Reyes may lack the starry names on Chavez?s r?sum?, but there?s no dog in the fighter from Chihuahua?
If his name was Julio Cesar Smith Jr., would anyone care what he does or doesn?t do in the ring?
But his name is magic, especially south of the border, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has made the most of both his name and that magic, if not the most of his faulty skills and ambition.
We have watched his storybook rise from fledgling pugilist to world champion. We have also witnessed it all come crashing down like a house of cards in a stiff wind.
On Saturday, July 18, at Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Texas, Chavez Jr. (48-2-1, 32 KOs), from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, will attempt to resurrect his career when he meets Marcos Reyes (33-2, 24 KOs), from, Chihuahua, Mexico. Reyes may lack the starry names on Chavez?s r?sum?, but there?s no dog in the fighter from Chihuahua.
Losing as he did to Sergio Martinez in 2012 and Andrzej Fonfara this year is nothing for which Chavez needs to be ashamed. But the charge of nepotism, however harsh, has the ring of truth. Those who had their doubts about Chavez had those doubts confirmed when he was filmed in his underwear eating Cocoa Puffs, or whatever god-awful gook he was gobbling. We forgive fighters who?ve been imprisoned, but cereal it seems is another matter.
But Chavez, to his credit, is undeterred. He?s a fighter and is determined to prove it, to whoever will listen.
?I haven?t been 100% all the time,? he said during a recent teleconference call, ?but my career has had lots of accomplishments. I was the first Mexican to win the Middleweight World Champion. I?ve defended my belt. In addition to that I?ve beaten really great fighters. And I have a record of 48 and 2. And so it?s not fair to say that I haven?t accomplished a lot and haven?t been prepared all the time. But this is a great challenge.?
Chavez?s career took a hit when he quit on his stool when he fought Fonfara, even though he was getting the stuffing beat out of him.
?I took on a challenge that was tough. I fought somebody who was 175 pounds. I fought somebody after two years of being inactive. There were a lot of things going on in my career including the legal problems that I was going through at the same that I was trying to get ready for a fight. It was a tough challenge. Even though it was a defeat for me, I feel like I was a better fighter than him. But he was more prepared. I think that those were the factors.?
The fight with Reyes is a proverbial do-or-die fight for Chavez. If he wins his career continues. If he loses?well, he has no intention of losing.
?If I lost this fight then it would make me think about retiring,? Chavez said. ?But I?m not planning on losing. I?m planning on winning.?
Chavez may be undisciplined. He may lack the hunger that drove his father. He may be a whiner and complainer. He may have even smoked marijuana. But Chavez, whatever his faults, is trying to establish his own name in the world?s most unforgiving profession. He may not ultimately succeed, but it won?t be because he didn?t try.
