By Dan Ambrose: WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) surprisingly made weight with room to spare on Friday during his weigh-in for his fight tomorrow night against former WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Chavez Jr. weighed in at 158 pounds, although he terribly drawn and almost sickly. This is the worst I’ve ever seen Chavez Jr. look before. He took off way too much weight and looks physically ill.

For his part, Martinez came in at 159 lbs and looked as if he could step inside the ring right then and there and fight Chavez Jr.

Chavez Jr. is now going to rehydrate back up to who knows what weight. Three weeks before the fight, Chavez Jr. looked to be in the mid 180s. You got to figure that he’s been draining weight slowly for a couple of weeks now and will likely be back up the low 180s when he fights Martinez tomorrow. Whether the weight advantage can help Chavez Jr. get a victory over the smaller Martinez is the big question. It might take more than size for Chavez Jr. to be able to win this fight, however.

He’s going to have to possess some talent and an ability to cut off the ring. Freddie Roach, the trainer for Chavez Jr, had better have taught him some defense because Martinez has too much power in either hand for Chavez Jr. to be trying to walk though his huge shots all night long the way that Chavez Jr. typically does with his lighter hitting opponents.

Chavez Jr. can punch a little too, but his offense is geared to him fighting on the inside. It works when he’s got a stationary fighter that just stands there making it easy for him, but Martinez plans on moving and it won’t be easy for Chavez Jr. to force him to stand still long enough to land body shots.

Other fight weights on the card:

Roman Martinez 129 – Miguel Beltran Jr 131
Guillermo Rigondeaux 122 – Robert Marroquin 122
Matthew Macklin 160.5 – Joachim Alcine 158
Mike Lee 174 vs. Paul Harness 173.25
John Jackson 152 – Willie Nelson 153.25
Wale Omotoso 147.5 – Daniel Sostre 145