Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Dec. 14
Sergio Thompson vs. Cesar Chavez, 10 rounds, junior welterweights
Impressive return for a local hero, indeed. Thompson (28-3, 25 KO) was coming of a failed title bid in Japan against Takashi Miura back in August, and he needed to make a statement in his homecoming. And he did it by rushing out of his corner to smother Chavez (21-5, 9 KO) from the get-go in a rabid display of machismo. Chavez fell to the canvas after a terrific body shot, and after he got up wobbly from a second knock-down, the referee stopped the mismatch at 2:07 of the first episode. In the end, “El Dolar” Chavez failed to give his paisanos a performance worthy of even that modest amount of money, and should probably consider changing his stage name to “El Centavo”. Thompson, on the other hand, gave his growing fan base their dinero’s worth with a solid performance that he should be able to cash into a bigger and better opportunity, hopefully across the border next time.
The winner goes on to: becoming a wild card in a division that could use his wild-swinging style in a high-profile matchup.
