By Allan Fox: In looking at how thin and drawn WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. looked during Friday’s weigh-in for his fight against Sergio Martinez, we might be seeing the beginning of an excuse being formed if things don’t go well for him on Saturday.

I thought Chavez Jr. looked scary thin at his weigh-ins for his fights with Marco Antonio Rubio and Andy Lee, but I’ve never seen him look as bad as he did during today’s weigh-in with Martinez.

Chavez Jr. looked like someone who was terminally ill and needed hospitalization. There’s no way that he’s going to be able to rehydrate in 24 hours and beat a fighter as healthy looking as Martinez is. That’s not going to happen. Martinez looked in fighting shape at the weight, like someone who was about to enter the ring. There was absolutely no signs of Martinez being weight drained. But you can’t say the same thing for Chavez Jr.

Chavez Jr may indeed rehydrate up to 180 pounds by tomorrow night’s fight but that still doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to recover in that short of a time for what he put his body through. You can’t drain yourself of water that badly and then fight at a high level in 24 hours just rehydrating. Chavez Jr. is going to have lost from that process. I think it’s going to end with him being too weak to fight like he’s been accustomed to fighting. The thing is he’s probably out of his class anyway even if he were not weight drained. But I think it’s much worse for him now after losing so much weight.

I’d be surprised if Chavez Jr. can put the weight back on in just 24 hours. It’s too much weight, and he’s going to have problems in the ring.

The negative affects of dehydration/weight loss will show themselves with Chavez Jr. likely suffering muscle cramps tomorrow night, weakness and general lethargy. He won’t be able to perform at the same level that he’s done in his last few fights because he’s taken his body a step too far this time in my view.