By Francisco Hernandez: Julio Cesar Chavez Junior seems to be getting sick frequently. When Chavez Junior fought Troy Rowland in 2009 he claims that he got sick before the fight, he started getting dizzy during training and he was hospitalized for 12 hours. He was given fluids in the form of glucose and vitamins. Chavez Jr then reportedly used an illegal diuretic drug to make weight. Chavez Jr. claims that it was to lose the fluids that were given to him in the hospital. Chavez went on to fight Troy Rowland, but Junior fought like a drained fighter. He admits that he felt weak in that fight. Also in 2009 Chavez Jr. canceled his fight with Jason LeHoullier after an injury.

More recently Chavez Jr. got sick again before his fight with replacement Pawel Wolak. What is happening? Does Chavez Junior have a serious chronic illness? Hopefully not. Chavez Junior is a great kid, he has the heart of a lion, and deserves better in life. What is probably happening is that Chavez Jr has to drain himself to make the middleweight division. Rumors have it that Chavez Jr comes in heavy to train for his fights and then has to lose a lot of weight. The drain in vital nutrients and water could be weakening his immune system making Chavez vulnerable to the flu. Before Chavez’s first fight with Matt Vanda in July 2008, Chavez was sick and he ended up struggling to beat Vanda.

Chavez Jr, just like Celestino Caballero and Nonito Donaire, is more than likely draining himself to make weight, the strategy of fighting at a smaller weight division by ballooning up after the weigh-in. It seems that this strategy is catching up also with Chavez Jr. He appears to be too heavy to make middleweight division, and too weak to fight in the super middleweight division. This is probably due to years of draining himself to get an edge on smaller fighters, instead of strengthening himself to fight at his normal weight. The chickens have now come home to roost. Chavez Jr could have been a strong super middleweight, but his body is probably ruined now by years of draining it to make lower weights.

One thing Chavez did do is put a damper on Bob Arum’s recent pay per view show last weekend by pulling out of his scheduled fight with Wolak. Arum will either have to figure out how to keep Chavez healthy or pay him more to stay healthy and not pull out of fights. Chavez was raised eating Enchiladas and Chile Rellenos; he is not used to living on carrots and water, therefore he should be fighting at super middleweight, not forcing himself to fight in smaller weight divisions. Chavez, by draining himself is risking serious illness, and a brutal knockout from fighting in a weakened condition.