By Chris Williams: Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) is expected back in the ring in May or June of next year, according to RingTV. Chavez Jr’s promoter Bob Arum would like to get him back in the ring by then provided that the Nevada State Athletic Commission doesn’t suspend him beyond those dates for his positive marijuana test from his last fight against Sergio Martinez from September.
Middleweight contender #2 WBC, #11 WBA, #14 IBF, Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KO’s) is a potential opponent for the young 26-year-old Chavez Jr., but don’t be surprised if Arum chooses a much weaker opponent so that there’s little risk that Chavez Jr. will lose again before he faces Martinez in a big money rematch near the end of 2013.
Chavez Jr. took a beating from Martinez, as he was just slow and unable to handle Martinez’s hand speed, constant movement and different punching angles. Chavez Jr. is one of those fighters that needs to set his feet before throwing his shots. His father Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. tried to tell Chavez Jr. that he needed to fight on the move and not worry about planting his feet, but he wasn’t capable of fighting in this manner.
His father Chavez Sr. was able to fight on the move, but Chavez Jr. proved to be totally under-equipped for this style of fighting. A rematch will likely show little improvement in Chavez Jr. in this regard, and I see their fight as nothing more than a money grab for the boxing public.
Chavez Jr. doesn’t have the skills to beat Martinez, and he’s not going to learn them by the time he faces him again. There are rumors that Chavez Jr. may switch trainers from Freddie Roach to Nacho Beristain, but I still don’t see Beristain being able to help Chavez Jr. enough in only one camp for him to be able to defeat a fighter as good as Martinez. Martinez is simply lighter on his feet and has much faster hands, and that’s going to be too much for anything Beristain can improve in Chavez Jr’s game.
What Chavez Jr. should do is move up to cruiserweight because he comes into the ring weighing in the 180 pound range, and that may be good against a fighter that just stands there and lets Chavez Jr. maul him with his size, but against a mobile fighter like Martinez, Chavez Jr’s weight become a problem for him rather than an asset.
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