Chávez's 1993 win over Greg Haugen at the Estadio Azteca set the record for the largest attendance for an outdoor boxing match: 136,274.

Chávez came from a poor family and became a boxer for money, he stated: "I saw my mom working, ironing, and washing people's clothes, and I promised her I would give her a house someday, and she would never have that job again.

The next day, however, his manager, Ramón Felix, consulted with the Mexican Boxing Commission, and after further review, the result was overturned and Chávez was declared the winner.

[citation needed] Chávez won his first championship, the vacant WBC Super Featherweight title, on September 13, 1984, by knocking out fellow Mexican Mario "Azabache" Martínez at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

On April 19, 1985, Chávez defended his title against number one ranked contender Ruben Castillo (63–4–2) by knocking him out in the sixth round.

On August 3, 1986, Chavez won a twelve-round majority decision over former WBA and future IBF Super Featherweight champion Rocky Lockridge in Monte Carlo.

The two fighters nearly exchanged blows during a press conference after Rosario threatened to send Chávez back to Mexico in a coffin.

Chávez would ultimately give a career-defining performance as he defeated Rosario by an eleventh-round TKO to win the title.

"[18] On April 16, 1988, Chávez defeated number one ranked contender Rodolfo Aguilar (20–0–1) by sixth-round technical knockout.

Later that year, he unified the WBA and WBC belts by a technical decision win over champion José Luis Ramírez.

In his next bout, he handed Alberto de las Mercedes Cortes (44–0) his first career loss by scoring a third-round knockout.

On March 17, 1990, he faced Meldrick Taylor, the undefeated IBF Light Welterweight Champion, in a title unification fight.

On April 10, 1992, he scored a TKO victory over number-one ranked contender Angel Hernandez (37–0–2, 22 KOs) in the fifth round.

On September 12, 1992, Chávez faced WBO light welterweight champion Héctor Camacho (41–1, 18 KOs) in a highly anticipated bout.

"[21] Ultimately, 136,274 showed up to set a world record for outdoor fight attendance[6] as they watched Chávez drop Haugen quickly and then back off with the apparent intention of punishing him for his prefight remarks.

"[22] Later that year, Chávez scored a sixth-round TKO victory over number one ranked contender Terrence Alli.

The result of the fight was a controversial majority draw, allowing Chávez to remain undefeated with Whitaker retaining his title.

The fight was fiercely contested when they collided heads, opening a large cut over Chávez's eyebrow in the seventh round.

Later that year, he defended his title against number one ranked challenger David Kamau, despite suffering a cut in the opening round.

Until their eventual rematch in 1998, Chávez would always state that De La Hoya had not defeated him, but that a gash that he had suffered in training was the real cause of the stoppage of the fight.

In that fight, nicknamed Adiós, México, Gracias (Good-bye, Mexico, Thank you), he beat his former conqueror, Frankie Randall, by a ten-round decision.

On September 17, 2005, at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, Chávez suffered a TKO loss to until then little-known Grover Wiley in the 115th bout of his career, retiring in his corner before the start of the 5th round, after injuring his right hand.

His defeat was avenged two years later by his son, Julio César Chávez, Jr., who knocked Wiley out in the third round of their fight.

[28] Late in 2014, Julio César Chávez returned to the ring for an exhibition with Vicente Sagrestano in a bout aimed at collecting toys for poor children.

[29] He and former rival Mario Martinez, against whom he earned his first world championship in 1984, faced each other again on July 3, 2015, in an event to benefit Chavez's two drug rehabilitation clinics.

He also has a daughter, Nicole Chavez, who is a participant on the Telemundo television reality show, La Casa de los Famosos.

World champions whom Chávez defeated include Jose Luis Ramírez, Rafael Limón, Rocky Lockridge, Meldrick Taylor, Roger Mayweather, Lonnie Smith, Sammy Fuentes, Héctor "Macho" Camacho, Juan Laporte, Edwin Rosario, Greg Haugen, Tony López, Giovanni Parisi, Joey Gamache and Frankie Randall, who had taken the WBC Light Welterweight belt from Chávez just four months earlier.

Chávez retired in his 25th year as a professional boxer with a record of 107 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws, with 86 knockouts and is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time.

[citation needed] As an in-fighter or "swarmer," Julio César Chávez was renowned specially for his devastating left hook and his extremely strong chin.

[citation needed] Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, stated that Chávez was one of the greatest fighters of his generation and top five of all time from his point of view.