Chavez Bids Adios To Boxing with Final Victory

The Staples Center in Los Angeles was packed with thousands of fans to see boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez (108-5-2, 87K), battle Ivan Robinson (32-9-2) in what Chavez claims to be the final bout of his long career. The majority of the crowd in attendance were boxing fans of Mexican decent, some of which traveled from every corner of the world to bid farewell to the retiring Mexican icon.

 

Julio Cesar Chavez finished his career like the Chavez of old as he pummeled two-time Arturo Gatti conqueror, Ivan Robinson. Chavez came out slow in the first round, but quickly picked up the pace of the fight with hard shots to the body and hooks to the head.

 

Chavez frequently landed his signature left hooks to head and hooks to the body without any trouble. Robinson had little to no answer for the rejuvenated Chavez who came into the fight with the mind-set of not being denied a final victory. Robinson landed a few good punches in the fight, but they had no effect on the iron-jawed Chavez.

 

Robinson was dropped by a Chavez right hand in the final minute of the fourth round, but was able to beat the count and finish up the round. Chavez started to break Robinson down with a systematic beating in the fifth and sixth rounds of the bout. In the seventh round, a Chavez bodyshot shook Robinson so bad that he spit out his mouthpiece. In the tenth and final round, Chavez finished strong with hard hooks to the head and body of Robinson. The vicious bodyshots of Chavez were the story of the fight as he banged away at the ribs of Robinson with murderous intent for a better part of the fight.

 

The final scores were 100-88, 99-89 and 99-89.

 

On the undercard;

 

In a bout which most experts correctly predicted would steal the show, Jesus Chavez (41-3,28K) and Carlos Hernandez (41-5-1,24K) battled like warriors for twelve grueling rounds. Chavez picked up a very hard fought win by way of split decision. The scores were 115-113 for Chavez, 115-113 for Hernandez and 117-111 for Chavez.

 

Both men battered eachother over the course of twelve rounds with hard hooks and vicious bodyshots. It was non-stop action with a title shot on the line. The highlight of the bout was the final round, both men came out swinging at the start of the twelfth round and continued to battle until the final bell. Chavez was momentarily rocked bad by a hard hook from Hernandez, but managed to stay on his feet and actually battled back to win the last round. Chavez now becomes the mandatory challenger to WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera.

 

IBF bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez (34-3,30K) had a relatively easy night as he gained a twelve round unanimous decision over challenger Ricardo Vargas (37-11-3,12K). Marquez scored the only knockdown of the fight in the last minute of the final round, but Vargas was able to finish the fight on his feet. The scores were 118-109, 116-111 and 116-111.

 

Future junior welterweight superstar, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (19-0,14 K) blew away opponent Adam Wynant (9-4-1,3K) in under one minute of the first round. Wynant was out on his feet after a series of hard punches landed by Chavez, the referee stopped the fight in order to save Wynant from further punishment.

 

Up and coming middleweight, Jesus Gonzales (17-0,11K), pitched a shutout win over journeyman Dewey Welliver (16-16-1, 5K). Gonzalez used a combination of speed and power to dominate the all eight rounds of the fight. All three judges scored the bout 80-72.

 

In a battle of jr middleweights, former Olympian Vanes Martirosyan (2-0,1K) defeated Jovanni Rubio (6-5,2K) by way of a first round TKO. Martirosyan outclassed Rubio to pick up his first KO win as a pro.

 

In a battle of flyweights, Brian Viloria (17-0,11K) defeated Ruben Contreras (9-17,3K) by way of a six round stoppage as Contreras quit in the last minute of the round. Contreras told his corner and ring doctor Paul Wallace that his head was bothering him and he was not feeling well. Moments later, Contreras collapsed from an apparent seizure and was rushed to the hospital. Contreras was heavily outmatched in the bout and was pounded by many flush shots from Viloria.

 

In what should have been an easy showing for up and coming heavyweight Albert Sosnowski (37-1,23K), turned into tougher match then expected. Sosnowski had to settle for a six round majority decision over the 39 year old, former cruiserweight champion Orlin Norris (57-9,37K). The scores were 59-55, 58-56 and 57-57.