3. Julio Cesar Chavez vs Edwin Rosario
The two fighters nearly exchanged blows during a press conference after Rosario threatened to send Chavez back to Mexico in a coffin. Chavez would ultimately give a career-defining performance as he hammered Rosario, with the referee halting the brutal beatdown in the eleventh round for a TKO victory & lay claim to the WBA Lightweight Championship. HBO Punch-stat showed Rosario landing 263 of 731 punches thrown in the fight (36%) and Chavez 450 of 743 (61%). After the bout, Sports Illustrated ran the headline, “Time To Hail Casar: WBA Lightweight Champion Casar Chavez of Mexico may be the world’s best fighter.”