On February 20th, 1993, Greg "Mutt" Haugen faced off against the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez in a boxing arena that felt more like a lion’s den than a sports venue. At The Azteca Stadium, the Chavez-Haugen fight smashed attendance records, drawing an overwhelming crowd of over 130,000, mostly fervent Mexican fans itching to witness the spectacle. What unfolded was a contest so lopsided it barely seemed credible.
Haugen, infamous for his audacity, had enraged the Mexican hero by belittling his opponent’s record, claiming Chavez’s impressive 84-0 streak consisted mainly of wins against "Tijuana taxi drivers." At the time, Haugen, who had been an IBF champ at 135 pounds and a WBO champ at 140, was a seasoned fighter himself with a 32-4 record. However, his words crossed a line, and he found himself the target of animosity across Mexico.
Now 63 and battling a recent diagnosis of colon cancer, Haugen reflects on the Chavez fight and the events leading up to it:
Q: It’s been 30 years since that Chavez fight. Your comments going into it took a lot of guts, given your track record.
Greg Haugen: "Yeah, time sure does fly. I’ve faced quite a few tough opponents, and I’ve managed to come out on top against some of them. But when it came to Chavez, I wasn’t in the right mindset. I was going through a messy divorce, and separating from your childhood sweetheart is tough. I didn’t want to be in Mexico, but I showed up because I always kept my word. The altitude made things even tougher, and I wasn’t prepared. I was only in Mexico for about two weeks before the fight. Looking back, that loss is my biggest regret. If I had been in prime shape, I might have taken him down. I’d have brushed off those punches. Even today, I kick myself over that fight."
Q: Let’s talk about that hostile crowd and your infamous remark about Chavez fighting Tijuana taxi drivers.
G.H: "Oh, it was definitely a hostile crowd. Everyone thought I was too scared to fight him [Chavez]. But fighting in someone else’s backyard without any support? That was nothing new to me. My whole career had been like that. But there, in Mexico, the conditions were something else. Don King stirred things up by saying I’d insulted the Mexican people, claiming I used racial slurs, which I never did. He just wanted to hype the fight. On the way to the ring, cups of urine rained down on us. My trainer thought it was beer. I told him, ‘When have you ever seen Mexicans waste beer!’ No doubt, it wasn’t beer. They threw all sorts at us. Even when I went running, people heckled me. Surprising thing is, some actually didn’t like Chavez and rooted for me."
Q: What went wrong in the ring, and what about his body shots? Did you believe you could win before stepping in?
G.H: "Honestly, if I’d been in the shape I was for guys like Ray Mancini or Hector [Camacho], I think I’d have had a real shot. But right in the first round, Chavez countered a lazy jab of mine with a hard right, and that punch practically took my legs out from under me. From then on, it was a struggle just to regain my composure. By the fourth round, I finally had some footing and tried to go after him, but got caught again. Normally, I was good defensively and could take a punch if I was in the right shape. But against Chavez, I just wasn’t. His body shots? They didn’t bother me much; I had a strong core and did loads of sit-ups. But a well-placed liver shot, from anyone, can drop you."
Q: Did you dislike Chavez like you did Vinny Paz and Hector Camacho?
G.H: “Vinny had this idea he was something special, always trash-talking before our fights. After the first fight, where he won on points, he landed in the hospital for three days and still wanted a rematch, so I beat him again because he couldn’t stop running his mouth. Hector, I sparred with in Alaska. He figured I was some clueless white kid. We exchanged heavy punches, and he bailed. His trainer claimed he had to leave, but I later spotted him chilling at a strip club. Chavez? I respected his skills, but he wasn’t as invincible as the press made him out, especially in Mexico. Saying he fought cab drivers was just all part of the mind games. Dislike wasn’t the right word. I think Chavez respected me for our fight’s record-breaking crowd, but he didn’t forget those words I said, especially in his home turf.”
“Chavez truly was one of the greats. Thinking about how I fought him not at my best—that’s a brewing guilt. I created that situation, so I’ve got to own up to it. A different time, a better condition, and who knows what the fight might have been.”
Q: You’ve tangled with a lot of legends like Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Paz, and Camacho. Quite a career to reflect on.
G.H: “Yeah, it’s been something. Some of my opponents are no longer with us—Hector, Frankie Randall who beat Chavez. I’ve recently learned I’m battling colon cancer and there are more tests to come. I’m hopeful I’ll pull through, see my grandkids grow. But life’s unpredictable, and you just have to face what comes your way. That’s how it is.”
