CHAVEZ HITS, THEN QUITS; DE LA HOYA WINS ON TKO AFTER SAVAGE EIGHTH ROUND.Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer As unbelievable as it sounds, Julio Cesar Julio Cesar could refer to those people:
In an unforgettable eighth round, the two traded punches with no regard to their well being - drawing a screaming, pro-Chavez crowd of 17,715 at Thomas & Mack Center to its feet - and it was the aging former champion who seemed to be in better condition when it was over. And then, as if a remarkable eight rounds meant absolutely nothing, Chavez quit. One of the sport's great champions, his head bowed, blood dripping from a cut inside his mouth and his opponent in apparent trouble, in effect borrowed an infamous phrase from Roberto Duran as he sat on his stool: No mas. It was an inglorious in·glo·ri·ous adj. 1. Ignominious; disgraceful: Napoleon's inglorious end. 2. Not famous; obscure: an inglorious young writer. finish to an otherwise glorious effort. As for De La Hoya La Hoya is a municipality located in the province of Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 30 inhabitants. , he got the job done: He retained his WBC WBC white blood cell; see leukocyte. WBC abbr. white blood cell WBC, n stands for white blood cell. welterweight title and remained undefeated (29-0, with 24 knockouts). However, he didn't dominate his 36-year-old opponent (101-3-2, 84 KOs) as he had hoped and as almost everyone expected. He fought Chavez's fight much of the time, engaging in many toe-to-toe exchanges in an apparent effort to get that knockout he so wanted, and took unnecessary punishment as a result. De La Hoya, 25, was ahead on all three cards, but it wasn't one-sided: 79-73, 78-75, 78-75. And he never came close to that knockout, the knockout that would force Chavez to give him the credit he refused to give him after their first bout (in 1996) was stopped with Chavez cut above the left eye in the fourth round. Oh, De La Hoya landed plenty of power punches and Chavez felt them. However, he was never hurt and he never stopped coming. Afterward, Chavez yelled, ``You did it, you did it'' as the two embraced in the ring and later added, ``He's a great fighter,'' but it had to be half-hearted: Had he not given up, it seemed, it could've been Chavez who did it. The manner in which the fight ended was satisfactory consolation for De La Hoya. ``I wont' quit. I'll fight to the end,'' he said in a not-so-veiled reference to Chavez's decision to give up, and then added: ``He said, `You beat me. I don't want no more' and quit. ``I'm more satisfied that he quit on me.'' With great courage, De La Hoya disregarded his corner's advice to keep his distance almost from the start. He controlled the fight when he stayed on the outside and could've won easily that way. However, he refused to stay there: He couldn't resist the urge to prove he could beat Chavez at his own game. And, while De La Hoya also never was hurt, he might have paid a very expensive price had Chavez landed a key punch A key punch is a device for entering data into punched cards by precisely punching holes at locations designated by the keys struck by the operator. Early keypunches were manual devices. here or there. To the surprise of so many, Chavez, who suffered inconsequential cuts over both eyes, looked much like the Chavez of old and proved that he has plenty left. De La Hoya's co-trainer, Gil Clancy Gil Clancy is one of the most noted boxing commentators of the 1980s and 1990s. Prior to that, he was a boxing trainer for many years. Over the years he worked with such famous boxers as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman. , said, ``We beat the Chavez of old. Chavez was the best we've seen in five years.'' The exchanges were both as thrilling and shocking as any seen in this town in some time. And it all culminated in that unforgettable eighth, when De La Hoya in effect said, ``What the heck? It's me or him,'' and the two wailed away and repeatedly made contact. A buzzing crowd couldn't wait for the next round. Then there was no next round. When the fight was stopped, De La Hoya leaped in the air to indicate his joy, but he also had to be relieved. He had engaged in the toughest fight of his career. At the post-fight press conference, Chavez said, ``I want to make one thing clear: My corner stopped the fight.'' However, replays of Chavez sitting on his stool appeared to show him shaking his head as he was asked whether he wanted to continue. In other fights, Yory Boy Campas (72-2, 62 KOs) retained his IBF IBF See: International Banking Facility junior middleweight junior middleweight n. In both senses also called super welterweight. 1. A weight division in professional boxing having an upper limit of 154 pounds (69.3 kilograms), between welterweight and middleweight. 2. championship when his one-sided fight with Larry Barnes Larry Richard Barnes Jr., a baseball player, was born on July 23rd, 1974 in Bakersfield, California. He attended Bakersfield High School and then Fresno State University. He was drafted by the Florida Marlins in 1993 (69th round, 1643rd overall). He opted not to sign. (44-3, 17 KOs) was stopped after three rounds. Mia St. John Mia Rosales St. John (born June 24, 1967) is an American professional boxer, model, businesswoman, and a Tae Kwon Do champion. St. John, a Mexican-American born in San Francisco, California, attended California State University, Northridge, earning a degree in Psychology. (8-0, 5 KOs) of Calabasas remained undefeated, narrowly outpointing B.J. Felter (0-3) in a four-round featherweight women's bout. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion