BOXING : Chavez Forced to Work Hard, but He Keeps Title

Julio Cesar Chavez was expecting what few others were from Sammy Fuentes Saturday night in Las Vegas--a tough fight from the heavy underdog.

Chavez got just that, but managed to retain his World Boxing Council super-lightweight title when the fight was stopped after the 10th round with a half-blinded Fuentes standing in his corner.

“It was not an easy fight, but I anticipated a tough fight,” Chavez said after winning for the 67th time in as many pro fights. “I knew he would be a tough fighter.”

Chavez dominated much of the action, but Fuentes managed to score in spurts and was never knocked down during the scheduled 12-round fight.

By winning, Chavez kept himself in line for a million-dollar payday in a 140-pound title unification fight March 17 against Meldrick Taylor, the World Boxing Assn. champion and Olympic gold medalist.

Chavez battered Fuentes in the ninth round, and the challenger’s right eye was swollen shut when referee Carlos Padilla took the advice of ringside physician Flip Homansky and stopped the bout at Caesars Palace.

“He had no argument,” Homansky said of Fuentes’ reaction to the stoppage.

Chavez, defending his 140-pound title for the first time since winning it against Roger Mayweather in May, won for the 11th consecutive time within the distance.

When the fight was stopped, Fuentes was losing by between four and eight points on the cards of the three ringside judges.

The Puerto Rican challenger, though getting the worst of many exchanges, refused to back off and landed many clean combinations.

But Chavez, who has 54 knockouts, gradually wore down Fuentes. By the eighth round his punches were finding their mark often, although Fuentes continued to battle back.

Both fighters weighed in at 139 3/4. Fuentes’ record fell to 21-7-1.

Chavez took control of the bout in the fifth round, hurting Fuentes with a left hook midway through the round and following it with a barrage of punches to the head.

Fuentes tried to rally in the sixth round and fought well in spurts off the ropes. But Chavez had more power and took command.