I watched this classic fight from 1994 again this morning. I’d forgotten what a good fight it was - I think the quality of the fight rather got overshadowed by the result. Chavez, 89-0-1, had the one blemish on his record from three months earlier against Pernell Whitaker in a fight that was considered for the p4p no. 1 spot - Chavez had assumed that position with his win over Meldrick Taylor following directly on from Mike Tyson’s stunning defeat by Buster Douglas in 1990. Whitaker had been world no. 2 since unifying the lightweight title later that same year. Chavez-Whitaker had taken place at welterweight several pounds north of both fighters’ optimal weight classes. Whitaker had largely been considered robbed by the judges of a legitimate victory but the boxing press had made the unofficial call to make him p4p no. 1. Still, back at 140, Chavez had been peerless since the Taylor fight and he was expected, at 31, to coast to 100 wins without further blemishes. The boxing press didn’t see Randall as a serious threat, but perhaps they hadn’t been paying close enough attention. Randall was on a 16 fight winning streak stretching back several years and had stopped former champ Edwin Rosario in 1993. More impressively, he had overcome the personal problems that had derailed his career for a couple of years and was fully focussed on taking JCC’s title. Randall fought brilliantly, managing to back Chavez up several times in the fight, landing consistently with the straight right and taking control of the fight over the second half. Chavez, unusually flustered, was penalised for twice landing blows below the belt line, most critically in the 11th round, shortly before another picture-perfect straight right from Randall put him down for the first time in his career. That round swung things in Randall’s favour and won him a deserved split decision over boxing’s most dominant champion in the biggest upset since Tyson-Douglas.
Randall was a damn good fighter, his speed and timing was a big problem for Chavez, and that right hand he landed that dropped Chavez was perfect. Chavez didn't see the punch coming. Randall was getting him again in the 2nd fight but Chavez quit. I think that decision was shady, I didn't see Chavez winning that fight.
It is one of my favorite fights and I revisit it quite often. - Randall was undefeated since the surprise ko loss in Oct. 1987 to Primo Ramos. But the best win in his comeback was over a faded Rosario. He hadn't really beaten anyone good and prime i.e. a legitimate current contender in that time frame. In fact the best results of his whole career up to that point was probably the narrow loss to a prime Rosario in their first fight and the draw with the resurgent Freddie Pendleton in their second meeting. - He had not looked great decisioning Jerry Page in summer 1989 and then went to prison for selling drugs - When he returned in early 1991 he hooked up with the Hale bros. as managers and Don King as promoter. - He looked pretty good against Rodolfo Aguillar and Rosario but even I, as a longtime fan and keen eyed observer of the sport did not think he had much of a chance to beat JC Chavez. Glad I was wrong. Awesome fight and feel good story. One thing I didn't really notice in the live broadcast but seemed noteworthy when watching it later is the drastic difference in their attitudes going into the fight as shown in the pre-fight interviews. Randall seemed quietly confident. As you pointed out, he was ready physically and mentally. His attitude before the fight was key. He believed in his abilities, but was respectful of Chavez - but not too respectful. Chavez, meanwhile, seemed dismissive of Randall, not seeming to even understand his abilities and fighting style. He said "Randall will play right into my hands, he will come right at me." He seemed to think Randall was a slugger, when in fact he was a multi-faceted boxer/puncher.
