Why do you think that precedence is lost nowadays? Why was it so important for you to win the title and defend it? MC: I just won the title and I took it fight by fight. Whoever you are going to put in the ring with me, put them in. Give me the number one contenders. Whoever is at number 2 after number one, give me him. MC: Oh man. The body punches are the best. Work the body. If you start throwing that right hand to the body, or left hook to the body. MW: That left hook of yours was really vital in many of your fights and it knocked a lot of guys out.
When did you discover that it was really a tool that you could use? How did you set it up usually? It would be two or three inches. How excited are you for the event? Two great fighters. Chavez, legend. Chiquita, a legend himself. And I am with them. MW: Despite Chiquita being your rival back in the day. I know you guys had three very hotly contested fights. How are you guys able to be so cordial nowadays and be such great friends to one another?
The respect we gave each other inside the ring. I mean, he could fight. I could fight. When we see each other, there are no grudges. MC: Yes. I was in there with Charles Barkley and Dan Majerle. This gym here. All the proceeds went to here. Hey, the gym is still here. It helped. It helped out a lot. You get to reunite with all of your old friends.
How awesome is that? We just have a whole lot of fun. Or, fighters that you wanted to meet. To be with the champions like that, that have been in the Hall of Fame. MW: You ended your career on a high note. Can you talk about that? MC: One time. It was probably about three months after the fight. Nobody is going to like you over there. No they are not. They are going to be cool. They were coming up to me, talking about the Arce fight.
We were cool. MC: He was crying afterwards. You know, he was only 22 years old. I was 32 at the time. I already knew after the fight that it was going to be my last fight. But, I went to his dressing room, because a friend of mine that used to train here knew Arce.
Arce is in there and he is crying. You are going to be champion again. Stop crying. Later on, he became a three- or four-time world champion at different weight classes. I knew he was going to be champion.
MC: I just love the way he used to announce. They told me that Jimmy Lennon Jr. You bring Michael Buffer in to announce me. That has never happened. MW: You were able to come back in a lot of your fights. What was it that allowed you to do that? What kind of mental makeup did you have in that fight? MC: First, it is the mentality. You know what it is? You have to be in great condition to take punches like that. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox.
Support Us Phoenix's independent source of local news and culture. Michael Carbajal, Phoenix's greatest boxing champion, sat on his front porch on East Fillmore Street, watching the world go by. I support. Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of New Times free. Support Us. Keep New Times Free. Since we started Phoenix New Times , it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way.
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This Week's Issue. Do Not Sell My Info. Nervousness scares people. I had trained hard and when you have confidence, you relax and you can fight. When you relax, you will tear anybody and everybody up. It is not easy to relax but you can learn. I still cry when I think about that day, July 29, , against Muangchai Kittikasem in the Coliseum [in Phoenix, where Carbajal is from]. The atmosphere was amazing. It was electric. My dad never shows emotion, but that day he was on his feet and screaming.
I loved it. He died in and he wrote a lot. Before he died he started writing and after he died I read the things he wrote. Although that night with Kittikasem was the best, the fight I always wanted was with Ricardo [Lopez].
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