Category
đź“š
LearningTranscript
00:00:00Leo Cesar Chavez for the WBA World Lightweight Championship.
00:00:06Mark Breeland's long-anticipated welterweight title reign had just begun
00:00:11when he mounted a title defense against Marlon Starling last August.
00:00:15But Starling refused to show respect to the celebrated young champion.
00:00:20Trailing after 10 rounds, the more experienced challenger seized the moment
00:00:23and handed Breeland his first professional loss.
00:00:31For Starling, a major upset.
00:00:34For Breeland, a stunning setback.
00:00:37Tonight, they meet once again as Marlon Starling defends his WBA World Welterweight crown
00:00:43against former champion Mark Breeland.
00:01:00And now we are live from the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada
00:01:15as HBO Sports presents a doubleheader episode of World Championship Boxing.
00:01:20And first, Julio Cesar Chavez will defend his WBA Lightweight crown
00:01:24against number one contender Rodolfo Aguilar of Panama.
00:01:28And then, in what may well be a classic rematch,
00:01:31welterweight champion Marlon Starling will face former title holder Mark Breeland.
00:01:35Both bouts are scheduled for 12 rounds.
00:01:38So, a large and knowledgeable boxing crowd continues to file into the Hilton here
00:01:43in the early evening hours, essentially to watch two questions being answered.
00:01:47How exciting, how impressive will Chavez be in his lightweight defense
00:01:51as he continues to cement his identity in the minds of the American boxing public?
00:01:55And can Mark Breeland, Olympic gold medalist ticketed for stardom,
00:01:59avenge the only defeat of his professional career
00:02:01and regain not only a world title,
00:02:03but also the mantle of stardom that he carried for so long.
00:02:08Hello, I'm Jim Lafley.
00:02:09The first bout you will see this evening is the lightweight defense,
00:02:12Chavez against Aguilar.
00:02:14But later on in the evening, we will see the two welterweights,
00:02:17Starling and Breeland.
00:02:18And the Breeland experience, Olympic gold medalist,
00:02:21stardom in early professional career,
00:02:23and then having to face up to a difficult defeat
00:02:25is one that our own Ray Leonard has shared.
00:02:27Ray, how do you see Mark reacting to his loss to Starling last August?
00:02:31It's a big obstacle that he must face.
00:02:33First of all, whether or not he second-guess himself,
00:02:35whether or not he thought last fight was a fluke,
00:02:38whether or not he can regain his composure,
00:02:40come back and be to Mark Breeland that he was in the past,
00:02:42try to outbox Marlon Starling.
00:02:45But you know something, it's all mental.
00:02:47I think that's what's facing Mark Breeland.
00:02:50All right, and we'll see later on what you think about his ability
00:02:52to overcome that mental challenge.
00:02:54But first, Julio Cesar Chavez in his title defense and Larry Merchant,
00:02:59many are now calling Chavez pound for pound
00:03:01the best boxer in the world.
00:03:03Do you think he is?
00:03:04Well, if he isn't, he's the heir apparent,
00:03:07and very apparent, I might add.
00:03:09Whenever we have a dominant heavyweight champion,
00:03:11such as we have now in Mike Tyson,
00:03:13we boxing degenerates feel this irresistible urge
00:03:16to crown this other best fighter in the world.
00:03:20In past eras, they've been Henry Armstrong,
00:03:23Sugar Ray Robinson, Roberta Duran,
00:03:25and even this fellow over here, Ray Leonard.
00:03:27The problem that Chavez has is that he's a foreigner,
00:03:30and that means he's going to have to be impressive,
00:03:33look the role of that fighter every single time out.
00:03:37And that's very difficult,
00:03:39and we'll see how difficult it is tonight
00:03:40when he faces a man whose primary mission may simply be to survive.
00:03:44Indeed, Julio Cesar Chavez has won 56 bouts in a row officially.
00:03:49He says 57, one knockout has gotten lost.
00:03:52Here now, a closer look at the Mexican star
00:03:55of the lightweight division, Julio Cesar Chavez.
00:04:01In 1987, Mike Tyson brought order to the heavyweight division
00:04:06with a devastating string of knockouts.
00:04:09The year also saw Sugar Ray Leonard stun the boxing world
00:04:12with his comeback upset win over marvelous Marvin Hagler.
00:04:16But neither of those illustrious stars
00:04:18was the man boxing writers chose as fighter of the year.
00:04:21That instead was Julio Cesar Chavez,
00:04:24the undefeated lightweight champion
00:04:25of whom it is now fashionable to say,
00:04:28best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
00:04:34Chavez's talents begin with a definition of the art of self-defense.
00:04:38He picks off punches with his arms and hands
00:04:40with amazing consistency.
00:04:41And what few openings he does leave an opponent
00:04:43are at the top of his head or on his shoulders,
00:04:47areas where punches have little chance of doing damage.
00:04:50Over the course of a fight,
00:04:52the quantity of punches blocked by Chavez
00:04:54or missed by his opponents accumulates.
00:04:57An example, former world champion Edwin Rosario,
00:05:00who landed 52% of his punches against Livingston Bramble
00:05:03and 63% against Jose Luis Ramirez.
00:05:06But look at how inefficient he was against Chavez.
00:05:09Or maybe consider how inefficient Chavez made Rosario to appear.
00:05:13I believe I was born with my defensive abilities.
00:05:19You don't develop them in the ring.
00:05:21Of course, if you make a mistake in the ring,
00:05:23certain things can be taught.
00:05:25Or learned.
00:05:26When the fighting is in close,
00:05:28Chavez has learned to keep his elbows in tight to his body,
00:05:31protecting his rib and kidney areas.
00:05:34He also uses his own elbows and arms
00:05:36to push off his opponent
00:05:37and create open avenues of attack.
00:05:39When attacking, some fighters offer wide, looping punches
00:05:44which leave them open to counterattack.
00:05:47Chavez prefers short, straight punches to the body
00:05:49which not only offer protection
00:05:51but efficiently wear down his opponents.
00:05:55Hitting the body is fatal
00:05:57because little by little,
00:05:59if you begin to hit your rival,
00:06:00keep hitting his body,
00:06:02then between rounds,
00:06:03your rival begins to lose his speed and strength.
00:06:06There is a saying that if you hit the body,
00:06:09the head will fall on its own.
00:06:11Indeed, the Chavez attack merely begins at the body.
00:06:15Against Rosario,
00:06:16he landed a remarkable 61% of his punches.
00:06:20In punch stack computations,
00:06:21other lightweights are shown to be far less efficient.
00:06:25Greg Haugen landing 48%,
00:06:26Jose Luis Ramirez 25%,
00:06:29Hector Camacho 24%.
00:06:31This efficiency can in part be attributed to
00:06:34a training load which separates Chavez from most other fighters.
00:06:37Chavez does little speed and heavy bag work,
00:06:40concentrating instead on constant sparring.
00:06:43His wars in the ring go on for 10 rounds per day,
00:06:46six days per week.
00:06:48An extreme training pace.
00:06:51I never stop training.
00:06:53I always train.
00:06:54These last three months have been hard.
00:06:57It is the same for all my fights.
00:06:59I am always conscientious about my work.
00:07:01Julio Cesar Chavez has neither the global fame of a Mike Tyson
00:07:07nor the charismatic image of a Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:07:10What he has is boxing expertise
00:07:13and sufficient mastery of the sweet science
00:07:15to rank among sophisticates
00:07:17as the sport's most finished and refined current product.
00:07:20So you saw there the technical skills
00:07:24which elevate Chavez to the rank
00:07:26where many hold him now at the top of the sport.
00:07:29Tonight, however, Ray Leonard,
00:07:30he faces for the first time in his career
00:07:33a southpaw fighter.
00:07:34How difficult a challenge is that likely to be?
00:07:36That's amazing.
00:07:37In 57 fights, he's never faced a southpaw.
00:07:40It could prove to be a problem and a factor
00:07:42because with the height of Aguilar,
00:07:44his height and reach advantage,
00:07:46and being a southpaw could possibly confuse
00:07:47and frustrate Chavez in the early rounds.
00:07:50But I really believe that Chavez is going to get to him
00:07:52with the body shots.
00:07:53Indeed, it's such a fascinating point, Larry.
00:07:55Maybe we should delve into the sociology of boxing for a moment.
00:07:58How could it be that a man with 57 professional fights,
00:08:01or 56, whichever is the correct number,
00:08:03and officially it's 56, though he claims 57,
00:08:06but how could it be that a man with that many fights
00:08:08on his dossier could never have faced a southpaw?
00:08:11Well, one reason is that he didn't fight much
00:08:14in the amateur ranks,
00:08:15and it's in the amateur ranks where you see a lot of southpaws.
00:08:18And many of the southpaws who are amateurs
00:08:20turn around and become right-handed fighters as professionals.
00:08:23So he's been a professional since he's been an early teenager.
00:08:27So that could be one reason.
00:08:28He has fought a lot of southpaws in the gym.
00:08:32Jose Luis Ramirez, who was his stablemate,
00:08:34was a southpaw.
00:08:36But I think it's the combination of seeing a southpaw
00:08:38for the first time,
00:08:39plus this tall, angular, defensive-minded,
00:08:41mechanical southpaw tonight
00:08:43that conceivably could pose a problem.
00:08:46But he's a typical Mexican fighter in the sense
00:08:49that he goes downstairs
00:08:51and that should eliminate whatever problems would exist.
00:08:54Indeed, you make a good point, Larry,
00:08:55because this could be the first of two southpaws in a row.
00:08:58Every expectation is that
00:08:59Chavez will angle for a bout
00:09:01against Jose Luis Ramirez if he wins tonight.
00:09:04Quickly now, Ray Leonard with his tip of the night
00:09:06on the Chavez-Aguilar bout.
00:09:09Well, Jim, first of all,
00:09:10Chavez corner is expecting Aguilar to hit runs.
00:09:14So his body attack would be very effective
00:09:16because it would slow down the movement of Aguilar
00:09:18and enable him to really do a lot of damage.
00:09:23His upper body strength is incredible.
00:09:25And I think he has to cut the ring off
00:09:26in order to make that possible.
00:09:29Too many times, a lot of boxers are able to out-finesse punchers.
00:09:34With Aguilar, not too much is known about him,
00:09:35but being a southpaw could possibly confuse Chavez
00:09:38and everyone around, like I said before.
00:09:40But he must be aggressive, not really crazy,
00:09:43but just initiate respect
00:09:44and try to keep Chavez off balance
00:09:47because if you don't do that,
00:09:49you ask for a lot of problems in a long night.
00:09:53And we had a brief temporary lighting problem
00:09:57in the arena, which has now been cleared up.
00:09:59So the two fighters who have waited
00:10:01a couple of minutes longer than they might have expected
00:10:04to exit their dressing rooms and head toward the ring
00:10:07will now begin that process.
00:10:08And here comes Rodolfo Aguilar of Panama.
00:10:12Of course, you have known the names
00:10:14of some great Panamanian boxers in the past.
00:10:17Not the least of them, the great Roberto Duran,
00:10:20who once defeated our own Sugar Ray Leonard.
00:10:23Aguilar cannot yet be ranked on a level with such as Duran.
00:10:27You can see that he has had a total of 21 bouts,
00:10:3120 of them in Panama, in either Panama City or Cologne,
00:10:35which he won.
00:10:36One time he ventured out of that nation.
00:10:38He went to Venezuela and lost a bout in Caracas.
00:10:42There's a look at the record.
00:10:43Only 10 KOs, and he will need,
00:10:46it is expected to demonstrate some punching power
00:10:48to get Chavez's respect
00:10:50and keep Chavez from pulling him into the ropes.
00:10:52I expect Aguilar to just hit and run.
00:10:55He needs to do that.
00:10:56Inside, he has no,
00:10:57I don't think it's going to be the right thing to do
00:10:59because Chavez is such an economical fighter.
00:11:03He's a technician,
00:11:05and he's able to wear a man down.
00:11:06We saw that against Edward Rosario.
00:11:09In now, 25-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez.
00:11:13Of those 11 victories in title bouts,
00:11:1710 came at the lower weight class of super featherweight,
00:11:22129 pounds.
00:11:23He moved up to 135 pounds
00:11:25to score his devastating 11th round knockout
00:11:29of Edwin Rosario this past fall.
00:11:32He's a great hero in Mexico,
00:11:34and I think he's very much comparable
00:11:37to what Ray Leonard was in his career.
00:11:40He's very personable.
00:11:41He's got a sunny disposition.
00:11:43He's very bright,
00:11:44and he's a winner who has his eye on the sky,
00:11:50on the heavens.
00:11:52He wants to be not just a great fighter,
00:11:54he told us,
00:11:55but a great man.
00:11:5756 wins without a loss,
00:11:5947 of them knockouts,
00:12:01as I've mentioned a couple times before
00:12:02and will now mention for the last time,
00:12:05Chavez claims there was a 57th fight,
00:12:08a first-round knockout,
00:12:09which somehow got lost in the record-keeping.
00:12:15Tale of the tape,
00:12:16and you see there the height and reach advantage,
00:12:19which Aguilar has on paper.
00:12:21It may turn out to be a disadvantage,
00:12:23as, of course,
00:12:24that means that there is an extended range
00:12:27of ribcage available for Chavez to punch at.
00:12:32And here is our punch stat,
00:12:36which gives you a profile of the activity of the fighter,
00:12:39and as you can see,
00:12:40Chavez is a very, very active fighter.
00:12:43The remarkable thing about him is
00:12:45he throws this many punches,
00:12:47but he also shows defensive skills.
00:12:50He doesn't lead with his face.
00:12:51WBA rules,
00:12:54which will be in effect for both of the title bouts
00:12:56you will see tonight.
00:12:58Three judges scoring on the 10-point must system.
00:13:00No standing eight counts.
00:13:01A fighter can be saved by the bell
00:13:03only in the last round,
00:13:04and the three-knockdown rule will be in effect.
00:13:07Three knockdowns in a round means that it's over.
00:13:10And now let's go up to ring announcer Chuck Hall
00:13:13for the pre-fight introduction.
00:13:14Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
00:13:17On behalf of Don King Productions,
00:13:19Main Events Monitor,
00:13:21Cedric Cooster Limited,
00:13:23the Miller Light Beer,
00:13:24and the Miller Brewing Company,
00:13:25I welcome you to the Hilton Center
00:13:27of the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel,
00:13:30where tonight you will experience
00:13:32an evening of world championship boxing.
00:13:35These bouts are sanctioned
00:13:36by the Nevada State Athletic Commission,
00:13:38Herb Santos Chairman,
00:13:40Chuck Minker, the Executive Director.
00:13:41The commissioners at ringside this evening
00:13:44are Drs. Elias Gunnam,
00:13:46Freddie Little,
00:13:47Wayne Ford,
00:13:48and Dr. James Nay.
00:13:50The WBA representative at ringside tonight,
00:13:54Dr. Elias Cordova.
00:13:56The officials are signed
00:13:57by the Nevada State Athletic Commission
00:13:59for the next contest of the evening.
00:14:01The judges are Art Lurie,
00:14:03Patricia Jarman,
00:14:04and Lou Tabak.
00:14:05The timekeeper is Charlie Roth.
00:14:07Counting at the knockdowns,
00:14:08Al Bysik.
00:14:09The attending physicians at ringside,
00:14:12Drs. Flip Homansky,
00:14:13Elias Gunnam,
00:14:14and Albert Campana.
00:14:16The referee for the next bout of the evening
00:14:18is Richard Steele.
00:14:21The next bout of the night,
00:14:22ladies and gentlemen,
00:14:23featuring 12 rounds of boxing
00:14:25for the WBA Lightweight Championship
00:14:28of the World.
00:14:30Introducing,
00:14:31in the blue corner,
00:14:33fighting out of Panama City, Panama,
00:14:35weighing 134.5 pounds,
00:14:38with a professional record of 20 wins,
00:14:40one defeat with 10 KOs,
00:14:43he is ranked number one in the world by the WBA,
00:14:47and is the challenger,
00:14:48ladies and gentlemen,
00:14:49Rodolfo Aguilar.
00:14:51And in the red corner,
00:14:58from Culiacan, Mexico,
00:15:01weighing 135 pounds,
00:15:04this young man's professional record
00:15:06consists of 56 wins,
00:15:09no defeats,
00:15:10with 47 KOs.
00:15:12He is the WBA Lightweight Champion of the World,
00:15:17Julio Cesar Chavez.
00:15:27Referee Richard Steele
00:15:28will now issue the final instructions
00:15:30to the two fighters.
00:15:31It's interesting to note that
00:15:35Luis Spada,
00:15:36the veteran manager of Aguilar,
00:15:38was quoted in Sports Illustrated magazine
00:15:40after Chavez's destruction of Rosario
00:15:43as saying no way he would put his fighter in
00:15:45for a title shot against Chavez.
00:15:48But, of course, here he is.
00:15:50And Aguilar said himself
00:15:52that he talked Spada out of it.
00:15:54He insisted on the fight.
00:15:56We'll see which one of them was the smartest.
00:15:58Well, of course, Spada doesn't have to go
00:16:01into the ring with him.
00:16:07You're going to see that Chavez
00:16:08is going to throw a lot of right hands home.
00:16:10As he just did.
00:16:12The right hand and the left hook
00:16:13are the most effective punches
00:16:14against the southpaw
00:16:15because of the way the southpaw keeps his hands.
00:16:19Basically, the southpaw continues
00:16:20to move to his right,
00:16:22so it's difficult for you to gain
00:16:24proper leverage in your punches.
00:16:26If you have not seen Chavez before,
00:16:30one of the first things you will notice
00:16:31is that he does not waste punches.
00:16:33He doesn't throw for the sake of throwing.
00:16:35He throws when he thinks
00:16:36he can get inside and do damage.
00:16:39I think the early round is going to be
00:16:40problems for Chavez unless he's able
00:16:41to hurt his man.
00:16:42You see with Aguilar,
00:16:44very quick hands,
00:16:46awkward because of his style.
00:16:48And he's tall, he's ranging.
00:16:50Now, see, this is where Aguilar
00:16:56would probably make a mistake
00:16:57when he tried to exchange punch for punch.
00:17:00Chavez is a much deadlier puncher.
00:17:02For the moment, Aguilar doesn't appear
00:17:04to be frightened of Chavez,
00:17:05as he has been willing, as you say, Ray,
00:17:07to exchange punch for punch.
00:17:09Right hand got through the defense
00:17:10under the neck of Aguilar.
00:17:12Good defense from Chavez.
00:17:15Keeps those hands very high.
00:17:18But again, watch for the right hand,
00:17:20left hook.
00:17:25Chavez is focusing his eyes on a point
00:17:27at the middle of Aguilar's chest.
00:17:29And so far, he's landed the right three times.
00:17:31There, good left hand there by Aguilar
00:17:33to the point of Chavez's chin.
00:17:42Again, the right hand gets through.
00:17:50I don't know, it's open.
00:17:51I'm going to get out.
00:17:52No hold, no hold, great.
00:17:56You hold.
00:17:57You hold that.
00:18:00Now, this is what frustrate the fighter.
00:18:12I'm going to fight at South Park.
00:18:13Especially if a guy has good hand speed.
00:18:16And this is what Aguilar is going to stand busy.
00:18:18Not going to pick punch.
00:18:21Chavez goes to the uppercut three times.
00:18:25Didn't really land with any of them.
00:18:28The other right hand scores again.
00:18:33See, it's tough for Chavez to get south.
00:18:39There seems to be a cut over the left eye.
00:18:42It may be mistaken.
00:18:44There's blood over the left eye of Chavez.
00:18:50Again, the right hand gets through.
00:18:52And again, and Aguilar goes down.
00:18:57Straight right hands.
00:19:00Close to the end of the round.
00:19:02And that's it.
00:19:06So in the final 15 seconds of round one, Julio Cesar Chavez made his presence felt with the right hand.
00:19:13Well, we said he had to look impressive.
00:19:15And he certainly looked impressive.
00:19:17Let's go to Tito Alba, our interpreter, to find out what's going on in the corner of the challenger.
00:19:23There's a knockdown at clean right hand.
00:19:51And he landed several clean shots during the round.
00:19:54There's a second one.
00:19:57And obviously, Aguilar was still shaken midway through the rest period.
00:20:01Almost all of the damage done in round one by the straight right hand of Julio Cesar Chavez.
00:20:11Aguilar begins round two backing up.
00:20:14Still doesn't look entirely certain of himself.
00:20:16Chavez feels that he can get in more punches by becoming more aggressive.
00:20:21And that is so true.
00:20:23Just rushing himself.
00:20:23But he has to be careful because you see these punches that are being thrown.
00:20:27They have a tendency to bruise and cut.
00:20:33Chavez is starting a little over anxious.
00:20:35Yeah, he's taking a little bit more than he needs to to get inside.
00:20:38But there again, the right landed and backed Aguilar up.
00:20:47Chavez wipes the blood from his own eye and looks at it on his glove.
00:20:51And he took what Edwin Rosario had to offer.
00:21:15And Rosario may be the hardest puncher in the lightweight division.
00:21:19But what's happening here, Jim, is the fact that Aguilar's still in points.
00:21:24Wait, do you feel that Chavez feels some urgency about this situation?
00:21:28Because he knows he does have some blood, even if it isn't serious.
00:21:33I see since a sign of frustration in the eyes of Chavez.
00:21:37Because normally, he's a much more composed fighter.
00:21:39He takes his time and he's able to put his punches together.
00:21:42Here against the softball, he's having major problems here.
00:21:45One of the things which is said of Chavez by those who have seen him a lot is that he will
00:22:02take his time and be patient, unless you hurt him and make him mad.
00:22:09I was expecting more body shots from Chavez.
00:22:12To bring those hands down with Aguilar.
00:22:14To slow that movement down with Aguilar.
00:22:15One sign of anxiety is that Chavez, for a moment there, was chasing Aguilar around the ring.
00:22:27Rather than cutting the ring off on him, I don't think he does so well.
00:22:31For Chavez, he needs to throw combinations and stop trying to load up with one punch.
00:22:36And that's what he's doing here.
00:22:37Fewer than 30 seconds to go in round two, as you can see.
00:22:44This is not really a good round for Chavez.
00:22:46No, a pattern of frustration beginning to develop here for Chavez.
00:22:52He just hit bloody Aguilar's nose with a left hook.
00:22:55Round two comes to a close.
00:23:05Chavez continuing to deal out punishment, but perhaps not at the rate he might most prefer.
00:23:11And now we go to Chavez's corner.
00:23:13I thought Aguilar made a good comeback in that round, considering what has to do with the
00:23:18end of the previous round.
00:23:20Okay, keep on fighting.
00:23:23You're doing very well.
00:23:24Now, keep on fighting with two hands.
00:23:27Always go upstairs.
00:23:29We are going to win this fight.
00:23:32Left hook.
00:23:34Left hook and right.
00:23:35Left hook and right.
00:23:36It's already done.
00:23:37No more problem here.
00:23:39Let's get it work.
00:23:40Let's get to work.
00:23:45Always.
00:23:46Left hook.
00:23:46Here's Chavez boring in again and landing a good solid right, right on the mouth and backing
00:23:57up.
00:23:57Let's go, second.
00:23:58Let's go.
00:23:58Aguilar.
00:24:03Well, Aguilar did come to fight.
00:24:05And although he may not win this one, he's showing his manager that he's willing to stand
00:24:12in there with a man who's regarded as one of the best fighters in the world.
00:24:17You see the names of the fighters and the colors of the trunks which identify them in
00:24:20this WBA World Lightweight Championship bout.
00:24:24First of a doubleheader here from the Las Vegas Hilton on HBO.
00:24:28You notice that Chavez is starting to reach in with his punches.
00:24:32He's starting to really become over-anxious.
00:24:34Not really setting his man up.
00:24:35But J. would do that also to get closer.
00:24:39And for a guy that this tall, a south tall, makes it quite different.
00:24:44It's not easy to ask.
00:24:46Perhaps Chavez has not been as disciplined about going to the body in the last round and
00:24:54a half as we would customarily expect from him.
00:24:56A lot of headhunting.
00:24:57That's the key because this guy is so tall and ranging.
00:25:00He's throwing his overhand rights and left.
00:25:03And he's giving Chavez a different look.
00:25:07The body shots will stay all the way down.
00:25:09I'm holding.
00:25:11I'm taking it out.
00:25:12My first.
00:25:13That is right.
00:25:16Certainly, Aguilar has taken the worst of it so far.
00:25:23But by the same token, he seems to be gaining confidence with each passing minute.
00:25:29There is definitely frustration in the eyes of Chavez.
00:25:32Aguilar has dropped his hands.
00:25:34Again, Aguilar's not really a big puncher, but his punches do stay.
00:25:38And he's starting to find avenues through which to land them, Ray.
00:25:41A couple of right hands to the side of Chavez's head moments ago.
00:25:46Another great run by Chavez.
00:25:55Straight up the middle.
00:25:58The difference we have of both fighters is the fact that although Chavez is throwing the heavier punches,
00:26:03Aguilar has won a combination.
00:26:18That is landed twice to the head during the clinch.
00:26:24I'm sure Richard Steele can pull them apart.
00:26:27A couple of low blows on both fighters.
00:26:32Aguilar becoming increasingly more active as the third round moves along.
00:26:38In the final 30 seconds of round three of this first of two world championship bouts.
00:26:44Waiting in their dressing rooms, Marlon Starling, the WBA welterweight champ, and Mark Freeland.
00:26:53In the role of challenger.
00:27:04And as round three ends, Chavez continues to stalk an increasingly more self-possessed number one challenger, Rodolfo Aguilar.
00:27:13And there is Marlon Starling, a very self-possessed fellow.
00:27:19A man who had to believe in himself because not too many other people did.
00:27:24He is getting tired.
00:27:35He is opening his mouth like crazy.
00:27:37He is...
00:27:38You have to keep on moving.
00:27:40How's your legs?
00:27:42Okay.
00:27:43Some gasoline.
00:27:44Some gasoline.
00:27:45The legs are okay?
00:27:48Okay.
00:27:51Agua.
00:27:51Water.
00:27:53More water.
00:27:55Vamos moviendo, moviendo, moviendo.
00:27:56Okay, move it, move it, move it, move it, job, job, please.
00:28:03If you had taken three to one odds that you could get here in the legal bookmakers,
00:28:08that the fight would have ended by the end of the third round, you would have lost your money.
00:28:13It's even money that the fight doesn't go past the sixth round.
00:28:19You saw in the corner the tiny cut on the left eyelid of Aguilar,
00:28:23which now ranks as a target for Chávez, but Aguilar lands twice in close.
00:28:28Good luck by Chávez in that exchange, but he took one in return.
00:28:40You'll notice when Chávez attempts to throw his right hand, he brings that right foot up.
00:28:46And those are the type of problems that softball presents.
00:28:49Because again, it doesn't enable you to get proper leverage behind your punches.
00:28:58Aguilar's doing a good job here with his combinations.
00:29:01Chávez now back to concentrating on the body, but having more difficulty getting through
00:29:23than was the case in round one.
00:29:31The straight right lands again.
00:29:33Believe it or not, the best punch that I found on the softball,
00:29:36not only straight right hand, but a looping right hand.
00:29:39Because it goes inside of his gloves.
00:29:43Now there's blood coming from the nose of Aguilar as well as from above his left eye.
00:29:48That's the right hand there that Chávez threw.
00:29:50But again, Jim, he needs to throw combinations.
00:29:53Chávez needs to throw more punches.
00:29:55Put him in bunches.
00:30:00Goes the right hand again.
00:30:01And the looping right hand that you suggested landed that time.
00:30:05Increasingly, Chávez looks to come up underneath to get to the body.
00:30:08But he has to work his way inside and be a little more composed.
00:30:14Good right hand by Aguilar.
00:30:17Tilted Chávez for a moment.
00:30:31Well, certainly, as we proceed toward the closing seconds of round four,
00:30:47there can be no doubt in Julio César Chávez's mind
00:30:50that he's in against a qualified opponent.
00:30:53I thought that was a sign of frustration on Chávez's part that he would do that.
00:31:13Aguilar is fighting a very sophisticated fight.
00:31:16He's not running as most of us thought he would.
00:31:19He's fighting what one of his handers called a technically punishing fight.
00:31:24He's trying to stay outside of Chávez's range
00:31:28and then jump in with those quick, long left hands.
00:31:31Let's go to Harold Letterman, our unofficial, official, official,
00:31:34to see his scoring of the fight.
00:31:36Well, thank you, Larry.
00:31:37I've got a 38 to 37 in favor of Rodolfo Aguilar in a close fight.
00:31:41I give Chávez an extra point for the clean knockdown in round one.
00:31:44But Aguilar's doing a great job on hand speed,
00:31:46and I gave him the last three rounds because of the fact that he's landed
00:31:48so many punches.
00:31:50I have the exact same score on my card.
00:31:53Which means that the man we have designated as the heir apparent
00:31:57for the pound for pound championship
00:31:59is going to have to show us some stuff and come from behind.
00:32:03And if he's worthy of that title, then he will come from behind.
00:32:08Chávez fairly sprints out of his corner to begin round five.
00:32:12And Richard Steele says, hold on just a second.
00:32:15He forgot his mouthpiece.
00:32:20Yeah, he'll need that.
00:32:21Steele refereed Chávez's destruction of Edwin Rosario,
00:32:27so he has seen at close range what Julio César Chávez is capable of.
00:32:37So far he hasn't seen the same kind of performance tonight,
00:32:40but that right hand got across the top of the guard of Rodolfo Aguilar.
00:32:44Aguilar landing the jab two or three times.
00:33:05Chávez feels constrained to have to leap in to throw the left.
00:33:09Chávez is more so following Aguilar around the ring instead of cutting the ring off.
00:33:16He's been chasing him since round two, right?
00:33:18And in doing so, because of the movement of Aguilar,
00:33:21it's been difficult for Chávez to put his punches together.
00:33:24He's been loading up since round one.
00:33:26Good job took by Chávez.
00:33:41And you saw that the right set Aguilar reeling for the moment.
00:33:45Aguilar begins to hang on.
00:33:47Aguilar did the right thing to tie his man up,
00:33:49but now he must move because he's still on 4th Street.
00:33:51Another right hand.
00:33:54Now we may see more combinations by Chávez.
00:33:58There's that right hand, that beautiful looping right hand.
00:34:01And Aguilar's left eye is beginning to close up, Ray.
00:34:04The touching of Chávez, the way he throws that looping right hand,
00:34:09because it comes on the blind side of the southpaw.
00:34:11Aguilar won't step back.
00:34:21Continues to land punches, even amid his temporary distress.
00:34:28Chávez begins to look a little more composed again.
00:34:35But we near the end of round five, and as Larry Merchant pointed out,
00:34:47it was even money here as to whether this bout would make it through sixth round.
00:34:51That was a much better round for Chávez.
00:35:10Maybe he had the habit of laying back after knocking him down in the first round.
00:35:19He might have relaxed a little. I think he's back into it now.
00:35:22Are you tired?
00:35:24I'm asking you if you're tired.
00:35:29A deep breath.
00:35:31Breathe deeply.
00:35:32Okay.
00:35:33Get the air out.
00:35:34Get the air out.
00:35:35Get the air out.
00:35:36At distance, always show your job.
00:35:40Let's watch as Chávez goes to work.
00:35:47Comes in close to the left.
00:35:50Always moving forward.
00:35:55Always moving forward.
00:35:57Let's go.
00:35:58Let's go.
00:35:59Let's go.
00:36:00Let's go.
00:36:01Let's go.
00:36:02Let's go.
00:36:03So, Mr. Aguilar is proving that General Noriega isn't the only lightweight in Panama right now.
00:36:12We asked Rodolfo Aguilar if he were acquainted with General Noriega.
00:36:17He insisted only de periodico, solamente de newspapers.
00:36:22Round six begins and Chávez continues to stalk at close range.
00:36:30Chávez needs to be very careful about the way he plays.
00:36:41He plants his feet.
00:36:42You see, he has both feet together.
00:36:43It's easy to be knocked down.
00:36:44It doesn't matter how big a smart punch you are.
00:36:45Because you're off balance.
00:36:46Well, there's a certain arrogance in any great fighter.
00:36:47And you get the impression that Chávez doesn't believe Aguilar can hurt it.
00:37:00Aguilar appears to be wearing down on him.
00:37:04Those uppercuts.
00:37:05Look at the right hand.
00:37:06Look at the beautiful shot.
00:37:07Aguilar looking for a place to fall.
00:37:10A place to fall after the right hand.
00:37:13And his corner is up on the apron.
00:37:15Steele looks at the corner as if to say, do you want in?
00:37:19And they do want in.
00:37:20And Richard Steele stops the fight.
00:37:23A great fighter does what he has to do to look great.
00:37:28And after having some difficulty for a few rounds following a first round knockdown, Chávez goes to work and ends the fight sensationally.
00:37:42One minute, 13 seconds of the sixth round.
00:37:47And Julio César Chávez runs his record officially to 57 and 0.
00:38:01So it was a fight in which there were more than a few moments of frustration for Julio César Chávez.
00:38:13And if he proved anything tonight, Ray, it is that he can overcome temporary frustration and go on to knock his opponent out.
00:38:19It was a deep frustration and the right hand pretty much started everything.
00:38:25Aguilar fought a pretty good fight.
00:38:28But what wore Aguilar down was the inside fighting and the loop of right hands.
00:38:33That right hand there pulled the effect against southpaws.
00:38:36Aguilar at this point here is out of it.
00:38:39He wanted a place to fall down after Chávez landed the right hand to the temple.
00:38:44One of the vulnerable areas which can sometimes create a knockout.
00:38:48As you see this right hand land, you'll see right next to the eye on the temple.
00:38:52And Aguilar said, that'll do.
00:38:54I'm sure that Chávez will go back and watch the tape.
00:38:57And he will find that the best way to fight a southpaw is to be a little more composed.
00:39:01The loop of right hand.
00:39:04It's a beautiful shot.
00:39:06I remember you against a southpaw named Ayub Kaluli.
00:39:09It wasn't your best looking performance either.
00:39:12But you were able to come back, dominate the late rounds and win the fight.
00:39:15Just as Chávez was able to do here.
00:39:18And here are the final punch stack computations.
00:39:21Chávez throwing 273 punches, landing 143 of them.
00:39:26You see that Aguilar was the much busier fighter, though without landing nearly as many blows.
00:39:31And right now, let's go up to ring announcer Chuck Hall for the official decision.
00:39:36Ladies and gentlemen, the time.
00:39:41One minute, 13 seconds of the sixth round.
00:39:45Referee Richard Steele stops the bout.
00:39:48The winner by a TKO still undefeated.
00:39:51And still, the WBA lightweight champion of the world, Julio Cesar Chávez.
00:39:58And now, let's go to Larry Merchant in the ring with the winner.
00:40:19Julio, did you relax after the first round knockdown and give him a chance to show his stuff in the next three rounds?
00:40:27Que si descansaste después que lo tumbaste en el primer round y lo dejaste que cogiera un poco de aire.
00:40:32No, la verdad no, la verdad que Aguilar me resultĂł un poco difĂcil por su estructura.
00:40:37In reality, Aguilar resulta en un muy difĂcil hombre.
00:40:41Was he difficult because of his height, because he was left-handed, or because of both, or because he was just a good fighter?
00:40:48Era difĂcil porque es más alto porque es izquierdo o zurdo o por ambas razones.
00:40:53Pero, ¿por qué es zurdo y por qué es muy alto?
00:40:56Because he's too tall and he's left-handed, he's southpaw.
00:40:59Además, no es excusa, pero...
00:41:01This is not an excuse, but...
00:41:03I don't feel too good in my stomach, I have diarrhea.
00:41:08Did you feel that coming into the fight, or did it give you some problems as the fight went along?
00:41:15Did you...
00:41:16Sentiste esto antes de venir a pelear o...
00:41:18EmpezĂł cuando subiste al ring?
00:41:20No, la diarrea me empezó después del pesaje porque...
00:41:23Right after the wedding.
00:41:24Yo creo que la comida me cayĂł mal.
00:41:26I think the food what I ate today didn't agree with me.
00:41:29Incluso ahorita me está doliendo el estómago.
00:41:31Right now I have a stomach ache.
00:41:34Did he feel urgency about getting rid of his opponent after he felt a little blood over his eye,
00:41:40or because of his stomach problems?
00:41:42Sentiste urgencia en acabar con Ă©l cuando le viste la sangre en la cara,
00:41:45o porque te molestaba el estĂłmago?
00:41:47Me molestaba mucho el estómago y además me pegó un cabezazo.
00:41:50My stomach was bothering me and also hit me with the head.
00:41:54One last thing, the other day when we interviewed him,
00:41:58we asked him who he thought was the best fighter pound for pound in the world.
00:42:01He fought for a minute and then he raised his hand and smiled sheepishly
00:42:04and he admitted that he was.
00:42:06Did he think he proved that again tonight?
00:42:08I'm trying to be one of the best in the world and I know I'm going to achieve that.
00:42:23Thank you very much.
00:42:25Muchas gracias.
00:42:26Thank you very much.
00:42:27I love you so much.
00:42:28I love you so much.
00:42:29Back to your inside.
00:42:30All right, so Julio Cesar Chavez has taken care of his business.
00:42:37A final word on that fight from you, Ray.
00:42:39This mantle of best fighter pound for pound in the world.
00:42:42You've worn it at various times during your career.
00:42:44Does it create a kind of pressure that we might have seen Chavez struggling with a bit there in that bout?
00:42:48You can't use that fight to gauge this man's career.
00:43:04I mean, it was a good fight, a very frustrating fight for Chavez,
00:43:08but he proved that he was the dominant one.
00:43:10In the later rounds, he was able to come up with an overhand right
00:43:13and was able to put away Aguilar.
00:43:15We're going to move up now in the next bout to a higher weight class.