By Dan Ambrose: The World Boxing Council (WBC) has elevated former WBC super middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (47-1-1, 32 KO’s) to No. 1in their 168 lb. rankings for this month. Chavez Jr. was pushed up from the No. 2 spot to the #1 position, but it’s hard to understand what the rationale was for the WBC to give Chavez Jr. the No. 1 spot when he still hasn’t fought at super middleweight before.
Chavez Jr’s fight against Brian Vera (23-7, 14 KO’s) last September took place at 173 in the light heavyweight division, and Chavez Jr. looked emaciated in making the 173 lb. weight the day before the fight.
Here’s what Dan Rafael has to say about Chavez Jr’s new rankings:
“Chavez No. 1 168 by wretched WBC but never boxed there. Blew weight 4 last fight (lucky win). Lost to Sergio b4 [before] that #wbcisdisgusting #boxing. Apparently the wretched WBC is smoking the same thing as Chavez Jr. by ranking him No. 1 at 168. I defy the wretched WBC to give a truthful rationale for ranking Chavez Jr. No. 1 at 168. Notice the wretched WBC said I wouldn’t say it to their face (I would) but they didn’t dispute my point.”
I happen to agree with Rafael. It’s hard to understand where the WBC is coming from in giving Chavez Jr. the number 1 position at super middleweight when he’s 1-1 in his last two fights, and the victory he got over Vera was a controversial one. You can really say that Chavez Jr. 0-2 in his last two fights. There’s also his testing positive for Marijuana and subsequent suspension because of that. You would think that the WBC would factor that into the equation when it comes to them making their rankings.
Chavez Jr. lost badly to Sergio Martinez, and then he gets suspended. Following that, Chavez Jr. can’t make the 168 lb. weight limit for his fight with Vera, and ends up winning a controversial decision over him at 173. Vera had to fight a guy that was well above his normal 160 lb. weight class. Vera ended up getting a bigger purse due to Chavez Jr. not being able to make 168, but it’s disappointing that he ended up having to fight a light heavyweight. What’s even more confusing is why the WBC would rank Chavez Jr. at Number 1 at 168 after all of that.
Chavez Jr. will be fighting Vera at 168 on March 1st at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. If Chavez Jr. fails to make weight again for the fight then he;ll be facing a stiff fine.
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