Eddie Hearn willing to let Julio Chavez Jr. rebuild career on Matchroom undercards

By Boxing News - 12/24/2019 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Eddie Hearn says he’ll give Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. another chance to rebuild his career if he phones him and agrees to fight on his undercards in 10-rounders for $100K. Further, Chavez Jr. (51-4-1, 33 KOs) will also need to agree to move up to 175, according to Hearn, because he feels he’s outgrown the 168-lb division.

It would be too risky for Hearn to schedule matches for Chavez Jr. at 168, and then him missing the weight and coming in at 172+ lbs like he did in the Daniel Jacobs fight. Chavez Jr. missed weight by almost 5 lbs.

Chavez Jr. lost to former IBF/WBA middleweight champion Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) by a 5th round injury stoppage last Friday night at the Talking Stick Resort Arena, in Phoenix. What the defeat look bad is Chavez Jr. quitting after round 5 due to a nose injury.

Hearn and a lot of boxing fans felt that Chavez Jr. should have kept fighting until the bitter end. If anything, Hearn wanted the fight to be stopped by either the referee or the ringside doctor, but not Chavez Jr. choosing to quit.

Hearn willing to put Chavez Jr. on undercards for Matchroom shows

“Unfortunately for Chavez junior, those chances and those chances may be gone, but last night was everything I want as a promoter,” said Hearn to @TheLastRound12 podcast. “I wished he’d sat down on the stool, and the doctor said, ‘You can’t continue.’ But when he went back to his corner and said, ‘No,’ it was a ‘no mas.’ Ultimately, he quit.

“It was a right hand,” said Hearn when asked what punch caused his nose injury. “I’m gutted, because I thought Chavez had such a great opportunity. I’m looking at this crowd and the sales, I’m thinking, ‘This kid could be massive.“ It’s gotten to the stage where the only thing he can do is come back on an undercard somewhere. I would probably put him on [an undercard], but he can’t get the money he’s been getting, and he has to come back at a lower level and try and get a good win,” said Hearn on Chavez Jr. needing to rebuild.

Asking Chavez Jr. to take a pay cut from the $3 million purse for the Jacobs fight will be tough for Hearn, especially if he’s serious about him getting just $100,000.

Hearn admitted that the 10,000+ boxing fans that showed up to watch the Jacobs-Chavez Jr. card last Friday in Phoenix was by far the biggest attendance for any Matchroom card in the United States. Those fans didn’t come to see Jacobs. Those were Chavez Jr. fans.

If Hearn can put Chavez Jr. in two or three easy fights to rebuild him, he could potentially lure back a lot of  his loyal boxing fans to come see him. However, Chavez Jr. may find it difficult to win fights if he moves up to light heavyweight like Hearn wants, as the guys in that weight class hit hard.

Chavez Jr. has a long road back – Hearn

“Mexicans don’t like that. I was sitting next to Mikey Garcia, and he was saying, ‘You can’t do that,'” said Hearn about Chavez Jr. quitting after the 5th round. “Unfortunately the problems for Julio Chavez Jr. stems from the life that he led growing up. If he does come back, he should come back at 175. His shoulders are big, but who knows what he’s going to do.

“He’s in a position now where it’s a long, long road back. The numbers are great,” said Hearn about Chavez Jr. “I think he stays because he’s a glutton for punishment,” said Hearn about Chavez Jr. likely to continue fighting. “He can fight, and I think he’s a decent fighter.

“He was out for one year, and he probably shouldn’t have taken the fight, but it was a lot of money and he thought he could beat Danny Jacobs. But maybe he should have come back with another 10 rounder,” said Hearn on Chavez Jr.

It’s pretty obvious that the main reason Hearn is willing to give Chavez Jr. another chance is because of his last name, and the fact that he can bring in huge amounts of fans. Hearn doesn’t have a lot of fighters his Matchroom stable that can attract big audiences in the U.S.

These are three Matchroom fighters that can sell tickets in the U.S:

  • Mikey Garcia
  • Anthony Joshua – He’s only fought once in the U.S in his career
  • Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

The rest of the guys that Hearn has in his huge Matchroom Boxing stable can’t be counted on to sell a lot of tickets, and that includes Daniel Jacobs and Demetrius Andrade.

YouTube video

Hearn wants Chavez Jr. to agree to fight for $100K on undercards in 10-rounders

“What do you do now?” said Hearn about Chavez Jr. “The only thing you can do is call me up and say, ‘Can you give me another chance? I’ll box at 9:00 and have a 10-rounder, and I’ll box for a $100,000, but I want to build myself back into the sport,’” Hearn said in what he wants to hear from Chavez Jr. “I would probably do it, because I’m a glutton for punishment as well. I like to solve mysteries, and something motivates me about dealing with rough diamonds.

“We’ve got a lot of fighters that come out of the Olympics, and have won gold,” said Hearn. “That’s easy work for me, you know what I mean? But to try and take a problem [fighter] and fix it to make it right, and put someone on the right path, and the right road also motivates me.

“There’s no bigger job than Chavez, but I can’t believe I’m even considering it,” said Hearn on wanting to try and rebuild Chavez Jr. “But do you want to fight for $100K in a 10-rounder at 7:00. He may think he’s above that, ‘I’m Chavez Jr.’ If he truly loves the sport, he might do it. If not, he won’t bother,” said Hearn.

We’ll have to see what Chavez Jr. thinks of Hearn’s ideal of placing him on undercards, and paying him less than what he’s been getting. Calling Chavez Jr. a “rough diamond” is complimenting him, because he’s about to turn 34 in February. He’s been failing since 2012, and seems pretty clear that he’s getting worse rather than better. Moreover, it’s not like other management have tried to rebuild Chavez Jr. and failed miserably.

Jacobs could fight Callum, Saunders or Golovkin next – Hearn

“That was our biggest crowd since we started promoting in America,” said Hearn about the Jacobs vs. Chavez Jr. fight last Friday in Phoenix.

“It wasn’t easy for him,” said Hearn about Jacobs. “He was coming up to 168, and he was fighting a guy that was 200 lbs inside the ring probably. I reckon Danny was 180 [pounds] tops, so he was probably giving 20 lbs away, and you could see that in the opening rounds. That’s a fight that I love,” Jacobs vs. Callum Smith. “Callum and Billy Joe are in a waiting game for Canelo.

“If Billy or Callum don’t get Canelo, then they should fight each other in a unification fight,” said Hearn. ‘The other person [that doesn’t get Canelo fight] should fight Danny Jacobs for their world title, whether that’s Billy Joe Saunders or Callum Smith.

“I think he’s [Jacobs] going to enjoy himself at 168, because he was done at 160. Not Canelo, but Callum Smith or Gennadiy Golovkin,” said Hearn about possible fights for Jacobs. I think Callum and Billy are reading for those defining fights, because they haven’t. I think Callum vs. Danny Jacobs is a big fight,” said Hearn.

Jacobs might not enjoy himself at 168 if Hearn puts him in against Callum Smith, as that’s a very tough fighter with power and size. Chavez Jr. gave Jacobs all he could handle for the first 4 rounds, and the only reason he did well in the 5th is because of his nose injury.

When Jacobs was at 160, he was always just a shade below elite. He was a fighter that did good enough to lose close fights, but he never distinguished himself as a top level guy.