
Family affair in Chavez's swan songPosted: Friday May 27, 2005 12:11PM; Updated: Friday May 27, 2005 12:11PM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Before giving way to his upstart son, Julio Cesar Chavez will give one last lesson. Chavez finishes his legendary career against Ivan Robinson on Saturday at the Staples Center in the headlining bout of a card that features Chavez's son, Julio Jr., in a light welterweight fight. One of the great figures in boxing history, the 42-year-old Chavez (107-5-2, 87 KOs) has fought just twice since 2001 and is far removed from the boxer who once won 25 straight title defenses. But as he prepares for his farewell fight, Chavez's popularity remains high, particularly in his native Mexico, where he has spearheaded a boxing renaissance. A three-time world champion, the elder Chavez has fought many of the greats in a 25-year career that began with a sixth-round knockout of Andres Felix in 1980. Chavez was just 17 at the time but would not lose until he was nearly 32. That setback came at the hands of Frankie Randall and featured the first knockdown of Chavez's career. The future Hall of Famer failed in his final four title fights (0-3-1) from 1996-2000, ending his reign as a factor among welterweights. But the family name may regain notoriety in the ranks soon enough as Julio Jr. (18-0, 13 KOs) enters his bout with Adam Wynant (9-3-1, 3 KOs) unbeaten and with five straight knockouts within the first three rounds. Also on the undercard, Rafael Marquez (33-3, 30 KOs) will defend his bantamweight title against Ricardo Vargas (37-10-3, 12 KOs). Marquez successfully has defended the crown four straight times since claiming it with an eighth-round TKO of Tim Austin in October 2003. In his only previous fight here, Marquez was taken the distance for the only time in his career before earning a unanimous decision over Mauricio Pastrana. Jesus Chavez (40-3, 28 KOs) - no relation to the headliner - will try to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Erik Morales in February 2004 when he takes on veteran Carlos Hernandez (41-4-1, 24 KOs) in a matchup of former world champions. The winner likely will get a shot at current WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera, provided he survives a meeting in September against Robbie Peden. The fights will be televised by Showtime beginning at 9:00 pm EDT. © 2005 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP |
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