Chavez says 'adios' with win
Chavez, Jr., 'El Matador' & Marquez score wins

Ringside reports by Francisco Salazar , Ralph Gonzalez and Daniel Osman
Photography by Chris Cozzone

Chavez dominates Robinson

Julio Cesar Chavez knew he was not the same man he used to be. Gone was the quickness, the head movement, and the killer instinct that has made him a hero in Mexico.

But for one night, Chavez mustered up enough energy to give fight fans a glimpse of the man who will one day enter the Hall of Fame as one of the greatest fighters to come from Mexico.

Chavez did receive the loudest cheers from 17, 692 in attendance at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles when the vintage Chavez dropped Ivan Robinson onto the canvas in the fourth round, settling for a unanimous decision victory over 10 rounds of action.

The bout headlined a 10-fight "Adios" card, presented by Top Rank Promotions.

Fighting for what many believed was the last time, Chavez nearly filled STAPLES Center to capacity in anticipation of receiving the greatest thrill of watching Chavez work his magic in the ring like he has done so many times.

Fight fans did see that and a tremendous effort from Robinson, who did come to fight and not just earn a paycheck for efforts.

In what many people saw was an easy fight for Chavez was undone by Robinson in the second round. The faded fighter who defeated Arturo Gatti showed quickness in the second round, landing a series of combinations.

However, Chavez was able to thwart any offense by landing thudding body shots that could be heard in press area.

Chavez looked to end matters in the fourth when he floored Robinson with a right hand to the face. Robinson was on his back, but got up and fought on.

Robinson had problems in the middle rounds keeping his mouthpiece where it should have been; in his mouth. Courtesy of fatigue and a series of hooks to the face, Robinson had his mouthpiece end up on the floor, which referee Raul Caiz took a point away in the seventh round.

Chavez stalked Robinson around the ring for most of the fight. He pursued Robinson, landing the trademark left hook to the body. It looked as though Robinson was going to teeter towards the canvas.

Even though he was a beaten man, Robinson was game and connected punches against the great champion in Chavez. Robinson was eager to trade at times and land punches, marking up Chavez work and aged face.

Both fighters brought the crowd to their feet when they decided to trade combinations and punches in the last round.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Chavez, 99-90, 99-90, and 100-89. Fightnews.com scored the bout 99-90 for Chavez.

Afterward, Chavez addressed the crowd and thanked them for their years of loyal support to him.

"I want to thank you for all of the support that you have given me throughout the years," said Chavez, who won his first title in Los Angeles in 1984. "I hope that you give my son the same support you have given me throughout the years."

Regarding the fight, Chavez gave praise to Robinson for a good fight. Robinson looked in awe at Chavez, applauding him and bowing before him during the ring introductions.

"Someone said that this was going to be a easy fight. It was not. Robinson is a good fighter. I hurt my hand during the fight and I was not able to give the fight fans a better show."

Chavez, from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, improved to 107-5-2, 88 KO's Robinson, from Philadelphia, PA, drops to 32-10-2, 12 KO's.

'El Matador' edges 'Famoso'

Francisco Salazar

In the co-feature, Jesus Chavez earned the mandatory shot to fight WBC Super Featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera with a 12 round split decision victory over Carlos Hernandez.

It was a very close bout with numerous close rounds that could have gone either way. Hernandez hoped to use his quickness and counterpunching to his advantage.

Hernandez took the edge in the early rounds, this being the best fight on the card. Hernandez was able to land at a steady pace over Chavez, who was quick and eager to throw heavy shots to the body.

Chavez came on and was able to land more punches during three through five. Even though Hernandez used his quickness to land hard counter shots to the face, Chavez was able to use his jab to land punches to the face and body of Hernandez.

Chavez slowed considerably after the halfway point of the fight. Probably due to the 15 month layoff, Chavez looked like he did not have energy to fend off Hernandez, who intelligently boxed from the outside.

Maybe Hernandez boxed too much as Chavez slowly crept back into the fight. Although he was landing straight right hands or hooks to the body, Hernandez kept getting hit by Chavez. Hernandez pressed the action in these rounds.

Chavez was still tired, but would slowly develop a second wind. He would get outhustled at times, but would score punches to the face of Hernandez. Both fighters sucked it up to land vicious combinations in the last round, seeming to try to outwork the other. Hernandez looked the fresher fighter and looked like he landed the cleaner punches.

One judge had Hernandez winning 115-113. However, that judge was overruled by scores of 117-111 and 115-113 for Chavez. Fightnews.com scored the bout 115-113 for Hernandez.

After the fight, Hernandez was distraught and had to be consoled by his wife, Veronica and by Promoter Bob Arum.

"This is a terrible loss for me," said Hernandez, who had supporters from El Salvador amongst the crowd and is the first world champion from El Salvador. "I am a blood and guts type of fighter and my path to Morales was interrupted again. I know that people still respect me as a fighter for the type of fight I gave."

Chavez, from Austin, TX, improves to 41-3, 28 KO's. Hernandez, from West Covina, CA, drops to 41-5-1, 24 KO's.

Marquez outguns “Chapo” Vargas in title defense!

Ralph Gonzalez

Tijuana’s Ricardo “Chapo” Vargas summoned all his craftiness and ring intelligence to give IBF Bantamweight Champ Rafael Marquez a tougher than expected fight in an entertaining scrap.
 
The first round was all about the feeling out process with not much action happening. Vargas boxed nicely in the second but Marquez was beginning to close the gap and landed some nice combos that “Chapo” absorbed well. The third was a good one for Vargas as he outworked Marquez and seemed to have won the round. The fourth was pretty even until Vargas landed a shot to the temple of Marquez that momentarily threw him off balance but did little damage. The fifth saw some good action as Marquez hurt Vargas with a right and left combo. Vargas came back and landed some hard body shots at the end of the round.
 
The eighth had some good exchanges with Marquez getting the best of them as he landed the more powerful shots. The ninth was very close and hard to score with Marquez building up an early lead and Vargas coming back strong at the end. Some more nice exchanges in the tenth with Marquez getting the best of the action due to his powerful shots. The eleventh was more even with Vargas getting the slight edge due to his connection rate.
 
The twelfth was an exciting one as "Chapo" started strong but Marquez came back and dropped Vargas with a hard left. Marquez leapt on Vargas looking for the kill but Vargas not only hung tough but fought to win until the last second. The scores were 118-109, 116-111 (twice). Fightnews agreed with the 116-111 verdict. Marquez improves to 34-3, 30 KO’s. Vargas loses a tough one and drops to 37-11, 12 KO’s.

Chavez Jr. destroys Wynant!

Ralph Gonzalez

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. continued his unbeaten streak as he disposed of Adam Wynant by first round TKO at forty two seconds.

Chavez started the knockout sequence with an uppercut that hurt Wynant. Chavez kept the attack coming and landed a monster body shot that had the Indiana native looking for a place to fall.

Chavez stays undefeated and is now 19-0, 14 KO’s. Wynant drops to (9-4-1, 3 KOs).

Jesus Gonzalez dominates Welliver!

Ralph Gonzalez

Undefeated middleweight out of Phoenix Jesus “Hammer” Gonzalez stayed undefeated in a pretty decent performance against Dewey Welliver. Gonzalez dominated pretty much the whole bout in which he landed some hard lefts that staggered his opponent on numerous occasions. In the third round, Gonzalez countered effectively and ended the round with a nice flurry. Two hard rights staggered Welliver in the fifth. The rest of the rounds were pretty much the same with Gonzalez outworking and outpunching Welliver. The last bell came and went with Gonzalez taking the round and the lopsided decision. Scores were 80-72 on all three cards. Gonzalez remains undefeated at 17-0, 11 KO’s. Welliver drops to 16-16, 5 KO’s.

Sosnowski ges by ex-champ Norris

Daniel Osman
 
In a competitive six-round heavyweight bout, Albert Sosnowski, 233, of Poland won a majority decision against former cruiserweight champ Orlin Norris, 213.  Norris (57-9, 31), looking spry in his nineteenth year as a pro, scored often in the early rounds, backing up Sosnowski (37-1, 23) with short hooks and buckling the 6’3 Pole with an overhand right in the third.  But Sosnowski turned the momentum in the second half, wearing down Norris with a tight jab and sharp counterpunches.  Two judges scored 59-55 and 58-56 for Sosnowski., while the third judge scored the bout 57-57.

Viloria wins, tradedy strikes Contreras

Daniel Osman
 
Flyweight contender Brian Viloria (17-0, 11) used a steady body attack to stop Ruben Contreras (9-17-3, 4) in the sixth round of a scheduled eight-round fight.  Viloria, who is trained by Freddie Roach, looked relaxed throughout, opening up at will with combinations.  Contreras turned his back on the action at 0:55 of the sixth round, complaining of a cut in his mouth. 
 
He was later taken to the hospital by ambulance after having suffered a seizure. Reportedly, Contreras underwent surgery to relieve pressure from bleeding on his brain and is said to be in critical condition. 

Matirosyan handles Rubio with ease

Francisco Salazar

Super Middleweight Vanes Matirosyan had little trouble in dispatching Jovanni Rubio, as he stopped him at 2:55 of the first round of a four round bout.

Matirosyan landed at will against an outclassed Rubio. Matirosyan landed strong punches that Rubio did not respond to. When referee David Mendoza noticed that Martirosyan's punches were too much for Rubio, he stopped the fight.

Matirosyan, from Glendale, CA, improves to 2-0, 1 KO. Rubio, from Santa Rosa, CA, drops to 6-6, 4 KO's. Matirosyan fought for the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Bermudez stuns Sandoval in walkout bout!

Francisco Salazar

Super Featherweight Martin Bermudez scored an upset when he knocked out previously unbeaten Jaime Sandoval in the first round of a six round bout. Bermudez hurt Sandoval with a right cross and followed up with a flurry of punches that dropped his opponent to the canvas next to the ropes. Referee Raul Caiz did not bother counting.

Bermudez, from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, improves to 12-6-1, 9 KO's. Sandoval, from Chicago, IL, drops to 8-1, 7 KO's.

In other walkout action, welterweight Alex Viramontes survived a first round knockdown to stagger Yair Aguiar in the second and win a four round unanimous decision victory. Viramontes landed the cleaner punches in the final three rounds of the fight. All three judges scored the bout 38-36 for Viramontes.

Viramontes, from Riverside, CA, improves to 6-3, 3 KO's. Aguiar, from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, drops to 5-4, 4 KO's.

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