By Francisco Salazar

StubHub Center, Carson, California - Andrzej Fonfara (27-3, 16KOs) showed former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (48-2-1, 32KOs) bit off more than he could chew by returning from a 13th month layoff to face a true light heavyweight - which is two divisions above Chavez's last true weight class. Fonfara dominated, dropped Chavez hard in the ninth and the Mexican star was unable to come out for the tenth.

Chavez Jr. had a new trainer, a new outlook on life and was fighting on a different premium network.

Unfortunately for him, it was not enough to translate into a victory. Chavez had enough after nine rounds, deciding to retire on his stool before an announced crowd of 8,636 at the Stubhub Center.

From the opening round, Fonfara set the tone by beating Chavez to the punch - landing left hooks to the head and body. Fonfara mixed in right hands to the head, snapping Chavez's head back at times.

"I knew Chavez was a good, tough fighter," said Fonfara immediately after the fight. "When he did hit me in the first round, I took the punches well. It was then that I knew I was going to win."

Fonfara continued to mix in numerous combinations, landing more right hands to the head that developed a mouse under the left eye of Chavez.

Undaunted, Chavez began to mount an attack in the fifth round. He tried to walk Fonfara down, which he had some success doing and landing his trademark left hook.

But Fonfara was able to swing momentum back his way. He was able to beat Chavez to the punch on the inside, snapping Chavez's head back with uppercuts to the head.

In the seventh round, Fonfara had a point deducted by referee Jerry Cantu for using his forearm to push Chavez away. It did not seem to matter as Fonfara landed the telling blows, while Chavez seemed to slow down.

The fight took a turn for the worse for Chavez in round nine when he was dropped for the first time in his career by a hard left hook by Fonfara. Chavez got up and tried to fight back, but Fonfara landed at will.

After the ninth round, referee Jerry Cantu as Chavez said he could not continue because of an injury to his leg. The crowd erupted, throwing multiple plastic cups of beer in the direction of the ring.

"I was a little surprised he did not come out for the ninth round," said Fonfara, who was born in Poland and resides in Chicago. "He was cut, he was getting beat up, and he had just got knocked down. He knew what was coming if he came out for the 10th round."

Chavez asked for a rematch in the post-fight interview with Showtime's Jim Gray, but it will be interesting to see if that will materialize.

After Chavez seemed to have received a gift decision in his controversial win over Bryan Vera in September of 2013, also at Stubhub Center, it will be difficult for the boxing fans to take Chavez seriously.

Time will tell, but it will be interesting to see what Chavez's next move is. Do not count on Mexican fans or boxing fans for that matter to hold their breath.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing