By Dan Ambrose: Former middleweight champions Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sergio ‘Maravilla’ Martinez have agreed to fight each of in a rematch in a rematch in September or October. Martinez, 44. and Chavez Jr. have given their word to face each other later this year, according to ESPN Deportes.
The two were supposed to fight each other last year, but the match failed to happen. Given the 44-year-old Martinez’s advanced age and the sad state of the 33-year-old Chavez Jr’s once promising career, it’s important that these two face each other soon before whatever interest that was ever there by the boxing public dissipates further.
“The fight has to be done. I have to fight before in a semi-complete, on July 6, and later we can agree on the fight with ‘Maravilla’ at 170 pounds,” Chavez Jr. said to ESPN Deportes. “There is no way it can not be done. He is a good athlete and I think it will be a good fight, I’m going to get the thorn out,” Chavez Jr. said.
Chavez Jr. will be fighting this summer against an opponent still to be determined in June or July. Chavez Jr. hasn’t fought since losing to Saul Canelo Alvarez by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision in May 2017 on HBO pay-per-view. Chavez Jr. came into that fight, which was fought at a catch-weight of 164.5 pounds, looking thin and sickly from weight loss. Chavez Jr. barely threw a punch in the entire fight, putting Canelo in a position of trying to make the fight interesting for the boxing public that purchased tickets to see it live and ordered it on PPV. The fans were furious afterwards at such a waste of money for a horrible fight. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya had told fans that it was going to be exciting fight between two Mexican warriors. It turned out be a real dud. It’s unclear why Chavez Jr. is returning to the ring two years later. Is he broke already?
Martinez’s knee problems could make it difficult for him to move around the ring. It’s hard to imagine Martinez’s surgically repaired right knee is in better condition now than it was in his last fight five years ago in 2014.
The two fought each other close to seven years ago with Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KOs) defeating Chavez Jr. by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision on September 15, 2012. The win for Martinez proved to be a costly one due to him suffering a knee injury when he was knocked down by Chavez Jr. in the 12th round. Martinez’s career ended just two years later with a 10th round knockout loss to Miguel Cotto in June 2014. Martinez’s surgically repaired right knee wasn’t able to hold up.
“I feel motivated and this time I think I’m going to beat him by knockout, seeing him gave me the motivation to get into training,” Martinez said to ESPN Deportes. “Let’s hope that he signs now because he said last year that we were going to fight and in the end he said no.”
It’s hard to imagine there are any boxing fans out there tht still want to see 44-year-old Sergio Martinez and Chavez Jr. fight each other again. The time for them to fight each other in a rematch is long passed. The two should have fought each other no later than 2014. It’s understandable why they didn’t. Martinez’s knee problems made it difficult for him to fight after his win over Chavez Jr. In fact, Martinez fought just twice more before restring in 2014.
Chavez Jr. has done virtually nothing since his loss to Martinez in 2012. Since that fight, Chavez Jr. has lost to Canelo and Andrzej Fonfara. Chavez’s only wins in the last seven years have come against Dominik Britsch, Marcos Reyes and Brian Vera. Chavez Jr’s last win was three years ago against Britsch in 2016.