There was a bizarre love triangle in play Saturday night at Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico on the “Tribute to the Kings” pay-per-view, with Julio Cesar Chavez heaping praise on an in-attendence Saul “Canelo” Alvarez while later blasting his sons, Omar and Julio Jr., to media.
The card, headlined by an exhibition between the 58-year-old Chavez and 42-year-old Hector Camacho Jr., was supposed to be a triumphant night for the Chavez boxing family, capped off by the patriarch’s final appearance in the ring.
And while La Gran Leyenda Mexicano did his part, thumping a rotund Camacho Jr. to the body for the entirety of their 4-round, 2-minute-a-round, headgear-required bout, his sons were soundly embarrassed in defeat on the undercard.
In the 8-round co-main event, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was outboxed by retired UFC champ Anderson Silva, losing a split decision. Although Silva was always a good boxer and showed high-end skills in the bout, the story for this particular fight on this particular night absolutely wasn’t scripted to tell the tale of the Brazilian outclassing and out-hustling the Mexican legend’s son.
Right before the Jr. loss, Omar Chavez lost a unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez’s older brother, Ramon “Inocente” Alvarez, in a bloody (Omar was cut to the side of his right eye), but lackluster performance that was actually the rubber match in a nobody-asked-for-it trilogy. In their two previous encounters, Chavez lost a ten-round unanimous decision to Alvarez in 2014 and then stopped him in two rounds in 2017.
The main event exhibition and the subsequent post-fight comments kind of showed Chavez Sr.’s state of mind when it came to his farewell, his sons, and the true progeny of his Mexican boxing legacy.
After a bit between the third and fourth rounds where he ripped off his headgear and wanted to fight “for real” (he was quickly “convinced” to put back the protection), Chavez brought Canelo from ringside to work his corner for, supposedly, his last round ever.
The end of the event would then feature Chavez’s farewell to the fans as well as a passing of the torch moment to Canelo, who he would embrace repeatedly.
“Right here you have the best Mexican boxer right now and, possibly, the best of all-time,” Chavez told the partisan pro-Chavez, pro-Alvarez crowd in Alvarez’s hometown. “Canelo has everything you need– force, dedication, perseverance, and discipline…with all due respect, you’re a damn good fighter, cabron!”
Alvarez, of course, would turn that respect back around.
“For me, today and always, you’ll be the greatest, a motivation for me, from whom I’ve learned a lot,” Alvarez answered. “It’s an honor to be here seeing you fight live for the first time, may God bless you always.”
The crowd went wild. It was a touching pre-Father’s Day moment…between two near strangers…while Chavez’s own sons were nowhere to be found. If one didn’t know better, it would seem as if Chavez and Canelo were the father and son, with the aged king officially vacating his throne to the valiant prince.
After the hugs and kisses and mutual showings of respect faded away, Chavez made his way back to the dressing room and was asked about his underachieving offspring.
“I prefer that they just fucking retire already…if they’re not going to prepare,” Chavez replied tersely, with a touch of frustration in his voice.
This certainly wasn’t the first time Chavez demonstrated frustration and disappointment in his sons’ boxing efforts. It did, however, seems especially impactful just minutes after seeing his gushing pride in Canelo’s career and hearing Canelo tell him how much he learned from his example.
To be fair to Omar and Julio Jr., neither could ever have lived up to their father’s legacy. Without the calling or the dire necessity to fight, there was only so high they could climb. It didn’t help one bit that their lack of need and desire would run up against a myriad of distractions as instant celebrities. The brothers took plenty of flak for taking advantage of the boxing doors opened for them, but none of those ultimately doomed-to-fail opportunities did much for their relationship with a father who bases his entire identity and self-worth on his accomplishments in the ring.
Saturday’s “Tribute to the Kings” was supposed to be a glorious send off to a historic figure in the world of boxing– and it both was and WASN’T.
Chavez got his showcase and his time in the spotlight to bask in one more moment of glory. Also in that spotlight, though, was a busted family dynamic built around two sons who never had a real chance to live up to their legendary name and a father who can’t get past that.