By Duke Pahulu: The Brian Vera – Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fiasco was a year in the making. The 12th round of the Sergio Martinez vs. Chavez Jr. bout had people thinking Chavez Jr had the goods to become more than just a cash cow. But instead of growing from that great round, Chavez Jr. was put on the shelf for a whole year.
A fighter like Chavez Jr who has a history of blowing up in weight in between fights had no business staying out the ring that long without injury. I know the Nevada Boxing Commission put him on ice for the positive drug test but that should not have stopped Bob Arum and Top Rank from putting Chavez Jr in the ring in Mexico fighting bums to keep his weight in check.
Arum did a similar thing with Antonio Margarito after the Shane Mosley loss by putting him in against a tomato can in Mexico while the California Boxing Commission put a hold on his career. The weight debacle leading up to the Vera fight had fans turning their backs on Chavez Jr.
Chavez Jr. did great numbers last year leading up to the Martinez bout but couldn’t fill up a tennis arena in Southern California. The fans didn’t want to award a fighter who didn’t put his all into training.
I know Chavez Jr. is his own man and his actions led to being embarrassed by Vera but Top Rank should cover some of the blame by allowing Chavez Jr. to hold out a whole year in-between fights.
Chavez Jr could have had two fights in Mexico and easily made 168 lbs against a solid super middleweight to actually warrant a big fight against the likes of Ward and Carl Froch. Now, Andre Ward would look like a money grabber for taking on Chavez Jr after the Edwin Rodriguez fight.
Chavez Jr. earned his shot at Martinez by beating legit threats in Marco Antonio Rubio and Andy Lee. The Vera fight wasn’t the rebound fight everyone was looking forward to and Ward will be losing out on big money by not allowing Chavez Jr. to earn a shot by beating a credible super middleweight to drum up interest.
Chavez Jr. learned on Saturday that his name alone isn’t going to put backsides in seats. The name may give him a head start in the judges’ cards but that’s it!
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