Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez is often regarded as one of the greatest fighters to ever lace up the gloves.
His glittering career spanned a quarter of a decade, where he picked up multiple world titles across three weight divisions before he drew the curtain on his career in 2005.
Chavez fought an incredible 115 times as a professional, losing on just six occasions. He picked up victories against the likes of Hector Camacho, Meldrick Taylor and Greg Haugen during his tenure, all of which were successful world title defences.
In an interview with The Ring, Chavez spoke fondly of his former rival Taylor, who he faced twice during his career, as the Mexican icon claimed he was the best overall fighter he had ever fought.
“I would land one shot and I would take four in return. He was quick. More than anything it was the fact he had real quick hands. By the time I landed one real power shot I was taking five, six in return. They weren’t hard shots, they weren’t power shots, but I couldn’t get in my range, I couldn’t get established.
I faced everybody. If you look at my record, all the fights I had, I had 37 world championship fights and I didn’t hand pick any opponents. But if I was to look at the best overall fighter, it would have to be Meldrick Taylor.”
Chavez defeated Taylor by knockout in both of their contests, which took place in 1990 and 1994 respectively. Despite his inability to get the better of Chavez, ‘The Kid’ had an impressive career of his own, where he became a two-weight world champion before he went on to retire from boxing in 2002.
