By Chris Williams: If you watched WBC Silver middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s 10 round unanimous decision win over journeyman Billy Lyell (22-9, 4 KO’s) last Saturday night, you might have noticed how disappointed Chavez’s trainer Freddie Roach looked as the fight ended in 10th round and Chavez had failed to knockout Lyell.
It wasn’t that Chavez had failed in stopping the weak-punching Lyell that likely had Roach looking so depressed, it’s how horrible Chavez looked. He really got drilled by Lyell in the 10th, and was getting hit all night long.
The power, the speed and the conditioning just weren’t there for Chavez – not that they ever were to begin with. In looking at Roach’s face, it was if he realised that Chavez might not work out for him and strike gold the way that Roach is hoping he will. Chavez Jr. has an important fight coming up in May against the WBC middleweight paper champion Sebastian Zbik.
This will partially give Roach a hint whether Chavez is a waste of time or if he’s someone that he can work with and develop. Zbik probably has no business being a champion, but he’s a decent bottom 10 to 15 contender. He’s clearly no #1 guy and it’s hilarious that the WBC appointed him their champion without making him fight for the title and earn it in the ring.
If Chavez Jr. can beat Zbik, Roach could maybe steer Chavez Jr. away from dangerous fighters that would knock him out like David Lemieux or Sergio Martinez. Matched against the right kinds of fighters, Chavez can possibly hold onto the WBC title for a year or two. But even Roach probably isn’t going to be able to turn Chavez into someone good enough to beat real quality fighters in the middleweight division. He’s too slow, too heavy and too limited.
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