(Anthony Shuler, on left, landing a left hook to the head of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the 1st round) 14.04.07 – Welterweight prospect, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (31-0-1, 24 KO’s) easily destroyed opponent Anthony Shuler (20-5-1, 14 KO’s) tonight, stopping him in the 2nd round at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas. Chavez Jr., 21, the son of the boxing great, Julio Cesar Chavez, dropped Shuler with a series of withering left hooks in the 2nd round. Shuler made it to his feet on shaky legs. However, shortly after, Chavez met him with another huge left hook to the head, sending Shuler down to the canvas for the final time. The referee stopped the fight almost immediately after seeing that Shuler was badly hurt. With this win, Chavez Jr. will step up his level of competition when he moves on to his next bout in June against Michael Stewart.
In the first round, Chavez Jr., like his usual custom, showed that his offensive is his best defense, as he attacked often with his powerful left hook, neglecting to worry about in coming shots from Shuler, who was able to land often in this round.
Chavez Jr. appeared to focus most of his boxing attack in this round on the midsection of Shuler, landing mostly left hooks and straight lefts. However, Shuler was able to hit Chavez Jr. with a number of hooks all round long, making the round even at the end. Chavez Jr. however, appeared to land the harder shots in the round.
(Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., pictured on right, landing a left hook knockout blow to the head of Anthony Shuler in the 2nd round) In the 2nd round, Shuler, 30, landed two body shots at the beginning of the round, and then followed it up with another two hard body shots. Chavez Jr., then in retaliation, threw a blistering left hook that caught Shuler square in the head, sending him staggering backwards, clearly hurt. He stayed up, however, letting Chavez Jr. follow up with another left hook, and then a right hand to the head, that sent Shuler to the canvas, falling backwards. Shuler made it to his feet, looking okay to continue fighting, but obviously very hurt. Chavez Jr. immediately attacked him, landing six left hooks, a right hand, and then a final left hook to the side of the head, that stopped Shuler cold on his feet, and sending him falling straight backwards on the canvas where he came to a rest with a violent thud, his head bouncing off the canvas. The referee immediately came to his assistance and stopped the fight.
“I plan on staying at Welterweight for another two years, and I’ll soon be the next welterweight champion,” Julio Chavez Jr. said afterwards.