Pandemonium as fans show disgust after Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr quits against Daniel Jacobs
- Food, drinks and other debris are thrown on to the ring after the Mexican refuses to continue fighting at the start of the sixth round in Phoenix, Arizona
- Chavez claims he suffered elbows and headbutts against Jacobs in shambolic DAZN super middleweight main event
Just what is wrong with Mexican fighter Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr? A day ago, he missed weight by almost five pounds in the DAZN main event against American Daniel Jacobs, and he worked the crowd into a frenzy after he quit fighting on a shambolic night in Phoenix, Arizona.
Chavez refused to fight at the start of the sixth round, citing an injured hand but the crowd were unforgiving as they tossed drinks, food and other debris on to the ring after Chavez’s latest disaster. Chavez had quit against Andrzej Fonfara for the vacant WBC international light heavyweight title in 2015 but Friday’s drama took on a more sinister twist.
The bout had to be moved from Las Vegas to Phoenix because the Mexican star had skipped out on a drug test and he riled the crowd after the referee waved off the fight when the controversial boxer indicated that he couldn’t continue fighting on Friday night. Most puzzling is the fact that he was doing all right until his “No Mas” moment.
Coach Freddie Roach, who is also the trainer of Philippines icon Manny Pacquiao, said Chavez “couldn’t breathe” because he had his nose broken. As Chavez started to made his way out of the ring, the crowd erupted in anger at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, tossing all kinds of rubbish on to the ring, hitting ring commentators in the process. Fist fights also erupted in the stands and Chavez’s father, the legendary Julio Chavez, buried his head in his hands, seemingly embarrassed by the whole episode.
Chavez Jnr, who lost to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez by unanimous decision in 2017 and has now dropped to 51-4-1, 33 KOs, could be severely punished by boxing authorities if he is unable to come up with a legitimate excuse for quitting in the middle of the 12-round bout. On Thursday, the 33-year-old lost US$1 million of his nearly US$3 million purse after coming in drastically over the super middleweight limit at the weigh-in. Both fighters then agreed to change the weight limit to 173 pounds from 168 pounds.