By Sean McDaniel: Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) envisions WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) getting knocked out early when he faces him on September 15th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Martinez feels that Chavez Jr. won’t make it to the 6th round.

Martinez said “I go over it in my mind and can see it. I can see him [Chavez Jr] on his knees right in front of me. Julio hasn’t fought anyone even ranked in the top 100 pound for pound. That bothers me. Right now, he shouldn’t be champion. I hope Chavez Jr’s working hard, so he doesn’t have any excuses later. I don’t want any excuses. I am going to be the new champion.”

Martinez sees Chavez Jr. as a big, slow fighter that should have never picked up the WBC 160 pound strap in the first place. Chavez Jr. got the opportunity after the World Boxing Council quickly stripped Martinez of his title after he failed to fight his mandatory challenger Sebastian Zbik. The title was given to Zbik, and he in turn faced Chavez Jr. It took Martinez a year to finally get Chavez Jr. to fight him after spending months calling Chavez Jr. out.

Chavez Jr. has size going for him in his fight with Martinez, as well as a large fan base. Martinez is going to need to chop Chavez Jr. down early if he wants to avoid having to deal with 12 rounds of continuous pressure and a lot of body shots. Martinez can move well, but it’s unclear whether he can move steadily for 12 rounds without fading at some point.

The judges could give Chavez Jr. rounds just based on the pressure that he’s putting on Martinez. It might not matter that Martinez is landing the better shots and making Chavez Jr miss, the judges will likely give Chavez Jr. most of the rounds if he’s the one trying to make the fight. A knockout will be Martinez’s guarantee that he gets the win.