From May 1993 to January 1994, four World Boxing Council champions, Julio Cesar Chavez, Terry Norris, Julian Jackson, and James Leija, all lost their titles. On May 7th, 1994, they attempted to reclaim those crowns from the same men who took them away.
The card was being hailed as "Revenge of The Rematches." But just one of the challengers was favored to regain his title in the pay-per-view event. That one favorite was Chavez, who had a stunning record at the time (89-1-1, 77 KOs), who faced Frankie Randall, whose record was also impressive (49-2-1, 39 KOs), for the super lightweight crown.
Randall, who handed Chavez his first and only defeat on January 29th that year, said: "My life's changed, and there ain't no way I'm going to give it up."
On a card in which any of the fights could have been billed as a main event, the most intriguing was, of course, Chavez-Randall.
Chavez stated that after going undefeated in his first 90 bouts, he became bored with boxing and lost his spirit and dedication.
"All I did was win, win, win," he said through an interpreter, Gladys Rosa. "I took winning for granted."
Until the loss to Randall.
"That woke me up," said Chavez, who had 2 points deducted for low blows, and was leveled with a right hook in the 11th round, the first time in his career he had ever been knocked down.
"But I'm back in love with this sport," he said, "and determined to show everyone I'm the best again."
Randall's trainer, Aron Snowell, laughed at Chavez's reason for losing.
"You don't go 12 rounds and hit like he did if you've lost your spirit," Snowell said. "We don't deal with excuses. We deal with results, and the result is he got beat and will get beat again."
In the lead-up to the fight, the trash talk continued. After all, was said and done, the dethroned champion claimed the belt back in less than five months.
Chavez wound up with his revenge, as well as his 90th professional win, getting a split technical decision over Randall in their rematch, although the ruling came equipped with plenty of controversies, as the fight was ended in the eighth round by a doctor due to a gash that Chavez suffered from an inadvertent headbutt the round prior.
Chavez recalls fondly the love he felt from his fellow countrymen when campaigning on American soil, as was the case for his memorable rematch with Frankie Randall on May 7, 1994.
Julio Cesar Chavez will forever cherish the support he received from his fellow Mexicans when fighting around Cinco de Mayo, adding: "I won the love of the people, nobody can take it away from me."
"It's something very, very special, something very beautiful feeling the love, the support from all the Mexican-Americans that lived in the United States,” Chavez said.
"Above all, the Mexicans, they truly are the ones who support other Mexicans who go and triumph in the United States. For them, it's something great that one can represent them. I always tried to represent them in the best way. Fortunately, I gained their respect, but above all, I won the love of the people, nobody can take it away from me.”
The legendary three-weight world champion would go on to fight 115 times in a career that spanned 25 years.