Julio Cesar Chavez retired with an impressive record of 107-6-2, losing only to five men, one of whom he later defeated.
Julio Cesar Chavez will forever be remembered as a legend of the sport and a Mexican icon, but there was one man in particular who forced Chavez to consider retirement.
Chavez retired in 2005 after losing to Grover Wiley, but it was actually five years earlier that Chavez mentioned hanging up the gloves in a post-fight interview.
“It’s time for me to leave”… Kostya Tszyu’s knockout win forced Julio Cesar Chavez to consider retirement
In 2000, Chavez, with a record of 103-4-2, faced 24-1 Kostya Tszyu in a defense of Tszyu’s WBC title.
The fight ended in a sixth-round stoppage of Chavez, who wasn’t knocked down until his 91st fight, and, according to BoxRec, the boxing icon admitted then, five years before actually doing it, it was time to retire:
“It looks like it’s time for me to retire. It’s time for me to leave,” Chavez said in the ring following the loss.
Tszyu said of the victory: “People know me now around the world because I fought a legend and won.”
Tszyu went unbeaten following his win over Chavez until his final fight, in which he was stopped by Ricky Hatton. Kostya’s boxer son Tim Tszyu may face Keith Thurman next.
Mexico’s new hero defeated Julio Cesar Chavez’s son
Canelo Alvarez, widely considered the face of boxing, has seemingly taken the mantle of Mexico’s next boxing icon, and, in 2017, defeated the son of the legendary Chavez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision.
The legend’s son has had a mixed career with Chavez Jr. losing to MMA fighter Anderson Silva, who was 1-1 in boxing at the time, as well as taking a loss to the respected Daniel Jacobs, in which Chavez quit in his corner.
He does, however, hold a win over Joseph Parker‘s trainer and Tyson Fury‘s cousin – former world champion Andy Lee.
There was once talk of Chavez Jr. facing Jake Paul, but the fight never came to fruition.