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Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former
professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was listed by '' The Ring'' magazine as the world's best boxer,
pound for pound Pound for pound is a ranking used in combat sports, such as boxing, wrestling, or mixed martial arts, of who the better fighters are irrespective of their weight, i.e. adjusted to compensate for weight class. As these fighters do not compete direc ...
, from 1990 to 1993. During his career he held the WBC super featherweight title from 1984 to 1987, the WBA and WBC
lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...
titles between 1987 and 1989, the WBC light welterweight title twice between 1989 and 1996, and the
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
light welterweight title from 1990 to 1991. He also held the '' ''Ring'''' magazine and lineal lightweight titles from 1988 to 1989, and the lineal light welterweight title twice between 1990 and 1996. Chávez was named Fighter of the Year for 1987 and 1990 by the
Boxing Writers Association of America The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers ...
and '' The Ring'' respectively. Chávez holds records for the most total successful defenses of world titles (27, shared with Omar Narváez), most title fight victories and fighters beaten for the title (both at 31), and most title fights (37); he has the second most title defenses won by knockout (21, after Joe Louis with 23). His fight record was 89 wins, 0 losses, and 1 draw before his first professional loss to
Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 19 ...
in 1994, before which he had an 87-fight win streak until his draw with
Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...
in 1993. Chávez's 1993 win over
Greg Haugen Greg Lee Haugen (born August 31, 1960) is a retired American boxer. Haugen was champion at both the lightweight and light welterweight classes. He trained under Jim Montgomery. Haugen turned pro in 1982 and won his first 17 fights before challen ...
at the
Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of Association football, football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of a ...
set the record for the largest attendance for an outdoor boxing match: 136,274. He is ranked as the 17th best boxer of all time, pound for pound, by BoxRec, #24 on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
's list of "50 Greatest Boxers of All Time", and 18th on ''The Rings "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years". In 2010 he was inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
for the Class of 2011. He is the father of current boxers
Omar Chávez Omar Alonso Chávez Carrasco (born January 4, 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer and the one time WBC Youth Intercontinental welterweight champion. He is the son of former three-division world champion of boxing, Julio César Chávez. Pers ...
and former WBC middleweight champion
Julio César Chávez Jr. Julio César Chávez Carrasco (born 16 February 1986), best known as Julio César Chávez Jr., is a Mexican professional boxer who held the WBC middleweight title from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former three-division world champion of bo ...


Early life

Julio César Chávez was born on July 12, 1962, in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. His father, Rodolfo Chavez, worked for the railroad, and Julio grew up in an abandoned railroad car with his five sisters and four brothers. Chávez came from a poor family and became a boxer for money, he stated: "I saw my mom working, ironing, and washing people's clothes, and I promised her I would give her a house someday, and she would never have that job again."
He began boxing as an amateur at the age of 16 and he then moved to
Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
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to pursue a professional career.


Professional career

Chávez made his professional debut at age 17. In his 12th fight, on March 4, 1980, Chávez faced Miguel Ruiz in
Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both the Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531, by the Spanish conquerors Lázar ...
, Sinaloa. At the end of the first round, Chavez landed a blow that knocked Ruiz out. Delivered as the bell sounded, the blow was ruled a disqualification in the ring and Ruiz was declared the winner. The next day, however, his manager, Ramón Felix, consulted with the Mexican boxing commission, and after further review, the result was overturned and Chávez was declared the winner.


Super Featherweight

Chávez won his first championship, the vacant WBC Super Featherweight title, on September 13, 1984, by knocking out fellow Mexican Mario "Azabache" Martínez at the
Grand Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...
in Los Angeles. Martínez had been the betting favorite in the bout, due partly to his previous victory over former WBC world champion Rolando Navarette in a non-title bout. On April 19, 1985, Chávez defended his title against number one ranked contender Ruben Castillo (63-4-2) by knocking him out in the sixth round. On July 7, 1985, Chavez defeated former and future champion
Roger Mayweather Roger Mayweather (April 24, 1961 – March 17, 2020) was an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999. He was a two-division world champion, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' super featherweight tit ...
via a second-round knockout. On August 3, 1986, Chavez won a twelve-round majority decision over former WBA and future
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
Super Featherweight champion
Rocky Lockridge Rick "Rocky" Lockridge (January 10, 1959 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for having handed Roger Mayweather his first defeat—a first-round knockout in just 98 seconds—earning him the WBA a ...
in
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
. In his next bout, he defeated former champion Juan Laporte by a twelve-round unanimous decision. On March 18, 1987, he defeated number one ranked challenger Francisco Tomas Da Cruz (27-1-0) by third-round knockout. He successfully defended his WBC Super Featherweight title a total of nine times.


Lightweight

On November 21, 1987, Chávez moved up to the
lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...
division and faced WBA Lightweight Champion
Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...
. Prior to the bout, there were concerns about how Chávez would handle the move up in weight. Chávez commented, "Everything I've accomplished as champion, and the nine title defenses, would be thrown away with a loss to Rosario." The two fighters nearly exchanged blows during a press conference after Rosario threatened to send Chávez back to Mexico in a coffin. Chávez would ultimately give a career-defining performance as he defeated Rosario by an eleventh-round TKO to win the title. HBO Punchstat showed Rosario landing 263 of 731 punches thrown in the fight (36%) and Chavez 450 of 743 (61%). After the bout, ''Sports Illustrated'' ran the headline, "Time To Hail César: WBA Lightweight Champion César Chávez of Mexico may be the world's best fighter." On April 16, 1988, Chávez defeated number one ranked contender Rodolfo Aguilar (20–0–1) by sixth-round technical knockout. On June 4, 1988, he won against former two-time champion
Rafael Limón Rafael Limón Burgos, also known as ''Bazooka Limón'' (born 13 January 1954) is a Mexican former professional boxer who held the WBC super featherweight title twice between 1980 and 1982. He also challenged for the same title in 1979 and 198 ...
by scoring a seventh-round TKO. Later that year, he unified the WBA and WBC belts by a technical decision win over champion
José Luis Ramírez José Luis Ramírez (born December 3, 1958) is a Mexican former professional boxer who was a two-time World Lightweight Champion. Career A native of Huatabampo, Sonora and a resident of Culiacán, Ramírez made his professional debut on March ...
. An accidental head-butt opened a cut on Ramírez's forehead and the doctor halted the fight, sending the decision to the judges' scorecards at that point in the fight. Chávez, ahead on all scorecards, was declared the winner. He was also awarded ''The Ring'' Lightweight title after the victory. Chavez vacated his WBA and WBC Lightweight titles in order to move up to the super lightweight division.


Light Welterweight

In his next bout, he won the WBC Light Welterweight title by defeating
Roger Mayweather Roger Mayweather (April 24, 1961 – March 17, 2020) was an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999. He was a two-division world champion, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' super featherweight tit ...
for a second time. Mayweather did not come out of his corner after the tenth round, giving Chavez the TKO win. In 1989, Chávez defeated future champion Sammy Fuentes by tenth-round TKO. In his next bout, he handed Alberto de las Mercedes Cortes (44–0) his first career loss by scoring a third-round knockout.


Chávez vs. Taylor

On March 17, 1990, he faced
Meldrick Taylor Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior welterweight title from 1988 to 1990, and the WBA welterweight title ...
, the undefeated IBF Light Welterweight Champion, in a title unification fight. While Taylor carried the fight to Chavez through round 8, Julio rallied in the last four rounds. With about 30 seconds left in the 12th round, he landed a hard straight right hand on the chin of Taylor, which hurt him badly. Shortly thereafter, he knocked down the former Olympic gold medalist. Although Taylor rose at the referee's count of six, he failed to respond coherently to referee Richard Steele's questions after being issued a mandatory 8 count, and continued to hold onto the ropes in the corner, resulting in Steele stopping the fight with only two seconds remaining. Many boxing fans and members of the media were outraged that Steele would stop a match that Taylor was winning with only two seconds left, while others felt that Steele was justified in stopping the fight given Taylor's condition and the fact that he was unable to respond to Steele before the conclusion of the match. Steele defended his decision by saying that his concern is protecting a fighter, regardless of how much time is left in the round or the fight. As Steele put it, "I stopped it because Meldrick had took a lot of good shots, a lot of hard shots, and it was time for it to stop. You know, I'm not the timekeeper, and I don't care about the time. When I see a man that has had enough, I'm stopping the fight." '' The Ring'' named it the " Fight of the Year" for 1990 and later the "Fight of the Decade" for the 1990s. While many hoped for an immediate rematch, Taylor opted to move up in weight in his next bout and the fighters did not meet again until 1994, when Chávez dominated and knocked out a faded Taylor in eight rounds. After unifying the titles, Chávez engaged in a busy series of title defenses and non-title fights. On December 8, 1990, he defeated the WBC mandatory challenger Kyung-Duk Ahn (29-1) by third-round knockout. 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. Later that year, he defeated Frankie Mitchell (29-1) by fourth-round TKO.


Chávez vs. Camacho

On September 12, 1992, Chávez faced
WBO Light Welterweight Champion This is a list of WBO world champions, showing every world champion certified by the World Boxing Organization (WBO). The WBO is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and has awarded world championships in 17 different wei ...
Hector "Macho" Camacho In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
(41-1-0, 18 KOs) in a highly anticipated bout. Chávez dominated Camacho en route to a unanimous decision win. The final scores were 117–111, 119-110 and 120-107 for Chávez. After the fight, on his arrival to Mexico, the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Carlos Salinas de Gortari Carlos Salinas de Gortari CYC DMN (; born 3 April 1948) is a Mexican economist and politician who served as 60th president of Mexico from 1988 to 1994. Affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), earlier in his career he wor ...
sent the special car reserved for the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
to take him from the airport to the President's house.


Chávez vs. Haugen

His 1993 fight with
Greg Haugen Greg Lee Haugen (born August 31, 1960) is a retired American boxer. Haugen was champion at both the lightweight and light welterweight classes. He trained under Jim Montgomery. Haugen turned pro in 1982 and won his first 17 fights before challen ...
featured trash talk from Haugen, who derided Chavez's 82-fight unbeaten streak as consisting mostly of "
Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and
< ...
taxi drivers that my mother could have knocked out" and insisting that "There aren't 130,000 Mexicans who can afford tickets" to see the fight in
Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of Association football, football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of a ...
. Chávez responded by saying, "I really hate him bad. When he looks at me, I want to vomit. I am going to give him the worst beating of his life; I am going to make him swallow the words that came out of his dirty mouth." Ultimately, 136,274 showed up to set a world record for outdoor fight attendance as they watched Chávez drop Haugen quickly and then back off with the apparent intention of punishing him for his prefight remarks. However, the referee had seen enough by the fifth round and stopped it for a TKO victory for Chávez. After the fight, Chávez commented to Haugen, "Now you know I don't fight with taxi drivers," and a bloodied Haugen responded, "They must have been tough taxi drivers." Later that year, Chávez scored a sixth-round TKO victory over number one ranked contender Terrence Alli.


Draw with Whitaker and first career loss

After a division-record 18 consecutive defenses of his light welterweight title, Chávez (87–0) moved up one more weight division to challenge
Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...
(32–1) for his WBC
Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...
title in September 1993. Since the late 1980s, Chávez stated several times that he wanted a fight against Whitaker. The Whitaker team, among them
Lou Duva Louis Duva (May 28, 1922 – March 8, 2017) was a boxing trainer, manager and boxing promoter who handled nineteen world champions. The Duva family promoted boxing events in over twenty countries on six continents. Lou Duva was inducted into the ...
, told '' The Ring'' that they did not want a fight against Chavez in those days. In the eyes of many experts, Whitaker waited for Chávez to age. The result of the fight was a controversial majority draw, allowing Chávez to remain undefeated with Whitaker retaining his title. Various members of the American media, including ''The Ring'' and ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
'', were critical of the decision. ''Sports Illustrated'' put Pernell Whitaker on the cover of its next magazine with a one word title, "Robbed!" Chávez stated after the fight: "I felt I was forcing the fight ... he just kept holding me too much, he was throwing too many low blows too." There was no rematch. Chavez continued defending his Light Welterweight title and on December 18, 1993, he defeated British Commonwealth Light Welterweight Champion Andy Holligan (21–0–0) by fifth-round TKO. Chávez faced
Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 19 ...
on January 29, 1994, in a fight that most expected him to win easily. Instead, Randall knocked him down for the first time in his career and went on to win a split decision and Chávez lost the title to Randall. Chávez blamed his loss on referee Richard Steele, who deducted two points from Chávez for low blows, which affected the difference on the scorecards. The WBC ordered an immediate rematch and Chávez regained the title on a split technical decision in May 1994. The fight was fiercely contested when they collided heads, opening a large cut over Chávez's eyebrow in the seventh round. After the head cut, during round eight, the referee called for the doctor, who then stopped the fight. Under WBC rules, Randall lost one point, giving Chávez the technical victory. The two faced one another in a rubber match 10 years later, which Chávez won. Chavez then faced
Meldrick Taylor Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior welterweight title from 1988 to 1990, and the WBA welterweight title ...
in a rematch, four years after their historic first fight. Chavez defeated him in the eighth round by a knockout that sent Taylor from one side of the ring to the other. In his next bout, Chavez defeated three-time champion Tony Lopez. In 1995, he defeated former and future Light Welterweight Champion Giovanni Parisi. Later that year, he defended his title against number one ranked challenger David Kamau, despite suffering a cut in the opening round. Prior to the bout, Chavez indicated that he was considering retirement: "I've had a lot of problems with my arms, with my knees. I really don't want to extend myself much longer", Chávez said. "After so many years of working out, it all builds up. I am not giving what I used to be able to give. I will fight De La Hoya for a lot of money, and then retire."


Chávez vs. De La Hoya

On June 7, 1996, Chávez faced
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
. A large gash appeared over the left eye of Chávez within the first minute of the first round, leading many to assume what Chávez later confirmed—that the cut occurred earlier in training and was re-opened in the bout. Heavy blood flow prompted the doctor to stop the fight in the fourth round. Until their eventual rematch in 1998, Chávez would always state that De La Hoya had not defeated him, but that a gash that he had suffered in training was the real cause of the stoppage of the fight. In his next bout, Chávez defeated former champion
Joey Gamache Joseph Gamache (born May 20, 1966) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. He is the second boxer from Maine to capture a world boxing title, as he won the WBA super featherweight title in 1991 and the WBA lightweight titl ...
in his 100th career bout.


Chávez vs. González

An elbow injury to Chávez has forced postponement of his fight with González. The fight was scheduled for Oct 25th 1997. A year after De La Hoya moved up to welterweight in 1997, Chávez fought Miguel Ángel González for the vacant WBC Light Welterweight title. That fight ended in a draw. In a rematch with De La Hoya for the WBC Welterweight belt in September 1998, De La Hoya won by 8th-round TKO. About De La Hoya, Chávez stated years after, "I have nothing against him, even though he beat me twice. I have no resentment towards him... De La Hoya was younger than me during our fight, and I was on my way out of boxing. If Oscar didn't fight me, he would not have been anything in boxing." Chavez spoke about his sparring session with De La Hoya six years before their first fight and stated: "I sparred with him and dropped him in the second round with a right hand. De la Hoya was a kid... that day after training he stayed and we went out to dinner, I gave him some $300-$400 from my pocket to help him out."


Retirement and farewell fights

Chavez won his first two bouts in 1999 before losing to then 32-year-old
Willy Wise William Bernard "Willy" Wise (born January 29, 1967) is a retired American professional boxer from Onancock, Virginia. Wise has an IBO world title, but is best known for his 1999 upset of Julio Cesar Chavez. Wise was partially reared in Westbur ...
via 10 round unanimous decision. In 2000, at the age of 38, Chávez challenged Light Welterweight Champion
Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional b ...
. Chavez lost the bout via 6th-round TKO. After a 2001 victory over Terry Thomas in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Chávez retired. However, on November 24, 2003, he came out of retirement to avenge his earlier loss to Willy Wise, knocking Wise out in two rounds in
Tijuana, Mexico Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
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. In April 2004, Chávez went back into the ring, for what he again claimed would be his last appearance. In that fight, nicknamed ''Adiós, México, Gracias'' (''Good-bye, Mexico, Thank you''), he beat his former conqueror,
Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 19 ...
, by a ten-round decision. On May 28, 2005, Chávez once again stepped into a boxing ring, outpointing Ivan Robinson in ten rounds at the Staples Center (this fight was televised by
Showtime Championship Boxing ''Showtime Championship Boxing'' is a television boxing program airing on Showtime. Debuting in March 1986, it is broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month. ''Showtime Championship Boxing'', which is very similar to ''HBO World Champ ...
). On September 17, 2005, at the
U.S. Airways Center Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United St ...
in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
, Chávez suffered a TKO loss to until then little-known Grover Wiley in the 115th bout of his career, retiring in his corner before the start of the 5th round, after injuring his right hand. After the bout, Chávez told his promoter,
Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...
, that this time he was definitely retiring from boxing. His defeat was avenged two years later by his son, Julio César Chávez, Jr., who knocked Wiley out in the third round of their fight.


Exhibition bouts

Chávez has fought multiple exhibition bouts for charitable causes. On January 1, 1985, Chavez scored a third-round technical knockout over Manny Hernandez in an exhibition bout staged in Mexico City, Mexico to garner money for the victims of a 1984 gas explosion in Mexico. Late in 2014, Julio César Chávez returned to the ring for an exhibition with Vicente Sagrestano in a bout aimed at collecting toys for poor children. He and former rival Mario Martinez, against whom he earned his first world championship in 1984, faced each other again on July 3, 2015, in an event to benefit Chavez's two drug rehabilitation clinics.


Personal life

During the late part of his career, Chávez struggled with
drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...
and alcohol abuse. He stated that he started drinking the night after his fight against
Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...
. He later developed a
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
habit. Chávez got into rehab several times until he recovered. Chávez is the father of
Omar Chávez Omar Alonso Chávez Carrasco (born January 4, 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer and the one time WBC Youth Intercontinental welterweight champion. He is the son of former three-division world champion of boxing, Julio César Chávez. Pers ...
and former WBC Middleweight Champion Julio César Chávez, Jr. He works as an analyst for
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
and
TV Azteca TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two nationa ...
, and spends his time between Mexico and the United States, where he owns businesses and properties. Chávez's brother, Rafael Chávez González, was murdered on Sunday, June 25, 2017, during a robbery at one of Rafael's businesses.


Career in review

Chávez won six world titles in three weight divisions: WBC Super Featherweight (1984), WBA
Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...
(1987), WBC Lightweight (1988), WBC Light Welterweight (1989),
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
Light Welterweight (1990) and WBC Light Welterweight (1994) for the second time. He was also awarded ''The Ring'' Lightweight Championship in 1988. World champions whom Chávez defeated include Jose Luis Ramírez,
Rafael Limón Rafael Limón Burgos, also known as ''Bazooka Limón'' (born 13 January 1954) is a Mexican former professional boxer who held the WBC super featherweight title twice between 1980 and 1982. He also challenged for the same title in 1979 and 198 ...
,
Rocky Lockridge Rick "Rocky" Lockridge (January 10, 1959 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for having handed Roger Mayweather his first defeat—a first-round knockout in just 98 seconds—earning him the WBA a ...
,
Meldrick Taylor Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior welterweight title from 1988 to 1990, and the WBA welterweight title ...
,
Roger Mayweather Roger Mayweather (April 24, 1961 – March 17, 2020) was an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999. He was a two-division world champion, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' super featherweight tit ...
, Lonnie Smith, Sammy Fuentes, Héctor "Macho" Camacho, Juan Laporte,
Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...
,
Greg Haugen Greg Lee Haugen (born August 31, 1960) is a retired American boxer. Haugen was champion at both the lightweight and light welterweight classes. He trained under Jim Montgomery. Haugen turned pro in 1982 and won his first 17 fights before challen ...
, Tony López, Giovanni Parisi,
Joey Gamache Joseph Gamache (born May 20, 1966) is an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer. He is the second boxer from Maine to capture a world boxing title, as he won the WBA super featherweight title in 1991 and the WBA lightweight titl ...
and
Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 19 ...
, who had taken the WBC Light Welterweight belt from Chávez just four months earlier. He also lost to three champions:
Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 19 ...
,
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
and
Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional b ...
. He was held to a draw by two others:
Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...
and Miguel Ángel González. Chávez retired in his 25th year as a professional boxer with a record of 107 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws, with 86 knockouts and is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time. He holds records for most successful consecutive defenses of world titles (27), most title fights (37), most title-fight victories (31) and he is after Joe Louis (with 23) for most title defenses won by knockout (21). His record was 89-0-1 going into his first loss to Frankie Randall and had an 87 fight win streak until his draw with Whitaker. He was ranked No. 50 on ''Ring'' Magazine's list of "100 greatest punchers of all time". As an in-fighter or "swarmer," Julio César Chávez was renowned specially for his devastating left hook and his extremely strong chin. Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, stated that Chávez was one of the greatest fighters of his generation and top five of all time from his point of view. Trainer
Angelo Dundee Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Rom ...
said that Chávez had one of the strongest chins in boxing history. In 2002, '' The Ring'' ranked Chávez as the 18th greatest fighter of the last 80 years. On December 7, 2010, his induction to the
International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
was announced.


Professional boxing record


Exhibition boxing record


Pay-per-view bouts


See also

* List of WBA world champions * List of WBC world champions * List of IBF world champions *
List of lightweight boxing champions This is a list of world lightweight boxing champions by organization, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations: * The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA), * The Worl ...
*
List of light welterweight boxing champions This is a chronological List of World Super Lightweight/Light Welterweight/Junior Welterweight Boxing Champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations: * The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the Nati ...
*
List of boxing triple champions In boxing, a triple champion is a boxer who has won world titles in three weight classes. For most of the 20th century it was a remarkable and rare achievement accomplished by only a handful of fighters. Beginning in the 1970s, triple champions hav ...
*
Notable boxing families Notability is the property of being worthy of notice, having fame, or being considered to be of a high degree of interest, significance, or distinction. It also refers to the capacity to be such. Persons who are notable due to public responsibi ...
*
List of Mexican boxing world champions In Mexico, boxing is considered a major sport, having produced over 200 world champions in professional boxing. Mexico ranks first worldwide between countries with most boxing world champions and is the second country to have world champions accre ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Julio Cesar 1962 births Boxers from Sonora International Boxing Federation champions International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Living people Mexican male boxers People from Ciudad Obregón People from Culiacán Welterweight boxers World Boxing Association champions World Boxing Council champions World super-featherweight boxing champions World lightweight boxing champions World light-welterweight boxing champions