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"ADIOS
PHOENIX" , ADIOS JULIO! WILEY SHOCKS CHAVEZ
results
compiled by
Mark Dodge
FightBeat Feature Writer
Julio Cesar Chavez’s Farewell Tour ended at the America West
Arena in Phoenix Saturday night, when the Mexican legend quit on his stool
following the fifth round of his bout with unknown Grover Wiley,
claiming a broken right hand.
Wiley (30-6-1) fought the first and second rounds with his gloves pinned to the
sides of his head and in full retreat, while Chavez (108-6-2) repeatedly landed
hard left hooks to his right side. In the third, Grover finally opened up and
landed some good combinations to Chavez’s head.
During the fifth, Wiley landed with nearly every right hand he threw –
repeatedly snapping back Julio’s head. When he returned to his corner, Chavez’s
chief second called it off.
Afterward, promoter Bob Arum urged Julio to call it a career and spend his time
helping out Julio Jr. With the younger Chavez in need of an opponent for his
November 12 PPV card, Arum is now pondering Wiley as an opponent.
In an interesting swing-bout before Julio Cesar Chavez took the ring against
Grover Wiley, undefeated welterweight Mike Alvarado (11-0, 9
knockouts) earned a hard-fought six-round decision over Phoenix-native
Arturo Brambila (8-4). Giving an inspired performance, Brambila stood
toe-to-toe with Alvarado for four rounds, landing just as many punches as he
took. In the fifth and sixth rounds, though, Alvarado began pouring it on and an
exhausted Brambila couldn’t keep up. Final scores were 59-55 (twice) and 60-54
all for Alvarado.
In a six-round special attraction, undefeated 140-pounder Julio Cesar
Chavez Jr. overcame a bloody nose in the first to knock down
Corey Alarcon twice and score a knockout in round two.
Alarcon was floored by a Chavez overhand right at the bell ending round one, but
he immediately jumped to his feet and didn’t receive a count. After the referee
deducted a point from Alarcon for excessive holding midway through the second,
Chavez Jr. charged out of his corner and landed another overhand right that sent
Alarcon through the ropes and nearly out of the ring.
Chavez Jr. improves to 22-0, with 17 knockouts. Alarcon drops to 12-11.
In the opening bout of the Azteca America telecast, Jose Luis Zertuche
(16-2-2, 13KO) stopped previously undefeated Jesus Gonzales
(17-1, 10KO) at 2:10 of the eighth round to win the IBC intercontinental
middleweight title.
Gonzales was floored by a straight right hand in the closing seconds of round
six. In the eighth, he was dropped again, this time with a clean left hook.
Gonzales rose unsteadily, but he was quickly battered down with a series of
right hands. He was on his feet when the referee stopped the fight.
Zertuche, a member of the 2000 Mexico Olympic team, is a former IBA middleweight
champ.
****
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