By Dan Ambrose: WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (43-0-1, 30 KO’s) has decided to listen to the advice from his trainer Freddie Roach by skipping his planned September 24th fight and go instead straight to his bout against No.5 WBC ranked Peter Manfredo Jr (37-6, 20 KO’s) for the 25-year-old Chavez’s first – and possibly only – defense of his title.

The World Boxing Council may force Chavez’s hand to fight WBC Emeritus middleweight champion Sergio Martinez in either October or November. It’s unclear whether Chavez Jr will choose to vacate the belt if the WBC pushes the issue or let them strip him off the title. But if Chavez Jr does take the fight against Martinez, you can look for Chavez to get brutally knocked out.

His promoter Bob Arum wants to put Chavez Jr in a big money bout against Saul Alvarez or with one of his own fighters in his Top Rank stable Miguel Cotto. This makes it seem unlikely that Martinez will get a shot against Chavez Jr even if the WBC forces Chavez to fight Martinez. He’ll probably give up the title or have it stripped from him.

The Manfredo fight should be a winnable one for Chavez. Manfredo has decent skills, but he’s been beaten pretty much every time he’s ever stepped it up against 1st tier fighters in the past. He’s been beaten by Joe Calzaghe, Sakio Bika, Jeff Lacy, Sergio Mora and Alfonso Gomez. Manfredo has won his last six fights, albeit against 2nd tier opposition.

Chavez Jr barely beat WBC middleweight paper champion Sebastian Zbik in his last fight in June. That fight exposed Chavez for all his flaws, as his defense was poor and his power and speed lacking. He won the fight based on his huge size advantage. Chavez Jr came into the fight weighing 180 lbs after rehydrating. He was basically a light heavyweight fighting a middleweight.