By Dave Lahr: It looks as if light middleweight contender Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (39-0-1, 29 KO’s) could be facing previously unbeaten middleweight contender John Duddy (26-1, 17 KO’s) sometime in 2010, according to the latest boxing news. Promoter Bob Arum is looking at putting the fight together for a fight in the spring of 2010. However, before Chavez and Duddy meet up, they would first be fighting on the same card in December against other opponents.
However, the Chavez-Duddy fight will likely hinge on Chavez Jr. getting by this Saturday night’s opponent Jason Lehoullier (21-1-1, 8 KO’s), who Chavez will be fighting in a 10-round bout at the El Palenque de la Feria, Tepic, in Nayarit, Mexico. Chavez, 23, the son of former boxing star Julio Cesar Chavez, hasn’t exactly dominated his opposition since turning pro in 2003.
Matched essentially with B and C level opponents his entire six year pro career, Chavez has looked anything but unbeatable during that time. You can see some of the similarities with his famous dad, especially when Chavez Jr. is throwing hooks to the body. However, Chavez Jr. doesn’t have the tenacity that his father possessed, has a much lower work rate and tends to tire out much quicker than Chavez Sr.
Also, Chavez Jr. is a lot bigger than his dad, who fought in the lightweight division for parts of his career. Chavez Jr. looks as if he will eventually fill out enough to fight as super middleweight or possibly even a light heavyweight before he’s finished growing. However, he likes to fight inside a lot like his father but doesn’t possess the big power that allows him to chop his opponents down like Chavez Sr.
Duddy will be facing Michi Munoz in October. Duddy was beaten in a big upset by Billy Lyell in April, losing a 10 round split decision. Duddy, 30, whose defense if poor, was nailed with right hands all night long by Lyell and looked very average. Duddy hasn’t looked good in beating many of his B level opponents during his career, struggling badly to defeat the likes of Yory Boy Campas, Walid Smichet and to a certain extent Matt Vanda.
Duddy’s one halfway decent victory during his career is a 10 round decision over a shot 36-year-old Howard Eastman in 2007. However, despite the lack of quality wins, Duddy has been consistently ranked in the top 10 in the middleweight division for the past year. Based on the talent, or lack thereof, of opposition that Duddy has faced, I see him as 2nd tier middleweight. In my view, Duddy appears to have greatly inflated rankings by the WBO, who currently have him ranked at number 9 in the middleweight division, ahead of Sergio Mora, Daniel Geale and Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam.
Likewise, Chavez Jr. is ranked high in the light middleweight division, currently ranked #3 WBC and WBO. However, he hasn’t faced any world class opposition up to this point in time and it’s hard to justify him being ranked above Alfredo Angulo, Joe Greene, Vanes Martirosyan, Verno Phillips and Yuri Foreman, to name just a small number of quality light middleweight contenders that Chavez Jr. is ranked ahead.
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