Is Julio Cesar Chavez underrated or overatted?

Question

He had a great record. The bulk of the wins came against less than stellar competition. However he did have some great wins like Rosario and Ramirez.

He also got hammered by Tszyu and Oscar.

He was outboxed by Whitaker but corruption allowed a draw. Taylor had him beat solidly until a crazy stoppage.

How great was Chavez? Best left hook to the body ever?

Answer 1

Chavez stopped Taylor- Taylor was out on his feet and unresponsive. The time left on the clock doesn't matter. Chavez is rated right where he should be as an all time great boxer and warrior. He is one of the last I think you will see with 100+ fights. You don't seem to be very willing to give him the credit he deserves.

Answer 2

Folks forget that Ramirez was closing in on Chavez on the scorecards when the butt forced the stoppage.  But the way Chavez got schooled by Whitaker tells me he was way over-rated.  He was good, but honestly, I think Barerra was a better fighter, and would have beaten Chavez.

Take a look at the early rounds of the fight in which the commentators are just so in awe of Chavez's aura, they can't even realize that Whitaker is putting it on him something fierce.  If that isn't the epitome of overrated, then what is?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D56Bq5LrO...

Answer 3

I cheered against him but he would have walked Mayweather and Cotto down and finished them. He threw wicked body shots. Taylor was never the same and he lost pints of blood in their epic fight. Chavez was great love him or hate him.

Answer 4

That Taylor vs. Chavez was a good fight. But I disagree it was nothing solid by Taylor and not a crazy stoppage. Very controversial yes but not crazy. Taylor also showed heart because he received more punishment then people realized until the last round where he was out. That's what Chavez did he destroyed people physically like a surgeon, that's why he's the Mexican Legend. No need for an overrated or underrated he is a legend and a great. Yes Whitaker could've been the "real" loss but it was controversial like the Mayweather vs. Castillo fight. Besides Rosario, Ramirez, and Taylor there was also Camacho, McGirt, and Roger Mayweather who was defeating Mexicans(kind of like Pacquiao) until he faced Chavez. He was destroyed twice by Chavez. I think to be legend you should be unique and bring something new to the sport. He brought his heart,relentless pressure, and  his amazing body work specially with that left hook and went undefeated for 106 fights.

Answer 5

Obviously Mr. Chavez Was A Great Boxer.  He Was Old And Worn When Oscar Meyer Beat Him-Blogbaba

Answer 6

Chavez is the last of the significant old school boxers.  He had a lot of fights because that's what it took to get noticed in Mexico back then.  

Even after he became a champ, he was still fighting more than 3 or more times a year for a 10 year period that includes his peak years (83-94).  That would be a Herculean effort and a complete career by today's standards and he fought until 2004.  

The Taylor fight was not contested....Taylor was out.  People forget that he was at his best at lightweight.  By the time Chavez lost to Frankie Randall in 94, it was clear he had lost a step yet he continued on to fight guys like DLH and Tszyu.  Neither one of these guys would have beat a prime Chavez.

Only Whittaker and Randall beat (yeah Whittaker did win) the closest thing to a prime Chavez.  I think Whittaker was the only guy that fought Chavez that could have beat him in his prime...slick defense, excellent footwork and handspeed.

At lightweight.....is there a better body attack?  What would you pay to see Duran vs Chavez at 135 lbs?  

It looks like he is rated just right on the lists I find.  We sure could use more fighters like him.........a real throw back.

Answer 7

Julio C. Chavez is one of the greatest Mexican boxers ever. He is a hall of famer. He is not overrated or underrated people who know about boxing know he was great.

Answer 8

Chavez is rated right where he should be... One of if not the best Welterweights Of All Time... In mexico he is a legend that every boxer hopes to become one day.... i even see great fighters across the world refer to Chavez as an inspiration like Hatton, PacMan, and Juan Diaz so i believe his body of work speaks for itself no matter how nitpicky you want to be... the reason is because he was the never supreme skilled fighter with all the talent like Taylor or whitaker or even Camacho but he came to fight every second of every round ..... What you dont mention was whitaker ran and held the entire fight and that Taylor was beaten so badly he was pissing blood and had to be hospitalized for over a week, while Chavez barely had bruising to his eye ..... sure Chavez was beatable and i have always said "if you go undefeated you didnt fight everyone" but Chavez was the personfication of Mexican Pride and his ability take your 10 best shots to give One of His is the reason why so many think of him as a legend.... He made the Mexican Left hook a common term much like mayweather did with check hook and Chavez put more people on the floor with Body punches than most heavyweights combined......h**l we are even following his son Jr just to get a glimpse of the Old Chavez magic once again..... well at least i am

Answer 9

if julio cesar chavez were american hed be considered one of the best of all time...just look at that mans resume...he never avoided anybody and he fought the best..when he fought meldrick tnt taylor chavez was 66 and 0..he koed roger mayweather twice(floyds trainer)j.c.chavez unified the titles in three differant weight classes..floyd mayweather hasnt even unified the titles in one division..chavez was 89 and 0 before he got his first loss...i think whitaker did get robbed but whitaker ran like a pu$$Y..

Answer 10

julio cesar chavez was an amazing fighter.by the time he fought tsyzu or oscar he should have retired and as a fighter alot of people forget that chavez hit taylor very hard several times through out there fight.taylor was gased going in to the last round.he should have ran but taylor being stupid went head on with chavez and at the end of the fight taylor still went down.

Answer 11

i agree with the first answerer. j.c. chavez was the best of his era kosta*tszyu and oscar were at their prime while chavez should have already retired.

im of the belief that as good as mayweather may be, when we look back at both of their careers we will say that de la hoya was the better boxer unless mayweather starts defending his title against the likes of these top welterweights (cotto).

or evander holyfield beat foreman but is he really the better boxer over his career? foreman is greatness holyfield is goodness.

*i dont think i spelled tszyu's first name right

Answer 12

It depends on who you're talking to, I think new fans tend to underrate him, he was one of the most skilled brawlers of all-time- and it doesn't matter who you fighting with the amount of crazy things that can happen, winning as many in a row as he did was outstanding.

If you're talking to 30-40 year old mexican fans, he is probably overrated.  Great boxers could give him trouble everytime, he was a hard puncher but didn't really have that one-punch KO power.

I think he is an all-time great, big wins and took on great fighters, certainly one of the most punishing fighters of recent times.

Answer 13

neither, he beat great fighters and lost to great fighters.

Answer 14

Julio Cesar Chavez was true warrior & great boxer period !

Answer 15

I have not ever heard it suggested that it would even be a possibility for Julio Cesar Chavez to be considered overrated.  You can't have 107 wins, 86 KOs, 6 losses, and hold world championship titles in multiple weight classes and be considered overrated.  He's a living legend - "El Gran Campeon Mexicano" - and rightly so.

And while Meldrick Taylor may have been winning on points, Chavez was getting his throughout the fight, pummeling Taylor with power punches to the head and body, breaking him down slowly and exacting a high price over the course of the fight.  Finally, with 25 seconds left in the final round, he staggers a beaten Taylor with a crushing right, sends him stumbling into the corner with a left hook to the liver, and with 12 seconds left sends Taylor crumpling onto the canvas with a full-force right-hand to the face.  Taylor's face was fractured and he was urinating blood; he could have died with another punch.  Chavez epitomized the old-school Mexican-warrior fighting tradition in this fight.  No way can he be described as overrated.