SPORTS SHORTS 154: JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ SR. VS. HECTOR CAMACHO JR. EXHIBITION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 22 Jun 2021
The exhibition bout between Julio Cesar Chavez and Hector Camacho Jr. which headlined the "Tribute to the Kings" pay-per-view at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico was reminiscent of the vintage Mexico vs. Puerto Rico showdown.
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The fight was dubbed as a tribute to the 58-year-old Chavez and to Camacho Jr.’s father, Hector Sr. On September 12, 1992, Chavez faced then WBO light welterweight champion Hector "Macho" Camacho Sr. (41-1-0, 18 KOs) in a most awaited bout.
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Chavez dominated Camacho Sr. for a unanimous decision win. The final scores were 117–111, 119-110 and 120-107 for Chavez. Camacho Sr. died in Puerto Rico on November 24, 2012, two years after his final professional fight, a unanimous decision loss to Saul Duran on May 14, 2010.
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Camacho Sr. was shot in the jaw while sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's car in Bayamón, Puerto Rico by unknown individuals from a passing SUV.
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The driver, a childhood friend, was killed instantly in the shooting. Camacho Sr. died four days later, after he was declared clinically brain dead and his mother requested the doctors to remove his life support.
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Journalist Rafael Bracero and Francisco Valcárcel, president of the World Boxing Organization concurred that Camacho Sr. was among the "Top 5 Puerto Rican boxers" of all time, together with Félix "Tito" Trinidad, Wilfredo Gómez, and Wilfred Benítez.
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Chavez and Camacho Jr. fought only four two-minute rounds and sported colorful headgears. This was different from the high-profile exhibition fights of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul which consisted of three-minute rounds.
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But it brought nonstop action atop the ring and the bout was more exciting than the previous exhibition matches, with the fighters performing persistent trading of blows and sometimes released some punches after the bell sounded to stir the fans.
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There were no judges scoring the bout as it was only for exhibition, but Chavez Sr. seemed to have the advantage as seen by most experts to have the better performance of the two protagonists as he released body punches to the 42-year-old Camacho Jr., compelling him to clinch or move back.
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Chavez Sr. then removed his headgear against the wishes of his family but Camacho Jr. did not pull out his and the fight did not resume until Chavez Sr. put on his cover again. Chavez Sr. then unwillingly wore his headgear back but called Canelo Alvarez to be a guest cornerman for him in the final round.
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It was a symbolic passing of the torch to the fighter recognized by many as the world's pound-for-pound champion. “Chavez will always be the greatest Mexican fighter ever,” Alvarez said.
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Camacho Jr. (59-7-1, 33 KOs) commented further that Chavez Sr. was not only the greatest Mexican boxer ever, but the greatest boxer of the world ever. "It was an honor to do this,” he said. “I wish my dad was here with me.”
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Camacho Sr. whose professional career lasted from 1980 to 2010, was a world champion in three weight classes. He held the WBC super featherweight title from 1983 to 1984, the WBC lightweight title from 1985 to 1987, and the WBO junior welterweight title twice between 1989 and 1992.
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Chavez Sr. was a multiple world champion in three weight divisions, and was ranked by The Ring magazine as the world's best boxer, pound for pound, from 1990 to 1993.
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He was the WBC super featherweight champion from 1984 to 1987, the WBA and WBC lightweight champion from 1987 to 1989, the WBC light welterweight champion twice from 1989 to 1996, and the IBF light welterweight champion from 1990 to 1991.
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Chavez Sr. also held the Ring magazine lineal lightweight titles from 1988 to 1989, and the lineal light welterweight title twice from 1990 to 1996. Chavez was voted Fighter of the Year for 1987 by the Boxing Writers Association of America and 1990 by The Ring.
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Chavez Sr. holds existing records for the most total successful defenses of world titles (27, tie with Omar Narvaez), most title fight victories (31), most fighters beaten for the title (31), and most title fights (37) and has the second most title defenses won by knockout (21, after Joe Louis with 23).
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His fight record was 89 wins, 0 losses, and 1 draw before he incurred his first professional loss to Frankie Randall in 1994. Before that he had an 87-fight win streak until his draw with Pernell Whitaker in 1993.
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Chavez's 1993 victory over Greg Haugen at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City set the record for the largest attendance for an outdoor boxing match at 136,274 fans.
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Chavez Sr. fought a total of 115 bouts, with 107 wins, 86 victories were by KO, with 6 losses and 2 draws.
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Oscar De La Hoya who will make a comeback to boxing in a exhibition bout against former UFC champ Vitor Belfort on September 11, told Chris Mannix that his ultimate goal is a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
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“I want to make the biggest comeback in boxing history,” De La Hoya said. “I want to get two of these fights down under my belt, and get the timing ready and everything, and then my third one, I want to call out Floyd Mayweather.”
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"I’m telling you, may jab feels faster than ever. I think it’s the 15 years I didn’t use it. If I feel good these next two fights that I have, I’m going to call out Floyd," concluded the "Golden Boy."
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Mayweather beat De La Hoya on May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight between six-division world champion De La Hoya and undefeated four-division champion Mayweather Jr. was the biggest PPV fight ever at the time with 2.4 million buys generating a revenue of $136 million.
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The planned rematch didn’t happen. Mayweather retired in the first of his several retirements. De La Hoya fought Manny Pacquiao, which sent the “Golden Boy” into retirement. He was badly beaten by Pacquiao as he was old and fought at 147 lbs. for the first time in a long time.
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The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 103-96 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015. The Game 7 loss eliminated the East No. 1 seed Sixers with the most disappointing series losses in recent memory. The 76ers collapsed from huge leads in Games 4 and 5.
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Joel Embiid led the 76ers with a team-high 31 points with 11 rebounds. Kevin Huerter finished with 27 points for the Hawks. The Sixers were favorites entering the matchup, but it was Atlanta who won the series to beat the top seed in Game 7.
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Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets star who was named NBA MVP this season, announced last week he has no plans to play for his country Serbia in the Tokyo Olympics.
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“Simply, the condition of my body requires a longer absence from the court to recover,” Jokic told Serbian state media. “I have to accept that. I am sure that the guys have the quality to make a result without me, which will bring us all a lot of joy.”
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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