How Julio Cesar Chavez Became a Mexican Legend
Boxing is a part of culture in Mexico, and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr proudly represents their national fighting spirit.
‘El Gran Campeon Mexicano’ became a true icon of his homeland with a legendary career in the ring and epitomised the term ‘Mexican Style’.
The Hall of Fame inductee dominated his era with his relentless aggression and is widely regarded as his country’s irreplaceable greatest fighter in history.
Boxing is followed religiously in Mexico, with Chavez Sr subsequently symbolising that national devotion.
This is what secured the holy-like Mexican status of ‘J.C. Superstar’.
1. Chavez Sr boasts one of the most impressive modern-day records, finishing his career with an incredible 115 professional fights, including 107 victories, just six defeats and two draws, with 86 knockouts.
2. He once went on a remarkable 90-fight unbeaten streak (89–0–1) before his first eventual loss to Frankie Randall in 1994. This is one of the longest unbeaten runs ever.
3. Proving his dominance at the peak of his powers, Chavez holds the record for most world title fights in a row without tasting defeat at 31 consecutive bouts.
4. He also reigned as a world champion across three divisions for over a decade combined, holding super-featherweight, lightweight and light-welterweight belts in that time.
5. Chavez is widely considered one of the best body punchers in boxing history, with a deadly left hook to the liver being his signature shot. He's also seen by many as the greatest pressure-fighter ever.
6. In a national 1990s poll, Chavez was voted the most popular person in Mexico, being selected above his country’s top politicians and most famous entertainers. He once stated, "In Mexico, I am bigger than the president."
7. Being the pride of Mexico, he has been immortalised with his own statue in his hometown of Culiacán.
8. In 1993, Chavez knocked out rival Greg Haugen in front of a historic 132,247 fans at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which is still the record for the largest crowd ever at a boxing fight.
9. Chavez once secured one of the most dramatic final-round comebacks ever, as he stopped Meldrick Taylor with only two seconds left in the 12th round, after trailing on the scorecards.
10. Being rallied on by his passionate home supporters, Chavez never lost a single fight in Mexico, with his only losses ever occurring on foreign soil.
11. His notoriety in Mexico was so intense that even Mexican cartel members respected him greatly and attended his post-fight parties, including Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.
12. Before being executed in 2013, one Mexican crime lord, known as ‘El Pancho’, once gifted Chavez with a pair of diamond boxing pendants worth $80,000, which he still owns to this day.
Header image: Ken Levine