Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Quits Fight After Brutal Hook, Says He Won Fight Anyway

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was beaten like a rug Saturday night.

The 29-year-old former WBC middleweight champion stepped into the ring with Polish fighter Andrzej Fonfara and found himself quickly and wholly outclassed.

For nine rounds, Chavez attempted to stay inside Fonfara's reach and work the body—a popular tactic against European boxers with traditional, upright fighting stances.

The plan backfired, however, to the tune of repeated jarring shots to Chavez's head. The final blow came in the ninth when Fonfara turned on a retreating Chavez and caught the Mexican fighter with a nasty left hook to the cheek. Chavez's momentum moved him into the blow, and he fell to the mat in a state of semi-consciousness.

It was the first knockdown of Chavez's lengthy professional career, and although he recovered in time to make the count, he would return to his stool and retire before the 10th round.

The resounding loss puts Chavez's boxing future into question, but even after quitting, the fighter insisted he had won most of the fight.

Via Deadspin's Timothy Burke, a battered Chavez told Showtime's Jim Gray after the fight that he thought he was winning, which he most certainly was not.

"I think I'm winning the fight," Chavez said. "I think I won the fight…before the seventh round…with the referee deduction…I don't know."

Chavez explained his work-the-body approach, but he admitted Fonfara was too big for him to hurt.

"The guy's too heavy for me," Chavez said. "It's a new weight. He's a good fighter. I want a rematch."

Such a rematch will likely never occur. Nonetheless, Chavez remained in "good spirits" while leaving the stadium in an ambulance.

It's a sad thing to witness—a fighter trying to smile after a pounding that would leave most on life support. Chavez tried to make the best of it and put on a good face, but he could barely string together sentences.

Then again, in boxing, sometimes all you have left is your pride.

Dan is on Twitter. Always avoid the big left hook.