Sergio Martinez: Chavez Jr. is more of a light heavyweight than a middleweight

By Boxing News - 07/10/2012 - Comments

Image: Sergio Martinez: Chavez Jr. is more of a light heavyweight than a middleweightBy Dan Ambrose: Former two division world champion Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) expects a really tough fight from WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) on September 15th, but not because of Chavez Jr’s skills, but because of his huge size. Martinez sees himself as a junior middleweight and sees Chavez Jr. as a light heavyweight who is able to fight at middleweight against smaller guys.

Martinez said to Boxinginsider.com “[All] Chavez Jr. has is his physical strength. [He] has nothing more. It will be a tough fight because of that circumstance…I feel more like a junior middleweight than a middleweight, and Chavez is closer to the light heavyweight than to 160.”

Chavez Jr. has been weighing in the neighborhood of 180 for his last five bouts, and that definitely is light heavyweight and above dipping into the cruiserweight division. Martinez is probably correct that he’s more of a junior middleweight fighting at middleweight than a true middleweight. He’s not someone that boils down from 180 like Chavez Jr. and then rehydrates back to 180 after making weight. Martinez easily makes the 160 pound weight limit, and then puts on a few puts at the most to fight in the region of 163. Him facing a guy over 180 is going to be asking a lot of him, but Martinez can definitely win because he’ll be much faster the flat-footed Chavez Jr.

Freddie Roach, the trainer for Chavez Jr., has already revealed what they plan on doing for the Martinez bout. Roach says that he’s going to have Chavez Jr. cutting off the ring and putting a lot of pressure on Martinez. It’s pretty much the only way that Chavez Jr. can win the fight because he doesn’t have the speed or the one-punch power to beat Martinez in a boxing match.

Chavez Jr’s only chance of winning this fight is to pressure Martinez, wear him down and blast him out like he did against Andy Lee last month. It’s going to be a lot tougher for Chavez Jr. this time because Martinez can really move unlike Lee, and he won’t be stupid by just standing in front of Chavez Jr. making it easy for him.



Comments are closed.