By Matte Stein: Undefeated light middleweight contender Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (38-0-1, 29 KOs) is apparently interested in a fight with Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs), though there still isn’t any word from Oscar whether or not he’s serious about a fight with the 22-year-old Chavez Jr. De La Hoya, 35, Was thought to be leaning towards retirement after experiencing a humbling defeat by Manny Pacquiao on December 6th.
However, most people thought that De La Hoya wouldn’t want the image of him quitting on his stool after 8th round, left eye almost closed and face red and swollen looking. A fight against Chavez Jr., though, would be a perfect fight for De La Hoya, because not only does he have a good chance of beating the young, inexperienced Chavez, but he also will be well paid for doing it, especially if the fight takes place at the large Aztec stadium in Mexico.
The fight would sell well with Mexicans and Americans, both who would flock to see the fight for the opportunity to see a grudge match between the young Chavez Jr., whose father Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., was twice beaten by a then young De La Hoya in the 90s.
At the time the two fights took place, Chavez Sr. was well past his prime and not nearly the same fighter he had been in the 80s when he was considered by many to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in all of boxing. What better way to get revenge for the older Chavez then to see his young son defeat a now old De La Hoya, maybe even worse than Chavez Sr. was beaten.
An impressive win for De La Hoya would likely increase his stature in boxing, making people forget somewhat his recent defeat to Pacquiao. Indeed, if Oscar looks especially look in taking Chavez Jr. out, he may still be able to go ahead with fights against Ricky Hatton, a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. or even a rematch against Pacquiao.
For obvious reasons, a fight against Pacquiao wouldn’t be advisable nor would it be a fight that a whole lot of boxing fans would want to see, but it remains an option for De La Hoya should he defeat Chavez Jr. De La Hoya, however, will have his work cut out for him against the young Chavez, because he punches hard to the body and is one of the best body punchers in the light middleweight division if not the best.
Unfortunately, Chavez doesn’t have the best of defensive skills, is easy to hit and has an anemic work rate at times. However, he probably is young enough to walk through De La Hoya’s combinations and get in close enough to land his big body shots and cause Oscar a lot of problems.
This isn’t a prime De La Hoya, mind you, and it’s difficult to say how well he’ll be able to do against Chavez Jr., who is a clearly a top light middleweight and has exceptional offensive skills. Never mind Chavez’s defensive problems, he’s got more than enough offense to punish De La Hoya for seven to eight rounds and take him out in a similar fashion as Pacquiao did recently.
In my estimation, Chavez Jr. is a much harder body puncher than Pacquiao and is capable of giving De La Hoya a beating if he tries to get in a war with the young Chavez. Personally, I think Chavez will be too much for him and will end up stopping him or making him quit on his stool again by the 9th or 10th. De La Hoya is much too old to be taking on a quality fighter like this, and he’ll be exposed if they fight.
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