By Dan Ambrose: WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (43-0-1, 30 KO’s) may be the World Boxing Council champion for the time being after defeating the previous WBC champion Sebastian Zbik by a close, some controversial, 12 round majority decision last Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Weighing 15 pounds more than Zbik at 180 lbs the fight of the fight, Chavez Jr. was able to wear Zbik down in the second part of the fight using a body attack and helped along with his much bigger size.

However, Chavez Jr. was nailed all night long by shots to the head from Zbik and had problems getting out of the way of even the telegraphed shots that Zbik was throwing. It was as if Chavez Jr’s head was being used as a way to block punches rather than his gloves. It was positively scary to see how many shots that Chavez Jr. took to the head in the fight. These things need to change if Chavez Jr. wants to remain a champion for long and if he wants to be able to carry on a reasonable conversation when he’s older.

The guy needs to learn to cover up and/or duck some of the incoming shots thrown his way. This is where Chavez’s trainer Freddie Roach comes in. He’s supposed to be one of the best trainers in the game if not the best. However, Roach needs to get Chavez Jr. engaged to where he’s picking up some of the basic skills like blocking punches instead of letting them sail through his gloves to his head. Roach is a great offensive teacher, but he’s not as well known as a trainer that specializes in teaching defensive strategies. In that case, Chavez Jr. might need to add a second trainer to help him keep from getting nailed as much.

Maybe somebody like Pernell Whitaker might be someone that Chavez Jr. could use for that aspect of his game. Whitaker was one of the best defensive fighters in his game during his prime and he knows a lot of tricks. He’s worked wonders with IBF light welterweight champion Zab Judah in keeping him from getting hit. Judah has adopted many of Whitaker’s strategies to duck and block shots and it’s almost as if Judah has been training with Whitaker for a long time. I think someone like Whitaker certainly couldn’t hurt Chavez, because he’s so bad right now on defensive that he only has one direction to go and that’s up.