By Dan Ambrose: Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been given a temporary suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for declining a VADA drug test, according to @MIkeCoppinger. Chavez Jr. now has a hearing with the Nevada Commission on November 20th.
The 33-year-old Chavez Jr. has been training for his December 20th fight against Daniel Jacobs (35-3, 29 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. That fight now could be in jeopardy. Jacobs is moving up to 168, and for some reason he chose Chavez Jr. as his opponent.
Chavez Jr. (51-3-1, 33 KOs) reportedly declined and evaded VADA collectors last week when they came to his home in Studio City to test him for his upcoming fight against Jacobs.
Chavez Jr. was a good fighter seven years ago, but he’s not been all that active since his loss to Sergio Martinez in 2012. Chavez Jr. has seven times in the last seven years, and he’s been beaten by Saul Canelo Alvarez and Andrzej Fonfara. Some boxing fans believe Chavez Jr. deserved a loss in his first fight against journeyman Brian Vera in 2013.
Sources: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. temporarily suspended by Nevada commission after evading VADA collectors at his Studio City home last week. He declined drug test and faces a hearing with commission on Nov. 20. Fight with Daniel Jacobs, slated for Dec. 20 in Vegas, in jeopardy
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) October 31, 2019
If Chavez Jr. is unable to face Jacobs on December 20th due to him being suspended by the Nevada Commission, then it’s expected the former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado (24-12-1, 14 KOs) will be brought in as the replacement opponent for Daniel. Rosado, 33, isn’t a great opponent, obviously, but neither was Chavez Jr.
Jacobs is coming off of a close 12 round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez last May in Las Vegas. It was a fight that Jacobs could have won if he’d fought harder in the first six rounds. He fought passively, and let Canelo build a big lead. When Canelo gassed out in the second half of the fight, Jacobs came roaring back, but ultimately lost by a close decision. The scores were 116-112, 115-113, 115-113. The performance Canelo showed once again that he’s basically a six-round fighter.
Using Rosado as the replacement would make it hard to take Jacobs seriously. Rosado has lost 3 out of his last 5 fights. If Jacobs is going to be fighting at 168, then he needs to be fighting better opposition than this if he’s going to amount to anything in the division. At 32, Jacobs doesn’t need tune-up level fights to get him ready to take on the top level contenders at 168.
Jacobs needs to face world level opposition, because he’s not getting any younger. In 2018, Jacobs beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko by a controversial 12 round decision. A lot of boxing fans saw Jacobs losing that fight, as he was worn down and outworked by Derevyanchenko in the last eight rounds of the fight. That’s the guy Jacobs should be fighting to clear up the controversy surrounding his win.
Chavez Jr. defeated journeyman Evert Bravo (25-11-1, 19 KOs) by a 1st round knockout last August. That was the first fight for Chavez Jr. since his loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2017.