Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 21, 1993 TAG: 9302210301
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MEXICO CITY LENGTH: Medium
CHAVEZ POUNDS HAUGEN
Julio Cesar Chavez, the idol of Mexican boxing, kept his promise Saturday night, and a crowd of more than 130,000 roaring fans loved him for it.Angered by American Greg Haugen's prefight comments, Chavez said: "I will give him the worst beating of his life. I promise that, and whatever I promise, I fulfill."
Chavez knocked down Haugen in the first round, pounded his face lopsided, knocked him down again in the fifth round and stopped him at 2:02 of that round in defense of the World Boxing Council super lightweight title.
"Greg Haugen deserved to be punished like this," Chavez, 30, said. "He said some bad things, and he deserved it."
It was the first time in 37 professional fights that Haugen, 32, failed to go the distance.
The crowd, announced as the largest in the history of boxing, came to Aztec Stadium to see Chavez win. For the 85th time in 85 fights he did, scoring his 73rd knockout.
The fight was the featured bout on the card of four world title fights, and it was the one the majority of the throng came to see.
In the match preceding Chavez's victory, Terry Norris overwhelmed Maurice Blocker, stopping him in the second round in defense of the WBC super welterweight title.
"I'm the best fighter in the world, not Chavez," Norris said.
Norris, 25, was impressive, but it's doubtful that he convinced many people at Aztec Stadium.
Dan Goosen, Norris' promoter, has said he would give Chavez $10 million to challenge Norris. Chavez said after the fight that he would fight Norris at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds.
Norris has said he would be willing to do so.
The other title bouts were won by Azumah Nelson, the WBC super featherweight champion, and Michael Nunn, the World Boxing Association super middleweight champion.
Nelson used his strength and experience to win a 12-round majority decision over Gabriel Rueles, a Mexican citizen living in Sylmar, Calif.
Nunn stopped Danny Morgan at 2:59 of the first round.
Chavez, who weighed 139 1/2, came storming out at the opening bell and knocked down Haugen with two right hands with the fight 25 seconds old. Chavez then pounded Haugen, who weighed 140, for the rest of the round.
The drubbing continued through the second and third rounds, as Haugen's face swelled and blood flowed from his nose. About 1:45 into the fifth round, Haugen went down from a left hook, right hook and right to the head. He got up at the count of eight, and Chavez landed 23 more punches before referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight.
Norris, at 152 pounds, of Campo, Calif., knocked down Blocker, who weighed 151 1/2, for a five-count midway through the first round, then knocked him down again with a six-punch barrage. Blocker, of Washington, got up as the bell rang.
"[Referee] Richard Steele should have stopped it in the first round," Norris said.
Instead, Steele stopped it at 49 seconds of the second after Norris drove Blocker into the corner with a left hook.
Norris won for the 13th straight time and boosted his record to 33-3 with 20 knockouts in his eighth title defense. Blocker's record is 34-3.
Nelson, 34, just scraped by Rueles, 22, in a tactical fight in which both fighters made the other miss frequently. Nelson's experience, however, seemed to give him the edge.