Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. quit on his stool to hand Daniel Jacobs victory by TKO as chaos ensued amid boos and fan outrage at the end of the super-middleweight bout.
Chavez Jr. retired at the end of the fifth round in Phoenix, where former two-time middleweight champion Jacobs (36-3) made a successful debut in the super-middleweight division on Friday.
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After receiving some punishment in the fifth round, Chavez Jr. – who missed weight – could be heard saying his hand was broken, though the Mexican later claimed he suffered a broken nose.
The premature end to proceedings at Talking Stick Resort Arena prompted ugly scenes as spectators rained boos on Chavez Jr. (51-4-1) and pelted the ring with debris.
The moment #JacobsChavezJr was stopped. pic.twitter.com/ZnpaUN1sgs
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) December 21, 2019
Chavez Jr. – son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez who had only fought once since losing to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in 2017, a stoppage of Evert Bravo in August – had to be ushered out of the ring, with fans continuing to throw things at him.
American Jacobs, back in action following his defeat to Canelo in a middleweight unification bout in May, was also targeted by the infuriated crowd.
Jacobs – who initially found it difficult to cope with Chavez Jr's power in the opening round before adjusting to show his quality over the next four – was seen dodging objects during his post-fight interview in the ring.
JCC Sr. wasn't happy. #JacobsChavezJr pic.twitter.com/IhGEiNMtAi
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) December 21, 2019
"To me, it wasn't my debut at super middleweight because this is so disrespectful," said Jacobs while continually flinching amid flying objects. "To me, he was a cruiserweight. Even his jab was heavy and his body.
"Physically, he was the bigger man in the show. I tried my best to be elusive and box but he was heavy. Slowly but surely I got my counter-punches in there, and he quit on his stool. He didn't let me enjoy my victory. I'm from Brownsville and I never ran and I never will."
Jacobs added: "I did my part. I know [the crowd] is not mad at me, they are mad at Chavez. But I don't get to enjoy this victory. I didn't fight a super middleweight, I fought a cruiserweight."
Elsewhere, Maurice Hooker scored a stunning first-round knockout over Uriel Perez on the undercard, while Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar claimed a ninth-round stoppage of Cristofer Rosales in the vacant flyweight title bout.
