PHOENIX – Boos, then beer came from an angry crowd.
There was only contempt for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Friday night after he quit after the fifth round in a TKO loss to Daniel Jacobs at Talking Stick Arena.
Chavez Jr., who angered Mexican fans when he failed to make the 168-pound weight limit and then paid Jacobs $1 million from his contracted $2 million, outraged an estimated crowd of 12,000 when his corner suddenly signaled he would not continue.
A happy crowd suddenly became a mob. Chavez (51-4-1, 33 KOs) left the ring under a shower of cups and beer. Officials headed for cover, racing away from the ring with ring cards as cover. Fights erupted in the stands. It was dangerous. It was scary.
It was also a lot like what happened to his iconic father, Julio Cesar Chavez, in a 2000 fight, also in Phoenix. After he lost to Kostya Tszyu, the crowd erupted in anger, throwing debris and forcing fans to take cover. Chavez Sr. was in the crowd. The moment couldn’t have been a good one. The memory of what happened nearly two decades ago couldn’t have been a happy one either.
In Friday’s immediate aftermath, it wasn’t clear why Chavez quit. It looked as if a right hand from Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) might have broken his nose. And, indeed, Chavez trainer Freddie Roach told DAZN broadcasters that his fighter said he couldn’t breathe.
Blood immediately began to pour from his nostrils. One look from his corner and it was over. So, too, was any chance of the son ever fulfilling a destiny that so many of his fans thought he had inherited.