Chavez Jr To Fight Rematch With Vanda on October 25th

By Boxing News - 07/31/2008 - Comments

chavez-jr.jpgBy Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (37-0-1, 29 KOs) fresh off a disappointing 10-round split decision over journeyman Matt Vanda (38-7, 21 KOs) on July 12th, will be facing him once again in a rematch on October 25th to try and win in a little more impressive fashion. Last time out, Chavez Jr., 22, the son of famous boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, started out fast, building up a small lead in the first half of the fight, but then tired badly and lost many of the later rounds of the fight which he ultimately won by a split decision.

However, at the end of the fight, Chavez Jr. was so exhausted, so tired from the battle, that he could barely get off his stool after the fight ended. It was later reported that he had been ill before the fight, and that had affected his stamina in the bout. If this is true, then Chavez Jr. will have another opportunity to prove that the fight was only a fluke, and that he is a much better fighter than he showed against Vanda. Certainly, with his inflated #5 ranking in the WBC light middleweight division, a lot better is expected from Chavez Jr. than what he’s been showing of late in his fights. The Vanda fight, another mediocre performance by Chavez Jr., was pretty much how he’s looked against his last three opponents Jose Celaya, Ray Sanchez and Tobia Giuseppe Loriga.

It’s all well and good that Chavez Jr. has continued to win regardless of how poor he’s looked, but the fact remains that he’s struggling against opponents that he should, given his high ranking, be breezing through. If he’s not as good as his ranking suggests, perhaps it needs to be adjusted with him being pushed down 10 to 20 spots. I tend to think 20 is closer to his real ability, for he hasn’t yet shown himself to be a legitimate top 15 fighter yet from what he’s displayed against the mostly marginal talent that he’s been served up to him.

To be fair to him, however, he hasn’t had the benefit of an amateur career like most other top fighters in the top 15, and is still learning his trade in the boxing game. However, that’s even more of an argument for him not being ranked as high as he is, because he hasn’t fought anyone to show that he’s as good as his ranking would indicate, nor has he had an amateur career to show that he’s worth giving a top ranking to.

Mostly, as far as I can tell, he’s just the son of a boxing legend, and that’s about all. Sometimes Chavez Jr. can show some good power, especially when he’s throwing punches to the body, but he doesn’t have a particularly high work rate. An Antonio Margarito, he is not. Indeed, he’s like a complete opposite of Margarito. Whereas Margarito is a busy fighter, averaging well over 100 punches thrown per round, Chavez Jr. labors to throw 50.

Afterwards, he’s completely gassed out, looking as if he fought a 12-round fight rather than a fight that is much less than that. Priority one for him would be for a serious conditioning program, one that can working on his limited endurance. At his age, this is usually not a problem for a fighter, so hopefully he can find a way to work out this limiting problem as quick as possible, because if he can’t, he’s going to continue to have problems with fighters like Vanda, who will take advantage of his lack of conditioning and give him a lot of trouble.

If this turns out to be a chronic problem which is unchanged no matter how much running that Chavez Jr. does, he’s going to have to make a big decision about his boxing career. He can continue fighting, and perhaps, due to his inflated record, take on one of the light middleweight champions. But, it will most likely end with him being defeated badly, leaving him with a loss and a much less marketable appeal.



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