positive reviews than did his father 18 years and change ago.
Chavez Jr. will face Marco Antonio Rubio on HBO in a defense of a middleweight belt that many believe rightfully belongs to Sergio Martinez, who was stripped of the title as a result of the kind of political chicanery and machinations that have granted boxing permanent residency in the Red Light District of sports. But it is also, perhaps more accurately, a measuring stick by which fans can judge the progress of a young contender who, much maligned in his earlier career, is showing signs of developing an all-round game that will meet potentially its toughest test yet in the form of veteran Marco Antonio Rubio.
On Sept. 10, 1993, Chavez Sr. walked into the ring in the very same arena, in front of 56,959 paying fans, placing his 87-0 record on the line against Pernell Whitaker, who had suffered a larcenous loss to Jose Luis Ramirez in his first tilt at a world title five years earlier but was otherwise undefeated in 33 contests. The two men were meeting for the welterweight championship of the world -- which Whitaker had snatched from Buddy McGirt in his previous fight -- but also for more than that: recognition as the best fighter in the world, pound for pound.
(A brief aside: The notion of two welterweights actually deciding who is the best fighter in the world by meeting in the ring might, to today's generation of boxing fans, seem an absurdity, a fiction so improbable as to be without any kind of credibility. Time was, however, when such things happened. But that's another story ...)
Chavez, the betting favorite, began aggressively, looking to bury his patented left hook to Whitaker's liver, as the champion wheeled away and popped his pursuer with a retreating right jab from a southpaw stance. Beginning in the third, Whitaker threw that jab with greater authority, combining it with the footwork and slippery defense for which he was renowned, befuddling Chavez and taking away seemingly every aspect of his game, beating him with punches from inside and outside. From Round 4 onward, it was, to ringside observers, largely a shutout -- a masters class culminating in what was surely a nine rounds-to-three or, at worst, eight rounds-to-four victory.
Except that it wasn't.
One judge scored the fight for Whitaker, 115-113. The other two saw it dead-even, 115-115 -- a result that even many in the pro-Chavez crowd, who had become progressively quieter as their man had been given a boxing lesson, booed.
The New York Times dubbed the result "an oddity of a decision even for this most confusing of sports."
"I went to talk to one of the judges afterward, but I tripped over his seeing-eye dog," Bert Sugar quipped.
"Whitaker put on one of the most dazzling ring performances in recent years," wrote Sports Illustrated, "yet, within minutes, two of the three judges reduced this magnificent show to a mockery."
SI's cover featured a picture of Whitaker landing a right hand on Chavez's jaw, accompanied by a one-word headline: 'Robbed!' (Hey, on the plus side, boxing was on the cover of Sports Illustrated! Yes, kids, sometimes that happened, too.)
Three fights later, Chavez suffered his first official loss, when he was dropped and outpointed by Frankie Randall, and things were never really the same after that. He beat up the likes of Ken Sigurani, Verdell Smith and Marty Jakubowski, but he lost comprehensively to Oscar De La Hoya (twice), Kostya Tszyu (in a fight that never should have been made) and even Willy Wise and Grover Wiley.
Junior avenged the last of those defeats, in a way, splattering the man -- in three one-sided rounds in 2007 -- who had ended Senior's career. And although a clean and clear win on Saturday won't exactly atone for the flimflam that spared his old man from defeat that long-ago September night, it will enable him to boast one accomplishment that eluded his more celebrated father: to walk out of the Alamadome, with his hands in the air and head held high, to the sound of his fans celebrating a Chavez victory.
Roach: Chavez Jr. would take Martinez
November, 25, 2011
11/25/11
2:50
PM ET
By Igor Guryashkin | ESPN.com
Buried among the rigmarole surrounding Antonio Margarito's now finally licensed eye, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the prodigal son of his Hall of Fame father, defeated the semi-retired (and now likely permanently retired) Peter Manfredo Jr. last Saturday night. The result was expected; less so was trainer Freddie Roach's assertion that Chavez, based on this performance, is capable of dispatching middleweight sultan Sergio Martinez.
"[Chavez] can kick [Martinez's] a-- right now, in my opinion," Roach told Boxing Scene's Chris LaBate. "I don't think he's a great fighter. He's a great athlete, I'll give him that. But he's not a great fighter."
Roach has recently developed a habit of making predictions that have gone awry (a Marquez knockout for one), but this one is downright outlandish. Chavez did look impressive in this latest performance, but against limited opposition. It was a credible win against a game but faded fighter.
Perhaps triumphs over more established middleweights such as Andy Lee and Matthew Macklin would add credence to the assertion that Chavez has what it takes to vanquish Martinez, widely regarded as the third-best fighter on the planet. But for now, Chavez remains one half of a duo of arguably overprotected middleweight Mexican fighters.
Froch desperate for vengeance
Carl Froch is a confident man. After the December Super Six Final concludes and the brash Englishman emerges victorious over favorite Andre Ward (as Froch is certain he will), he has only one opponent in mind: Mikkel Kessler, the one man who has beaten Froch.
"To fight Kessler means something, too, especially as I don't believe he beat me," Froch told The Daily Mail.
It's clearly an arrangement that Kessler's own promoter, Kalle Sauerland, is keen to set up.
"I believe that Kessler-Froch Part I was a classic, and that a second or even a third part would be justified,” Sauerland said.
"We would love that fight at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and we will make the biggest offer ever to a super middleweight boxer to make that fight."
Quote of the week
Every time I fight, I put on a problem, man. You can always expect fireworks and that's what [I] bring. It's not even the Fourth of July yet, man. Every day is Independence Day in the gym for me. I'm a seasonal Fourth of July.” --
The demure, reserved Adrien Broner, who will fight Vicente Rodriguez on Saturday on HBO, told Fight Hype
"[Chavez] can kick [Martinez's] a-- right now, in my opinion," Roach told Boxing Scene's Chris LaBate. "I don't think he's a great fighter. He's a great athlete, I'll give him that. But he's not a great fighter."
Roach has recently developed a habit of making predictions that have gone awry (a Marquez knockout for one), but this one is downright outlandish. Chavez did look impressive in this latest performance, but against limited opposition. It was a credible win against a game but faded fighter.
Perhaps triumphs over more established middleweights such as Andy Lee and Matthew Macklin would add credence to the assertion that Chavez has what it takes to vanquish Martinez, widely regarded as the third-best fighter on the planet. But for now, Chavez remains one half of a duo of arguably overprotected middleweight Mexican fighters.
Froch desperate for vengeance
Carl Froch is a confident man. After the December Super Six Final concludes and the brash Englishman emerges victorious over favorite Andre Ward (as Froch is certain he will), he has only one opponent in mind: Mikkel Kessler, the one man who has beaten Froch.
"To fight Kessler means something, too, especially as I don't believe he beat me," Froch told The Daily Mail.
It's clearly an arrangement that Kessler's own promoter, Kalle Sauerland, is keen to set up.
"I believe that Kessler-Froch Part I was a classic, and that a second or even a third part would be justified,” Sauerland said.
"We would love that fight at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and we will make the biggest offer ever to a super middleweight boxer to make that fight."
Quote of the week
Every time I fight, I put on a problem, man. You can always expect fireworks and that's what [I] bring. It's not even the Fourth of July yet, man. Every day is Independence Day in the gym for me. I'm a seasonal Fourth of July.” --
The demure, reserved Adrien Broner, who will fight Vicente Rodriguez on Saturday on HBO, told Fight Hype
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Brian Campbell is an ESPN Mobile editor and a boxing contributor for ESPN.com.
Richard Fletcher is a longtime contributor to Boxing Monthly and also writes for HBO and ESPN.com.
Igor Guryashkin is a researcher for ESPN The Magazine and a boxing contributor for ESPN.com.
Graham Houston is the American editor of Boxing Monthly, writes for FightWriter.com and is a boxing contributor for ESPN.com.
Kieran Mulvaney covers boxing for ESPN.com, Reuters and HBO Sports.
Eric Raskin is a former managing editor of The Ring and covers boxing for TheSweetScience.com, HBO, Grantland and ESPN.com.
Don Steinberg, a winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America's award for best column in 2006 and best short feature in 2010, covers boxing for The Philadelphia Inquirer and contributes to ESPN.com.
Michael Woods writes about boxing for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, and is the editor of TheSweetScience.com.