EL PASO (Texas), June 17: Mexico’s unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr stopped Irish southpaw Andy Lee in the seventh round on Saturday to keep his World Boxing Council middleweight title and win his 23rd fight in a row.

Referee Laurence Cole stopped the bout at 2:21 of the seventh round as Chavez, nagged by leg cramps throughout the fight, inflicted a pounding to the head and body of Lee with no punches being thrown in response.

Chavez, 26, improved to 46-0 and one drawn with his 33rd victory inside the distance while 2004 Olympian Lee, 28, fell to 28-2 and saw his four-year, 13-fight win streak snapped in his first world title fight.

Chavez made the third defence of his first world title, won last June when he edged previously undefeated German Sebastian Zbik by majority decision.

Chavez stopped American Peter Manfredo in the fifth round last November and took a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Marco Antonio Rubio in February. —AFP