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Mayweather keeps super featherweight title with TKO of Chavez
Posted: Sun Nov 11 00:37:45 2001 EST
*Mayweather keeps super featherweight title with TKO of Chavez* SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- In his final fight at 130 pounds, Undefeated WBC super featherweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. displayed the superior all-around skills that will allow him to move up. Mayweather frustrated mandatory challenger Jesus Chavez before recording a ninth-round technical knockout on Saturday night at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. One of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, Mayweather (27-0, 20 KOs) captured the title with an eighth-round TKO of Genaro Hernandez in October 1998 and defended it nine times. "I took my time. My game plan was to let him keep punching," Mayweather said. "He's not a hard puncher at all, he's a very busy fighter. A lot of amateur experience helped (me). This is my last fight at 130 pounds, I can't make the weight anymore. I'm looking forward to moving up to 135." Mayweather, 24, is widely considered one of the sport's purest boxers. He is expected to meet either IBF champion Paul Spadafora or WBC champion Jose Luis Castillo at 135 pounds and mentioned that he eventually would like to fight 140-pound champion Kostya Tszyu. Coming off a 12-round decision over Carlos Hernandez in which he was bothered by hand problems, Mayweather used foot speed and overall ring awareness in the first three rounds as Chavez chased him. Chavez (35-2) threw more than twice the punches Mayweather did in the first four rounds but was unable to hurt the champion. Mayweather began his offensive attack in the fifth and stunned Chavez with a few uppercuts in the sixth. Mayweather continued to be the aggressor in the seventh and eighth rounds, when Chavez was visibly winded but showed a tough chin. After getting pounded in the ninth, Chavez took the advice of his corner and did not get off his stool for the 10th. "I was getting hit, I got careless in there," Chavez said. "I wanted to fight really bad, I got thrown off my game, I figured Floyd would wear down after my body attack but he held through. He's the champ." Chavez had won 31 straight bouts but suffered his first loss since January 1995. Also on the card, Manny Pacquiao (33-2-1) of the Philippines maintained his his IBF super bantamweight belt with a technical draw against Agapito Sanchez (33-7-2) of the Dominican Republic. Sanchez had a severe cut above his eye in the sixth round and the fight went to the scorecards, one of which favored each boxer with the third even.
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