Julio César Chávez vs. Héctor Camacho

Background

A fight between Julio César Chávez and Héctor Camacho had been discussed as early as 1989, but problems within Camacho's management team prevented HBO, which held Chávez's television rights, from making the bout. HBO sports head Seth Abraham stated, "While I'd love to do the fight, I'm not sure who to make the deal with." After years of rumors and failed negotiations, the fight came together in April 1992. Following Chávez's successful mandatory defense against Angel Hernandez, he challenged Camacho, who was sitting ringside, by yelling "you're next!" at him.

Both fighters took tune-up fights on August 1, 1992: Camacho defeated Eddie Van Kirk, and Chávez made another successful title defense against Frankie Mitchell. Concerns arose that Camacho, who fought Van Kirk at 148 pounds in the light middleweight division, might struggle to make the 140-pound super lightweight limit, potentially making the bout a non-title fight. Promoter Don King downplayed these rumors, stating they were "not true" and that there was "no question" Camacho would make weight.

Chávez, undefeated in 81 professional fights, entered as a heavy 5–1 favorite. Richard Steele was named referee three days prior; it was his first time refereeing a Chávez fight since controversially awarding Chávez a technical knockout victory over Meldrick Taylor with two seconds remaining.

The fights

The undercard featured wins for Frankie Randall and former heavyweight champion Tony Tucker. Former WBO heavyweight titleholder Francesco Damiani edged former heavyweight champion Greg Page by two points on all three cards; Page lost two points for repeatedly losing his mouthpiece, without which the bout would have been a draw. In the first of two world title bouts, WBA and lineal super middleweight champion Víctor Córdoba made the third defense of his title against former middleweight champion Michael Nunn, a 9–1 favorite.

Córdoba started strong, stinging Nunn repeatedly and nearly knocking him down with a right-left combination in the second round. Nunn grew into the bout, but Córdoba landed the harder blows until slowing after the halfway mark. Referee Mills Lane deducted a point from Córdoba for a low blow in the eighth round. In the ninth, Córdoba dropped Nunn with a straight left hand while Nunn was in the corner; Nunn beat the count and finished strong.

The bout went the full 12 rounds: judge Patricia Jarman scored it 114–112 for Córdoba, while Fernando Viso and Ove Ovesen had it for Nunn, 114–113 and 114–112 respectively. Nunn became a two-division champion, though the decision was booed. Chávez earned a lopsided unanimous decision, serving as the aggressor for nearly all 12 rounds while a constantly retreating Camacho offered little offense. There were no knockdowns, though Chávez nearly scored a knockout in the third with a left-right-left combination while Camacho was stuck in his corner.

By the eighth round, Camacho's left eye was badly swollen, and Chávez opened a cut alongside Camacho's right eye, but Camacho held on to go the distance. The judges scored it 120–107, 119–110, and 117–111.