Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.gave the fans and media types plenty to be excited about on June 19th, fighting and TKO?ing what many felt was his toughest opponent thus far when the previously undefeated Andy Lee traveled into what some considered as a home crowd for Chavez being that his native Mexico was mere steps away from El Paso, Texas.
Chavez Jr. had also earlier in the year, just four months prior actually, and in perhaps even more impression fashion, defeated veteran Marco Antonio Rubio in San Antonio, and as the 26 years young fighter prepares for what is to be the fourth defense of his green WBC middleweight title this September against Sergio Martinez, the question begs: Can Junior finally become a Senior?
From his 2003 professional debut, Chavez was not only in the shadow of his father, perhaps the greatest Mexican fighter ever in Julio Cesar Chavez, no, instead Chavez. Jr. has been engulfed in a mushroom, Hiroshima sized cloud of a shadow and still, as of late 2012, despite compiling a career record of 46-0, (astonishingly, more than current pound of pound entrant Floyd Mayweather who has three fewer with no losses at 43-0) and winning his first major title last year, still finds himself searching for his own identity inside the squared circle.
For the most part, a good comparison could be made that he is a taller, heavier version of his 135 pound legend father, being that standing at 6 feet and boasting a 73 inch reach and nearly dwarfing all of his opponents in size, has a penchant to stand in and trade with vigor, and also shoots to the body, reminiscent of the type of fighter Sr. was and the type of infighting that made him famous.
It?s also the size comparison that serves as a foil in Camp Chavez (Jr.). Chavez has routinely come into fight night weighing nearly 20 pounds over the middleweight limit, tipping the scales as a light-heavyweight and only a handful of pounds away from the cruiserweight limit. It may be that Chavez would like to keep a few extra pounds of power behind his punches once the bell rings, but the weight disparity also waves the red flag of not training in earnest; yet another criticism Jr. has had to deal with.
Over the years, the knock has been that the training camps are unsteady and inconsistent, which is unfathomable being as though Jr. shares the same gym (Wild Card) and same trainer as one of the top fighters and best fighters of our generation or any generation (Manny Pacquiao). Things came to a head when Jr. was popped for a DUI prior to his title defending effort against Rubio while in Los Angeles, and as reported last week by Fightnews? Big Joe Miranda, Jr. missed four days of his current training camp because he ?didn?t feel like coming in?.
It serves as a telling sign that once again, a solid, drama-free training camp is still to be conducted by the middleweight champion, and the person who is most happy to hear that news is the man who previously held the title, and whom Jr. faces on Mexican Independence Day in Las Vegas: Sergio ?Maravilla? Martinez.
Martinez was stripped of his title by refusing to face Sebastian Zbik, which cleared the way for Chavez to fight Zbik for the vacant title, which he has now successfully defended and will take into the ring with him at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Will Chavez Jr. walk out of the ring with the WBC title?
Will Chavez. Jr. be victorious and finally declare himself a Sr. in his own right?
