By John F. McKenna (McJack): In one of the most anticipated matches in years, new WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KO’s) dominated former champion Julio Cesar Chavez (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) for 11 of the 12 rounds last night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The fight was not without it’s drama however when Chavez heeding the urging of five time trainer of the year Freddie Roach went after Sergio and nearly repeated the last round miracle KO his father had pulled off against Meldrick Taylor so many years before. But another miracle was not in the cards as “Maravilla” held on to survive the 12th round and hang on to his hard fought win.
It was redemption at last for Martinez who had labored so long and hard for this night. He had long accused Chavez of being a paper champion, claiming that he rode to his WBC world title status on the coattails of his famous father Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., the greatest of all Mexican warriors.
It is often said that the victories that are the sweetest are those that are the most difficult to attain. If that is the case than Sergio’s victory Saturday night is especially sweet. The reality is that Martinez had struggled so long to achieve what he thought was rightfully his that he began to think that he would never receive the opportunity to prove he was the best middleweight boxer in the world.
For Chavez his defeat must be especially disheartening. Just when he was at the point where he thought he would have the opportunity to escape the shadow of his famous father, he failed his greatest test. Those guiding the career of Chavez had done their best to help him claim a world title while at the same time shielding him from the one fighter they knew he was not yet ready for, Sergio Martinez.
Chavez has made major strides since taking on Freddie Roach as his trainer. With each fight he has shown marked improvement. Julio’s 7th round TKO over the highly thought of Andy Lee in June was most impressive. Chavez used his size advantage to wear down and impose his will on Lee.
Julio was able to use the tactic of coming down from approximately 180 pounds to the middleweight limit of 160 pounds and then putting the weight back on in time for the fight. Chavez used the tactic over and over again to his own benefit. But at 26 Julio’s body has continued to grow and it became increasingly more difficult for him to take off the weight.
On Friday Chavez weighed in at 158 pounds and if there was ever a fighter who looked weight drained and emaciated it was Julio. At this point it is unknown whether Chavez’s struggle to make weight for the Martinez fight played a part in his appearing to be lethargic at times during the fight.
Chavez and his team will have to decide going forward whether or not it is still feasible for him to continue to use the strategy of coming down to 160 pounds for the weigh in and then rehydrating back up to 180 pounds. What had been an advantage appeared to work against Julio on Saturday night.
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