Julio Ceasar Chavez - enigma!

If there was 1 fighter who surprised me more then any other its Chavez. How did he achieve as much as he did. He was not the most physically imposing figure in the ring, not the quickest puncher nor did he possess devastating ko power yet he remained undefeated for a long time and ruined more the 1 career along the way. He was before my time but I knew when I was in high school back in the early nineties that he was p4p 1 of the best around. How good was he? what was his strengths? and were would you rank him?

Great fighter.........Was basically relentless, with a great chin and a great engine......He'd make his opponent work three minutes a round and then come on strong...very adept at cutting down the ring...Brutal bodypuncher with great confidence...

Wore his foe down....

You should watch the Rosario fight which is a great example of his talent..

Could box on the back fight too when he wanted a la Ramirez.....

Arguably the greatest hispanic fighter of all time, maybe second only to Duran. The man had insane levels of popularity in Mexico, (who else could bring in 130,000 live attendants? In what was hardly a superfight) he's still by far the most popular fighter in Mexico. He had one of the greatest chins of all time and stamina. More importantly than this he was utterly relentless. He would not stop coming and at his best it seemed impossible to dent him, he wouldn't mark up.

Look at him in the last two rounds against Taylor. Taylor's been outlanding him for most of the fight, yet Chavez is totally unmarked and Meldrick's face is swollen and bloodied.

Chavez didn't have one punch KO power, but he was great at applying pressure throughout a fight, he knew how to wear a man down and force them to quit. Like many Mexicans he started pro young and spent alot of time building himself so he'd already had many fights before becoming champion.

Simply a great, great fighter and the archetypal Mexican.

Damn, I thought I'd got to it first!

I have seen the Rosario fight TRUSS and think Duva shoould have thrown the towel in that was brutal. Chavez must have had a great chin because it seemed his style was as you say to wear his foe down, yet the man did not look like much to worry about. Amazing.

He was relentless and didn't waste a single punch, everything he threw was done with methodical thought and precision, struggled against Taylor and Whitaker but the speed of either of those two would give anyone problems.

Duva wasn't in his corner....

Taylor had Duva...........

Watch Rosario chavez....remember Edwin ws a real banger..

One of my favourite performances that was Truss, was a very feared fighter at the time was Rosario

Especially after the Bramble blow out..Also on youtube..worth watching.

Even watching JCC vs Taylor, it seemed almost as if the entire fight had been fought exactly as Chavez had intended. He was losing badly on the cards, but he never gave up, as if he was always planning to stop his opponent late. Pure fantasy, I know, but still his methodical relentless pressure was fantastic to watch.

I love the Haugen performance as well, seeing someone in such control of a fight was a beautiful thing to see, a good opponent was made to look useless that night

A commentator stated that Chavez was able to throw punches on the inside while keeping his eyes open. Thats real concentration but his style was exposed by sweet pea.

Exactly as JC intended...What 2 seconds from losing a shutout..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Exactly as JC intended...What 2 seconds from losing a shutout..

That's what I mean. He was clearly losing the fight, but just the sheer amount of damage Taylor received during the fight tells a hugely different story to the scorecards. I know he almost lost the fight, but it's weird to think that despite being behind on points he was clearly causing the most damage. It was a bizarre fight.

I wouldn't say his style was exposed by Sweet Pea just faced a better fighter who could make anyone look clueless. Do think he intended to stop Taylor late but not quite that late, systematically broke him down while losing rounds. Was a very strong era for the 130lb-140lb divisions, Ramirez, Rosario, Camacho, Haugen, Castillo, Mayweather, La Porte, Taylor and Randall is a heck of a win column.

Like everybody else he was shocked by Taylor's handspeed......Silly thing is all Taylor had to do was stay out of the way and he was home and dry...

Never seen handspeed like it Truss nor do I think I ever will again, makes Ray Leonard look pedestrian in comparison

Taylor was a Philly fighter TRUSS I think he had to go the extra yard to impress as Chavez did for the Mexican fans.

Think the mexican judge had Julio in front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think Duva got criticised later for telling Taylor he needed the last round or something..

It's on legendary HBO nights on youtube..

He denies saying it to this day as well despite being on film, do feel sorry for Taylor that he didn't get the victory his breathtaking performace deserved but can't grumble with the stoppage

I can...maybe he couldn't go on but the fact is the red lights were flashing behind him and Chavez was King's fighter.......

No one agreed with the stoppage in America.....or nearly no one...sorry had it been any one else but Steele....

Not the impression i've got from the HBO documentary where in hindsight most seemed to agree it was the right decision to make

They didn't at the time!!!! believe me.....

KO..The ring etc and HBO were livid...

two seconds and he seeemed to be in a hurry to ask if he was okay for some reason....worried about the bell no doubt!!

The doc was done when everybody could see how poorer shape Taylor is in these days..

I'll agree that maybe it was stopped rightly but I'll state it was done for the wrong reasons..

Whether Chavez had won that fight or lost it, physically and mentally he broke Taylor. That's the thing which astounds me. Even when he was taking punishment, Chavez seemed to have had the mentality of a guy who was in charge.

Taylor won the WBA welterweight title after it....you have to remember!!

Maybe physically......but not mentally.....

Think the crazy fight with Norris affected him just as much.

Truss what you need to remember is that Taylor was a young hyped up American boxer who was expected to take the mantle on from the likes of Leonard so you can't expect objectivity of the stoppage from the American press at the time. Once things had cooled down almost all of them decided it was the right thing to do, at the time I though the Lewis stoppage against McCall was premature but I now see it and realise it was the right thing to do.

Two seconds and the red lights flashing behind him........Steele must have known after witnessing the previous 11 rounds what he was doing was controversial.......Must have known too that chavez wouldn't have had time to capitalise on his advantage...

Like I said probably a good stoppage but I don't buy the reason he stopped it..

The are you okay speech was RUSHED!!!

TRUSS did you see the state of Taylor at the beginning of the final round? He may have been winning the fight but chavez did a number on him for sure. Plus when Steele asked Taylor to look at him after the knock down Tayor would just look to his corner

Not too bothered about the reasoning behind the stoppage because it was ultimately the right call

The doctor who examined Taylor afterwards is quoted as saying:

"Meldrick suffered a facial fracture, he was urinating pure blood, his face was grotesquely swollen... this was a kid who was truly beaten up to the face, the body, and the brain"

That's a pretty conclusive beating. Chavez was tough as old boots.

It's a shame any Chavez discussion must descend in Taylor, it's not one of history's greatest rivalries afterall, Chavez did so much more. Woulda loved to see him in with Pryor prime for prime!

I am bothered about certain motives behind stoppages..

with 2 seconds to go maybe it was the wrong call who knows after all Mccrory was allowed to continue after the ist knockdown against curry..

Champs usually get the benefit of the doubt..

Great fighter, will always make my Top 20 P4P. He had a lot better wins than Taylor too.

your guy is well ahead on points, but fading against a relentless opponent, you send your guy saying he needs a big last round. Carlsberg don't make muppets....

I have mixed views on the stoppage, but strong views on duva... he could have got taylor killed that night. he might have won the welter title but he was never the same again for me... whether mental or physical who knows.

Re chavez... his record, padded as it may be, says it all really.... there's no arguing that he was a great fighter. I hated watching him though... shoulder to shoulder pressure fighting. His capacity to wear guys down had no equal though, so you had to hand it to him.

John Bloody Wayne wrote: Woulda loved to see him in with Pryor prime for prime!

I would have loved to see him in with Pacquaio at either 135 or 140lbs. If the Chavez that fought Rosario shows up, it would be a great fight.