Julio César Chávez vs. Greg Haugen

The Grand Slam of Boxing: Chávez vs. Haugen

Date	February 20, 1993
Venue	Estadio Azteca, Coyoacán, Mexico
Title(s) on the line	WBC super lightweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Julio César Chávez Greg Haugen Nickname El Gran Campeón Mexicano ("The Great Mexican Champion") Mutt Hometown Culiacán, Mexico Auburn, Washington, U.S. Purse $2,500,000 $1,000,000 Pre-fight record 84–0 32–4 (1) Age 30 years, 7 months 32 years, 5 months Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) Weight 139 lb (63 kg) 140 lb (64 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBC Super Lightweight Champion WBC No. 1 Ranked Super Lightweight
Result
Chávez wins by 5th-round technical knockout

Julio César Chávez vs. Greg Haugen was a professional boxing match contested on February 20, 1993, for the WBC super lightweight title. The fight was the featured bout on a boxing card promoted by Don King dubbed the The Grand Slam of Boxing.

Background

A Chávez–Haugen super lightweight title fight was originally announced in October 1992 to take place on December 5 that same year at Caesars Palace in the Las Vegas Valley. Organized by promoter Don King, the Showtime pay-per-view event was also set to include a WBC super welterweight title fight between Terry Norris and Simon Brown and a WBA super middleweight title rematch between Michael Nunn and Víctor Córdoba. However, only two weeks later, the entire card was cancelled due to rival network HBO airing an episode of HBO World Championship Boxing featuring James Toney and Iran Barkley on the same day. On December 1, 1992, King announced a new event billed as The Grand Slam of Boxing scheduled to take place on February 20, 1993, in Estadio Azteca in Chávez's native Mexico. Headlined by Chávez and Haugen, the card was originally announced to once again include the Norris–Brown super welterweight title bout, as well as Julian Jackson defending his WBC middleweight title against Gerald McClellan and a WBC super featherweight title bout between Azumah Nelson and Gabriel Ruelas. However, Jackson was forced to pull out of his fight with McClellan due to an injury to his right hand and that fight was replaced with a WBA super middleweight fight between Nunn and Danny Morgan, while Brown required surgery for a detached retina and was replaced by Maurice Blocker.

Leading up to the event, Haugen, a 25–1 underdog, engaged in frequent trash talk, insulting both Chávez and his home country of Mexico. When asked about his safety should he defeat Chávez before a reported 130,000 of his countrymen Haugen responded "First of all, I don’t think there’s 130,000 Mexicans who can afford to go." Haugen would also ridicule Chávez's 84–0 record, claiming that Chávez's undefeated record was a result of him facing "Nothing but stiffs" during the first 50 fights of his career also remarking "Every one of them was a cab driver from Tijuana."

Attendance

132,274 spectators attended the event, setting the world record for the largest paid attendance at a boxing event, surpassing the first fight between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney at Sesquicentennial Stadium in 1926 which drew 120,557. Only the 1941 Tony Zale–Billy Pryor fight in Milwaukee's Juneau Park, which drew 135,132 was better attended, though that fight was free to the public.

The Fight

Chávez got off to a quick start, sending Haugen down to the canvas 25 seconds into the first round, and then proceeded to dominate the remainder of the fight. In the fifth round, Chávez would score a second knockdown after landing a combination to Haugen's body just past the midway point of the round. Haugen answered referee Joe Cortez's 10-count and was allowed to continue, but Chávez quickly attacked a clearly hurt and exhausted Haugen when the fight resumed. With Haugen nearly defenseless, Cortez stepped in and ended the fight at 2:02 of the round, giving Chávez the victory by technical knockout.

Fight card

Confirmed bouts:

Weight Class	Weight		vs.		Method	Round	Notes
Super Lightweight	140 lbs.	Julio César Chávez (c)	def.	Greg Haugen	TKO	5/12	Note 1
Super Welterweight	154 lbs.	Terry Norris (c)	def.	Maurice Blocker	TKO	2/12	Note 2
Super Featherweight	130 lbs.	Azumah Nelson (c)	def.	Gabriel Ruelas	MD	12/12	Note 3
Super Middleweight	168 lbs.	Michael Nunn (c)	def.	Danny Morgan	KO	1/12	Note 4
Middleweight	160 lbs.	Gerald McClellan	def.	Tyrone Moore	TKO	2/10
Welterweight	147 lbs.	Félix Trinidad	def.	Pedro Aguirre	TKO	4/10
Featherweight	126 lbs.	Jose Badillo	def.	Adan Vargas	KO	2/6

^Note 1 For WBC Super Lightweight title
^Note 2 For WBC Super Welterweight title
^Note 3 For WBC Super Featherweight title
^Note 4 For WBA Super Middleweight title

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United Kingdom	Sky Sports
United States	Showtime