Julio Cesar Chavez Inducted into Boxing's Hall of Fame: It's for the People of Mexico

p (Note:nbsp; Last year the International Boxing Hall of Fame announcednbsp;itsnbsp;Inducteesnbsp;for 2011.nbsp;nbsp;Honored arenbsp;former champions Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson and Kostya Tszyu, as well as legendary trainer Nacho Beristain, referee Joe Cortez and actor Sylvester Stallone. The induction ceremony took place last week in Canastota, New York--home of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The majority of American mainstream media coverage was devoted to Tyson and Stallone. This is PNN#39;s tribute to Julio Cesar Chavez, who many consider Mexico#39;s greatest world champion)./p p Boxing is love. Boxing is courage. Boxing is dealing with fear. Itrsquo;s overcoming yourself. Itrsquo;s telling yourself you can when everyone says you canrsquo;t. Boxing is a dance, boxing is poetry, boxing is feeling, boxing is bending and stretching your mind to fit and overcome any situation. Boxing is a king without a crown. Boxing is not having enough to eat. Boxing is staying calm when you#39;re hurt. Boxing is standing up and looking your fear in the eye. Boxing is respecting what came before you. Boxing is going for broke when you are broke. Boxing is a sweatshirt that carries the scent of your soul, itrsquo;s the coordination of hand, eye, and heart to the flow of jazz, blues, salsa and sadness and whatever sounds come from deep down that no squared circle can contain. Boxing is cruel, hard, beautiful./p p Boxing is Julio Cesar Chavez, whose name is carved in hearts bigger than mountains. Itrsquo;s fighting for indigenous people; itrsquo;s not forgetting his brown skin and the railroad car that he and his brothers and sisters lived in. Itrsquo;s the movement of railcars like the movement of indigenous Mexicanos who fight for dignity and family and love and their rights every day. Boxing is Julio Cesar Chavez not taking a backward step, showing the world the landscape of his heart, winning 88 straight fightsmdash;a 6 time world champion winning titles in 3 weight divisions. Boxing is Chavez beating the gringo, taking back the land that is watered in our blood. Julio Cesar Chavez, one of the greatest champions of all time with a record of 107-6-2. Julio Cesar Chavez, father of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who just won the WBC Middleweight Championship. It#39;s in the blood./p p Julio Cesar Chavez, your name rises above all false borders, your fist lives in the hearts of people who battle to survive every day, who struggle to keep their families together, who resist the maiming of their bodies and spirits. Your name lives in the International Boxing Hall of Fame (a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upjk4Bk5JPk" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upjk4Bk5JPk"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upjk4Bk5JPk/a), to which you have been inducted. But more importantly, it lives in the hearts of your people./p p Julio Cesar Chavez, doing it the way it should be donemdash;never taking a backward step. No hall of fame can contain you. You said it best in your own words: ldquo;This induction isnrsquo;t for me, it#39;s for the people of Mexico/p