Tszyu floors Chavez into retirement

Phoenix Arizona, July 30: Australia's Kostya Tszyu sent Julio Cesar Chavez into retirement here on Saturday stopping the Mexican leg end...

Phoenix Arizona, July 30: Australia8217;s Kostya Tszyu sent Julio Cesar Chavez into retirement here on Saturday stopping the Mexican leg end 90 seconds into the sixth round to keep his World Boxing Council super-lightweight title.

Russian-born Tszyu rose to 25-1 and one drawn with his 21st early stoppage. Once-mighty Chavez fell to 103-5 with two drawn and suffered only the second knock-down of his career, 25 seconds into the sixth round.

After hammering Chavez in the fifth round, Tszyu slammed a right to the Mexican8217;s temple and watched him fall forward to the ring8211; the first time Chavez had been knocked-down in a fight since Frankie Randall did it in 1994.

8220;It wasn8217;t my strongest punch,8221; Tszyu said. 8220;It was just accurate timing and in the right place. He left an opening. Boom. He was gone.8221;

Tszyu, 30, looked like Chavez in his prime, dominating the fight from the start and making the former champion look like a very tired 38-year-old man.

8220;It looks like it8217;s time for me to retire,8221; Chavez said. 8220;Definitely, it8217;s time for me to retire. I didn8217;t have a problem with making the weight. It8217;s just time for me to leave.8221;

Chavez was a dubious WBC choice as mandatory challenger R Tszyu, having not fought at so light a weight since 1998. He had not met a top-10 foe in two years and last October lost to journeyman Willy Wise.

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But Chavez is popular with his panic fans and makes promoter Don King millions of dollars simply off the fame of his by gone glory days.

8220;I8217;m very sad. I failed Don King,8221; Chavez said. 8220;I gave my best. But my body did not respond. Forgive me. I apologize to the Latin people.8221;

Nevada bookmakers would not take odds on the fight because they considered it such a mismatch. US Senator John McCain, author of the US Boxing Reform Law, appealed in vain in Arizona boxing officials not to sanction the bout.

Zab Judah, the International Boxing Federation super-light weight champion, was watching at ringside and disgusted that the fight ever took place.

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8220;That was a disgrace to boxing,8221; Judah said. 8220;He never should have been in there in the first place. It8217;s crazy. To watch him as a kid and see him get demolished like this, that was bad. You can8217;t blame Tszyu. He had a washed-up Chavez in front of him and he took him out.8221;

WBC president Jose Sulaiman defended the WBC8217;s choice of Chavez, saying he passed extensive medical exams and has been at fighting weight for a month.

8220;This is not corruption,8221; Sulaiman said. 8220;This is justice. We8217;re fighting for Justice. He still is one of the best in the world.8221;