Kostya Tszyu vs Julio Cesar Chavez

Kostya Tszyu retained the WBC super-lightweight championship by stopping Julio Cesar Chavez after one minute and 28 seconds of the sixth round at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix on 29 July 2000. The Russian-born Australian champion dropped Chavez with a straight right and then drove him against the ropes with an unanswered attack until referee Robert Ferrara intervened. Tszyu weighed 139½ pounds and entered with 24 victories, one defeat and one draw. Chavez, weighing 140 pounds, brought a record of 103 victories, four defeats and two draws. The contest was scheduled for 12 rounds and represented Tszyu’s second defence of the championship.

The match had caused considerable concern before either man entered the ring. Chavez was approaching his 38th birthday and had lost two of his previous five contests, including a clear ten-round decision against Willy Wise in October 1999. The WBC nevertheless installed him as its leading contender, obliging Tszyu to defend against him. The bout was originally considered for Las Vegas, but members of the Nevada commission indicated that they might refuse to approve it because of the disparity between the fighters. United States Senator John McCain wrote to Arizona Governor Jane Hull, describing the contest as dangerous and asking that it be prevented. Chavez appeared before the Arizona commission, submitted medical evidence and argued that he should be permitted to continue his career. Approval was eventually granted. Las Vegas bookmakers regarded the outcome as sufficiently predictable that no betting line was widely offered.

An announced attendance of 14,100 filled the Coliseum, with the overwhelming majority supporting Chavez. Chants of his name and of “Mexico” accompanied the opening rounds. Each fighter received approximately $1.25 million. Chavez’s standing with the crowd rested upon far more than sentiment. He had been a champion at super-featherweight, lightweight and super-lightweight, had gone unbeaten through his first 90 professional contests and had spent much of the previous decade as one of boxing’s foremost figures. Tszyu, eight years younger and still near his physical peak, had rebuilt his career after a surprise defeat by Vince Phillips in 1997 and won the vacant WBC title from Miguel Angel Gonzalez the previous year.

Tszyu began patiently, holding the centre and using his left jab to measure Chavez’s advance. Chavez attempted to move his head and work his way towards the body, but his reactions were no longer quick enough to carry him safely through the champion’s punching range. Tszyu met him with the jab, followed with the right hand and stepped away before Chavez could establish the sustained inside attack which had been the foundation of his greatest performances. Chavez landed occasional hooks and rights, but many arrived at the end of their travel and lacked the force to discourage the champion. Tszyu took the first round on all three official scorecards.

The second and third were somewhat more competitive. Chavez continued to advance and had isolated success with hooks to the body and head, particularly when Tszyu remained within reach after punching. Tszyu occasionally clinched when Chavez closed the distance and once lifted him slightly around the waist during an untidy exchange. The challenger’s persistence brought him the third round on two of the three cards, while one judge also awarded him the second. Even during those better passages, however, Chavez was required to absorb the straighter and cleaner punches. Tszyu’s right hand was reaching the target with increasing regularity, and the champion remained the more balanced man whenever the exchanges ended.

Tszyu regained clear command in the fourth. He increased his use of the jab, intercepted Chavez as the Mexican moved forward and finished his attacks with hooks and right hands. Chavez tried to work below the champion’s elbows and was warned for punches straying low. His resistance remained firm, but he was no longer able to force Tszyu backwards for any sustained period. The champion chose when to begin exchanges and ended them with the more accurate work.

The fifth brought the first visible signs that Chavez was in serious difficulty. He slipped and fell early in the round, an incident correctly ruled not to be a knockdown. After he rose, Tszyu stepped up his attack. A sequence of four jabs followed by a hard right opened a cut on Chavez’s forehead. The champion continued landing singly and in combinations, while Chavez’s replies became fewer and wider. Another low punch from the challenger added to the disorder, but the decisive feature of the round was Tszyu’s growing freedom to strike without facing an effective return. All three judges awarded him the session. After five rounds, Marty Denkin had Tszyu ahead 50–45, Chuck Hassett scored it 49–46, and Gerald Maltz had the champion leading 48–47.

Both men exchanged at the beginning of the sixth, but Chavez again struck low, and Ferrara deducted a point. Almost immediately after the action resumed, Tszyu used his jab to occupy the challenger’s guard and drove a straight right onto the head. Chavez’s legs gave way, and he fell to his hands and knees. It was only the second knockdown of his long professional career. He rose at seven, but his balance was uncertain, and he had little control over his movements. Tszyu advanced without rushing, forced him towards the ropes and landed repeated punches to the head. Chavez remained upright but was no longer answering effectively. Ferrara stepped between them at 1:28 and ended the contest. The crowd booed, and objects were thrown towards the ring, but the stoppage was necessary.

Tszyu said afterwards that the knockdown had resulted from timing rather than exceptional force. He had studied Chavez closely and recognised the movements which preceded the Mexican’s attacks. That preparation was apparent throughout the contest. Tszyu did not attempt to overpower Chavez recklessly or engage him in unnecessary exchanges. He controlled the distance with the jab, waited for the challenger to move into range and placed the right hand through the opening. Chavez had retained his courage and continued advancing after taking clean punches, but his diminished speed prevented him from performing the defensive and offensive work required to make that pressure effective.

The victory improved Tszyu’s record to 25–1–1 with 21 stoppages. It strengthened his position at the head of the super-lightweight division and was followed by victories over Sharmba Mitchell and Zab Judah, through which he became the undisputed champion. Chavez acknowledged in the ring that retirement appeared appropriate, though he subsequently returned and continued boxing intermittently until 2005. His defeat in Phoenix was not a contest between two fighters at comparable stages of their careers. It was the meeting of a champion near his peak and a former champion whose physical gifts had declined beyond the point at which experience and determination could compensate. Tszyu performed the task methodically, while Ferrara prevented a celebrated fighter from receiving further punishment after the result had become plain.

It’s always sad to see a once great fighter grow old and not realise that they risk their health for one last shot at glory. Julio Cesar Chavez was nearly 38, had lost clearly to Willy Wise and was facing a prime Kostya Tszyu, one of the strongest and most accurate super-lightweights of that period. Chavez’s name still filled the arena, and 14,100 people came largely to support him, but reputation cannot restore reflexes or legs. Even the Nevada authorities had reservations about approving the contest.

Chavez tried to hold his ground and had a couple of competitive rounds, but Tszyu was always in control. He used the jab to keep Chavez at the end of his punches, then drove the straight right through the middle whenever the old champion stepped forward. The difference was timing. Chavez could still see what he wanted to do, but his body was responding half a beat too slowly.

By the fifth, Tszyu was landing almost at will and opened a cut on Chavez’s forehead. In the sixth, a right hand dropped him for only the second time in his career. Chavez rose, because that was his nature, but his legs were gone. Tszyu pinned him against the ropes, and Robert Ferrara correctly stopped it at 1:28.

I give Tszyu full credit for remaining disciplined and doing the job properly, but this was not a victory over the great Chavez. That fighter had disappeared years earlier. It was a prime champion beating a proud old legend who no longer had the speed to protect himself. The stoppage was right; allowing the fight in the first place was far more questionable.