Earlier today at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles, California, unbeaten middleweight hopeful Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. held a media day in advance of his June 4th challenge for Sebastian Zbik’s WBC middleweight crown. Chavez is coming off of a disappointing points victory over journeyman Billy Lyell this past January but could be in store for huge things if successful next month at the Staples Center.
On this day Chavez could be found sparring some rigorous rounds with junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan, who himself faces off with Saul Roman on the June 4th undercard. Martirosyan fought twice last year, winning a tight decision over Kaasim Ouma in Las Vegas in January and pulling out a ho-hum victory over Joe Greene in the summer, yet he is one of the most outspoken fighters in the sport when it comes to calling out other pugs.
<--- Slideshow: Media day with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Bob Arum, Vanes Martirosyan and Chavez Sr.
If Chavez manages to defeat Zbik, which very well could be likely given the limited skills the German has shown in previous showcases, the 24-year old could be in line for a financial boost this fall in the form of a defense against WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, whom he was rumored to be in line to face last year.
Present with Chavez today was his father Julio Sr., who is revered in his native Mexico for his historic run in the sport during the late 80’s and early 90’s. Junior obviously has big shoes to fill but is best to focus on one fight at a time, with the Zbik fight being his next priority and now just a little over two weeks away.
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
