Julio Cesar Chavez

Julio César Chávez is a Mexican former professional boxer who is widely considered one of the greatest Mexican boxers in boxing history — winning six world championships across three weight classes (super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight) and compiling an career record of 107 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws across his 25-year professional career. He was born Julio César Chávez González on July 12, 1962, in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico, into poverty as the fifth of ten children. He started amateur boxing at age 16.

His professional career began in February 1980 at age 17 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. His 90-fight unbeaten streak from 1980 through 1993 — one of the longest in professional boxing history — was built across a series of title-fight wins through the 1980s and early 1990s. His title period included winning the WBC super featherweight title (1984), the WBA lightweight title (1987), and the WBC light welterweight title (1989), making him one of the three-division world boxing champions of the 1980s.

His March 17, 1990 fight with American boxer Meldrick Taylor at Las Vegas's Las Vegas Hilton has been continuously cited as one of the most-iconic boxing matches in history. Taylor was ahead on points after 11 rounds of the scheduled 12-round fight — but Chávez landed an 12th-round combination that knocked Taylor down with seven seconds remaining. Iconic referee Richard Steele's two-second-pause stoppage gave Chávez the technical-knockout victory — a stoppage that has been continuously debated for over 30 years.

His career streak of 90 unbeaten fights ended on January 29, 1994, when American boxer Frankie Randall defeated him on points in Las Vegas. His September 10, 1994 rematch defeat of Randall reclaimed his title, but his remaining career was characterized by substantial decline. He retired in 2005 with the record-setting career boxing total of 116 professional fights. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.

His name Julio is the Spanish form of Julius (from the Latin Iulius, the Roman family name). Julio has been continuously among the most-popular Spanish-American boys' names for decades.