I'm curious to see what people think. I was rewatching the Haugen fight for the the first time in about six or seven years. Was very impressed, especially given the caliber of Haugen. I'm tempted to rate that win over Rosario. The Rosario fight is typically rated as Chavez' finest. That's how I had it for a long time. But Rosario wasn't quite the same assassain who gunned down Viruet and Elizondo. Although he had recently pressed Camacho to the limit and bombed out Bramble, he was starting to turn in some uneven performances and apparently he was starting to party too much. Does that affect your perception of the win? Among the obvious wins like Taylor, Mayweathe I and II, Rosario, Haugen, Camacho, and Ramirez, I'd like to mention the win over Terrance Alli. Alli was tough, crafty, and though he lost his biggest fights he was clearly world class. But Chavez, (who was beginning to slow down from the week long beer parties) walked right through him, despite a hairline fractrure in his right hand. Thoughts?
I agree about Rosario, Boxed Ears........I don't think we can fairly call him "damaged goods" as early as then. I give Chavez full credit there. Rosario was thought of at the time to be very hot again, and had only the two losses on his ledger, and one of those losses was treated more like a win. At least one boxing magazine then thought he'd knock Chavez out.
The fight against Rosario was such a complete performance against a guy that was supposed to be too big, too strong, too good, hit too hard, etc...And it wasn't even competitive. Haugen didn't have a chance with Chavez; he had nothing that would enable him to stay in that fight, even if he wasn't past his best. Haugen was a cute fighter and he played some slick games with distance that worked real well on dummies like Pazienza and Mancini. Chavez wasn't dumb, however, and he was strong enough to walk through Haugen's traps. He was in a spot where he couldn't outfight, outbox, or outsmart Chavez.
It's very difficult to discredit the Rosario win. JCC wasn't exactly blowing guys out at 130lbs at the time, with two tough decision wins over the likes of Juan LaPorte and Rocky Lockridge. Why would fight fans expect this guy to then move up a weight class to dominate & destroy Edwin Rosario who had been knocking everyone out at Lightweight..including Livingstone Bramble inside two rounds. Great win.
I would say........ Taylor - Looked befuddled much of the time, but still put massive hurt on a very good fighter on his very best night. Rosario - Walked through the shots of perhaps the P4P best puncher in the sport. Just a complete clinic. Martinez - Still young and energetic at 130 pounds, he showed patience and resolve very early on. Lockridge - One can discount this one a little because Lockridge was already slipping, and Chavez hurt his hand in this fight, forcing him to back off and box. There's a lot to be said for being able to do that at the drop of a hat though. Ramirez - Not the greatest showing from him, but Ramirez fought with determination and pride, and this win DID unify the lightweight title for Chavez. I think the Haugen win means no more than a sparring session. Haugen was completely cooked by then, and never had the style to trouble a strong fighter like Chavez anyway. Chavez's win over Tony Lopez meant more by that time, I think.
Yeah, I will as well actually. I tend to find Ramirez a little underrated and Rosario overrated but as has been said in this thread, still a quality win for Chavez and when you put in the performance as well......hey, weren't Ramirez and Chavez not that eager to fight each other because they'd trained together or whatnot? This is why I rank it so highly for Chavez. Lockridge was a very versatile fighter. He could box, fight and hit. His chin was dentable but Laporte aside he was hard to finish. He wasn't infallible technically but responded to instruction well, was no slouch defensively, and could counter or fire off combinations and gun sling. Very good fighter. Chavez picked him off throughout.
Despite the fact that he deserved to lose it, the 1st Taylor fight may have been his greatest victory. The way he had to surge from behind like he did. this fight was a profound argument in favor of 15 round title fights. chavez would have finished Taylor off in style in the 13th.
