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Some of the oldschool members may remember his many wars. His heart and ferocious style gave us some of the best wars of an era.
Former two-division world champion and Hall of Fame boxer Bobby Chacon, considered one of the most exciting and tragic fighters of his generation, died Wednesday.
Chacon had suffered for years from pugilistic dementia. He was 64.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announced Chacon’s death on twitter Wednesday afternoon.
Chacon, nicknamed “Schoolboy” for his boyish-looking face, was born on Nov. 28, 1951 in Sylmar, Calif.
On Sept. 7, 1974 — 42 years to the day before he died — Chacon, then 22, won his first belt, the vacant WBC featherweight title, by defeating former WBA junior lightweight champion Alfredo Marcano by ninth-round TKO at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately for Chacon, he could not stay away from the partying lifestyle and was dragged down into alcoholism, drug addiction and trouble with the law that often short-circuited his boxing career and personal life.
He also suffered family tragedy. His wife Valorie, who had begged her husband to retire, committed suicide in March 1983, the night before Chacon was to fight Salvador Ugalde. Deciding to continue on, Bobby Chacon went out and, in his words, tried to kill Ugalde. winning by third-round knockout.
Chacon won his first 19 fights before being knocked out by world champion Rubén Olivares. He then won his next four fights before facing rival and future champion Danny “Little Red” Lopez. Chacon outboxed Lopez and stopped him in the ninth round.
Chacon lost his title in his second defense against Olivares. He then fought his first of four spectacular fights against another world champion, Rafael “Bazooka” Limón. They engaged in fierce battles.
Limón beat Chacon in their first bout by a decision.
Chacon then won nine in a row and fought Olivares a third time. This time, Chacon defeated Olivares by decision. In Chacon’s next fight, he was upset by Arturo Leon but followed with four wins in a row before fighting to a technical draw in a rematch against Limón.
In 1979, Chacon fought WBC super featherweight world champion Alexis Argüello and was knocked out after suffering a bad cut in the seventh round.
In 1980, Chacon beat Limón in their third bout and became the WBC’s top challenger at super featherweight. The following year Arguello vacated the title to pursue the lightweight title.
Chacon fought his fourth and final bout with Limón in December 1982 for the 130-pound title. In their most dramatic fight yet, Chacon came back from two knockdowns and dropped Limón in the closing seconds of the 15th round. Chacon went on to win by split decision in Sacramento.
Around 18 months after his wife’s death, Chacon remarried and bought a large horse farm, along with a collection of Rolls Royces.
In 1983, Chacon fought Cornelius Boza-Edwards for the second time and avenged his loss, coming back from a first-round knockdown to drop Boza-Edwards in the 12th round. Chacon went on to win a unanimous decision.
Later that year, Chacon was signed to defend his WBC title in a rematch against No. 1 challenger Boza Edwards, but the WBC insisted Chacon fight Héctor “Macho” Camacho in Puerto Rico and stripped him of his title when he refused.
Chacon moved up to lightweight in 1984, but suffered a devastating knockout by world champion Ray Mancini.
After one more fight, Chacon retired. But he came back in 1985 and won five fights, including one against former world champion Arturo Frias by a seventh-round KO and a fifth-round KO of Rafael Solis, who had challenged Camacho for the world super featherweight title that had once belonged to Chacon. After the Solis fight, he showed badly slurred speech in his post-fight interview.
Chacon finished his often brilliant career with a 59-7-1 (47 KOs) record. In 1985, he fought and defeated Freddie Roach, who went on to a Hall of Fame career as a trainer.
In 1991, after he had retired for good, tragedy struck again when his son was murdered. By 2000, he had lost most of his considerable fortune and was being cared for by a nurse for his dementia. In the 1990s, HBO’s Real Sports found him searching for aluminum cans to try to make ends meet.
In 2005, Chacon was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y.
Chacon had suffered for years from pugilistic dementia. He was 64.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announced Chacon’s death on twitter Wednesday afternoon.
Chacon, nicknamed “Schoolboy” for his boyish-looking face, was born on Nov. 28, 1951 in Sylmar, Calif.
On Sept. 7, 1974 — 42 years to the day before he died — Chacon, then 22, won his first belt, the vacant WBC featherweight title, by defeating former WBA junior lightweight champion Alfredo Marcano by ninth-round TKO at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately for Chacon, he could not stay away from the partying lifestyle and was dragged down into alcoholism, drug addiction and trouble with the law that often short-circuited his boxing career and personal life.
He also suffered family tragedy. His wife Valorie, who had begged her husband to retire, committed suicide in March 1983, the night before Chacon was to fight Salvador Ugalde. Deciding to continue on, Bobby Chacon went out and, in his words, tried to kill Ugalde. winning by third-round knockout.
Chacon won his first 19 fights before being knocked out by world champion Rubén Olivares. He then won his next four fights before facing rival and future champion Danny “Little Red” Lopez. Chacon outboxed Lopez and stopped him in the ninth round.
Chacon lost his title in his second defense against Olivares. He then fought his first of four spectacular fights against another world champion, Rafael “Bazooka” Limón. They engaged in fierce battles.
Limón beat Chacon in their first bout by a decision.
Chacon then won nine in a row and fought Olivares a third time. This time, Chacon defeated Olivares by decision. In Chacon’s next fight, he was upset by Arturo Leon but followed with four wins in a row before fighting to a technical draw in a rematch against Limón.
In 1979, Chacon fought WBC super featherweight world champion Alexis Argüello and was knocked out after suffering a bad cut in the seventh round.
In 1980, Chacon beat Limón in their third bout and became the WBC’s top challenger at super featherweight. The following year Arguello vacated the title to pursue the lightweight title.
Chacon fought his fourth and final bout with Limón in December 1982 for the 130-pound title. In their most dramatic fight yet, Chacon came back from two knockdowns and dropped Limón in the closing seconds of the 15th round. Chacon went on to win by split decision in Sacramento.
Around 18 months after his wife’s death, Chacon remarried and bought a large horse farm, along with a collection of Rolls Royces.
In 1983, Chacon fought Cornelius Boza-Edwards for the second time and avenged his loss, coming back from a first-round knockdown to drop Boza-Edwards in the 12th round. Chacon went on to win a unanimous decision.
Later that year, Chacon was signed to defend his WBC title in a rematch against No. 1 challenger Boza Edwards, but the WBC insisted Chacon fight Héctor “Macho” Camacho in Puerto Rico and stripped him of his title when he refused.
Chacon moved up to lightweight in 1984, but suffered a devastating knockout by world champion Ray Mancini.
After one more fight, Chacon retired. But he came back in 1985 and won five fights, including one against former world champion Arturo Frias by a seventh-round KO and a fifth-round KO of Rafael Solis, who had challenged Camacho for the world super featherweight title that had once belonged to Chacon. After the Solis fight, he showed badly slurred speech in his post-fight interview.
Chacon finished his often brilliant career with a 59-7-1 (47 KOs) record. In 1985, he fought and defeated Freddie Roach, who went on to a Hall of Fame career as a trainer.
In 1991, after he had retired for good, tragedy struck again when his son was murdered. By 2000, he had lost most of his considerable fortune and was being cared for by a nurse for his dementia. In the 1990s, HBO’s Real Sports found him searching for aluminum cans to try to make ends meet.
In 2005, Chacon was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y.
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