Despite putting on the final round performance of his life, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was slapped with one of the biggest fines in boxing history following his 2013 clash.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr returns to boxing on June 28 as he takes on Jake Paul, in what will be the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s toughest fight in his career so far.
After Paul’s victory over Mike Tyson, he sought out a fight with Canelo Alvarez before settling on the former WBC Middleweight champion.
This will be one of the biggest paydays of Chavez Jr’s career, a far cry from when he had one of the biggest fines in boxing history following an incredible 12th-round performance from the Mexican.
- READ MORE – Jake Paul’s main key to victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr explained by legendary boxing analyst
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was fined $900,000 for failing a drug test after his fight with Sergio Martinez
In 2013, Chavez Jr was dominated by Sergio Martinez in an ill-fated fight, although it featured a spirited final round that almost stole the win for the second-generation fighter.
The WBC Middleweight champion almost pulled out the greatest comeback of all time. Knowing he was down on the scorecards, Chavez Jr attacked Martinez with everything he had, attempting to knock him out before the judges decided his fate.
While he came close, Martinez stayed on his feet and went the distance to win the world title by the judges’ decision, despite this legendary final round performance by Chavez Jr.
Things went from bad to worse after the fight had finished. Chavez Jr was slapped with a nine-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after testing positive for marijuana.
As this was Chavez Jr’s second suspension for doping issues, he was given an insanely huge fine of $900,000 – more than anyone else has been given for doping charges in boxing history.
The fine did seem excessive, which the Nevada State Athletic Commission agreed with when they lowered the fine awarded to Chavez Jr.
Instead of $900,000, he only had to pay $100,000 as part of the settlement agreement between the two parties, after the World Anti-Doping Agency eased its restrictions on marijuana use.
Only Mike Tyson received a bigger fine than Julio Cesar Chavez Jr
Given how massive Chavez Jr’s fine for failing the drug test was, it is not surprising that only one man has been handed a bigger fine in boxing history.
After Mike Tyson bit the ear of Evander Holyfield in their infamous bout, “Iron” Mike was fined more than $3 million as a result of his savagery in the ring.
The former World Heavyweight champion also had his boxing license revoked, although Tyson returned less than two years later to knock out Francois Botha in January 1999.
Considering the horrific scenes of Tyson biting Holyfield’s ear during a professional boxing match, such a large fine seemed justified for the incredible violence he inflicted.