In a lopsided fight, Fonfara got Chavez bleeding from his nose with eyes swollen as the former WBC middleweight titlist tried to survive but ran short of gas in round nine.
In an interview after the fight Chavez said he thought he was winning the fight after the second round but he admitted that Fonfara was a good fighter as he conceded defeat.
“My strategy is to work the body but the guy is too heavy for me. He’s a good fighter. I want a rematch at 170,” said Chavez, who suffered his second career loss since he turned pro in 2003.
Chavez is coming off a back-to-back unanimous decision victory over Brian Vera with the last fight held at the Alamodome in San Antionio, Texas last year.
Chavez was unbeaten in 46 pro fights when he suffered his first career loss against Sergio Martinez of Argentina last September that stripped him of his WBC middleweight title which he won from Sebastian Zbik in 2011.
For his part, Fonfara who is fighting out of Chicago, said that he got confident when he got hit hard by Chavez but he got away with it.
“He hit me with one good punch, I catch it, and I say this guy don’t have punch because he hit me as hard as he can. Fonfara said. “I’m open a little bit and I move because I don’t fear his punches and his power,” he added.
In the seventh round, Fonfara got call from the referee for a shoulder offense but he came back blazing in round 9 as he delivered a power short left hook for the clincher.
Fonfara improved his career record to 31-3-0 while Chavez dropped to 51-3-1.