WBC No. 1 Ranked Super Lightweight 3-division World Champion
Result
Tszyu wins by 6th-round technical knockout
Kostya Tszyu vs. Julio César Chávez, billed as A Matter of Pride, was a professional boxing match contested on July 29, 2000, for the WBC super lightweight title.[1]
Background
In June 2000, it was announced that reigning WBC super lightweight champion would make the next defense of his title the following month in Phoenix, Arizona against former 2-time super lightweight champion Julio César Chávez. The announcement was met with controversy as it was felt that the soon-to-be-38-year old Chávez, who the WBC had ranked as their number-one super lightweight contender and, as such, Tszyu's mandatory challenger, was severely outmatched by Tszyu, who was 8 years younger and in the prime of his professional career. Jay Larkin, vice president of Showtime's sports programming and executive producer of Showtime Championship Boxing openly acknowledged that he was "not at all happy" about the fight being made and offered his opinion that he "did not think Chávez should be the No. 1 contender."[2] Furthermore, then-Arizona senator John McCain, a noted detractor of combat sports, wrote a letter to Arizona governor Jane Dee Hull in which he called the fight "an illegitimate and potentially dangerous mismatch" in a failed attempt to have the fight cancelled.[3]
In order to get approved for the fight, Chávez had to submit the results of a medical exam and plead his case in person to the Arizona Boxing Commission. After 90-minute hearing in which Chávez pleaded to the committee to let him "go out with dignity and honor", the commission granted him a boxing license to fight in the state, officially putting the fight on.[4] Entering the fight, Chávez was such a heavy underdog that Las Vegas casinos refused to post odds for the fight.[5]
The Fight
After an uneventful start to the fight, Tszyu took control in fifth round. Chávez slipped and fell early in the round and after getting back up, was beaten badly by Tszyu who opened up a cut on Chávez's forehead after landing a five-punch combination. Tszyu carried the momentum into the sixth and sent Chávez down for only the second time in his career with a right hand. Though Chávez answered the referee's 10-count, he was soon pinned against the ropes and after Tszyu landed several blows to his head, the referee stopped the fight halfway point of the round, giving Tszyu the victory by technical knockout.[6]
