By Jason Kim: With only six weeks to train undefeated junior middleweight contender Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) before his June 26th fight against John Duddy (29-1, 18 KO’s) at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, trainer Freddie Roach isn’t quite sure how much he can do for the 24-year-old Chavez in that short of a time to make a significant enough impact for this fight.

In an article at the San Antonio Express-News, Roach says “I wish I had as tune-up fight first. I don’t know how much I can do in six weeks. But we should be able to do enough to win this fight and go on to bigger and better things.”

Roach may be giving an excuse in case Chavez does poorly in the fight and falls on his face. It would be an ideal situation if Chavez beats Duddy and looks impressive. That would further enhance Roach’s genius tag. But for that to happen, Chavez Jr. would have to start fighting much better than he’s looked recently against B level fighters like Troy Rowland, Luciano Leonel Cuello and Matt Vanda.

Chavez is truly a project for Roach and he would have to take a fighter that may not even have the tools to be a top tier fighter and try to turn him into someone that is actually good enough to fight for a champion without boxing fans feel like he’s being given an unjustified fight for a title.

In looking at Chavez’s fights through the entirety of his seven-year pro career, it’s difficult to see any reason why he should be ranked in the top 15 in the junior middleweight division, and much less at the number #1 spot for the WBC. Those lofty positions are usually held by fighters that have actually accomplished something in the past by beating some top contenders.

Chavez hasn’t fought any top contenders yet. Duddy will be a first for him and he could be the last for some time if Roach isn’t able to teach Chavez enough in six weeks to get him past Duddy. It’s going to be a formidable task because Duddy appears to be much more advanced of a fighter compared to Chavez Jr.

If Chavez can beats Duddy, he will find himself in a position to get a good payday against Miguel Cotto. If Duddy wins, it’s probably not likely he’ll be given the same fight. Chavez is the more marketable fighter and even though he appears to be taking the side alley to the top by facing B level fighters and a fringe contender like Duddy rather than someone much more dangerous like top junior middleweight contenders Antonio Margarito, Kermit Cintron, and Vanes Martirosyan, Chavez Jr. will still probably be put in with Cotto if he gets by Duddy on June 26th.

Of course, Chavez will be way over his head and will probably be totally massacred by Cotto but he’ll bring in a huge payday for himself, Cotto and the promoter.

There are things that Roach doesn’t like about Chavez, specifically his tendency to brawl too much. Roach says “He [Chavez] likes to sit in the pocket and exchange. It’s going to be hard to change him. He’s still going to want to do it sometimes. I want to teach him how to do it more effectively.”

One problem that Chavez has is that he doesn’t have fast hands and he doesn’t impressive when jabbing on the outside. He can’t move well like the quicker, more compact junior middleweights and has a natural tendency to fall into the inside and start trying to bang to the body like his famous father Julio Cesar Chavez. It doesn’t work nearly as well for Chavez Jr. because he’s so much taller than his father and he doesn’t have the same kind of power and tenacity as his dad once had.