Chavez: I Was Inactive, Injured, Didn't Train - So Canelo Picked Me

By Miguel Rivera

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. admits that he was viewed as an "easy pick" by Mexican rival Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and his handlers.

The fighters will meet in the ring next Saturday night, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The HBO Pay-Per-View fight will take place at a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds. Canelo is coming up from the junior middleweight limit of 154-pounds, and Chavez Jr. is coming down from his most recent fighting weight of 168.

Chavez believes a hand injury, inactivity and the inability to properly train were factors that motivated Canelo to face him.

But the boxer has completely changed his ways. He hired Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain and retained conditioning coach Angel "Memo" Heredia. As of Wednesday the boxer was already down to 169.5-pounds.

Chavez Jr. hopes that Canelo and his team are underestimating him. As he previously stated, no chances of a controversial decision will be taken - which is why he's targeting a knockout ending.

"They do not want me to be at my best. [They picked me] because of my inactivity, I broke my hand, my disregard for training in the gym - but that's good for me, because we're going to try to give him a surprise. I think they took the fight because of that, because they believe that I am not at 100% and that's a benefit for me," Chavez Jr. said.

"This fight has always been good because it is good for Mexico, for boxing. And for me it's a great opportunity. I have to prepare well, I have to be in good condition. I need to apply pressure on him in a way that he's never experienced. I need to connect on him, put him in trouble to see how he reacts. I think this fight is heating up and now that fight week is coming up it's going to be even more credible, because a lot of people thought it would never happen."

"My best rounds are those in the middle, the final ones. I'll try not to lose any of them, because I do not want to leave it to the judges with a decision. I want to knock him out so I don't leave anything to the judges. The fight is a week away, I think I'm going to win and I'm definitely going to be one of the best representatives of Mexican boxing."