Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. J'Leon Love Getting Close, Says Sources

By Miguel Rivera

A few days ago, trainer Freddie Roach mentioned the name of J'Leon Love (22-1, 12 KO's) as a frontrunner to face former WBC middleweight world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (49-2-1, 32KOs).

Chavez has reunited with Roach for the first time since their split in 2012. They are currently training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.

One of the frontrunners mentioned over the last few weeks has been Gabe Rosado, who barely got past his opponent Antonio Gutierrez on Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson. Rosado went down and won a razor thin ten round unanimous decision.

Roach said they were seriously looking at Love, who is promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"His next fight could be in Texas, or here in Los Angeles," said Roach. "We are considering two opponents and one of the possibilities is J'León Love."

Love has won four fights in a row since getting knocked out by Rogelio Medina in three rounds in August of 2014.

Sources now indicate that a deal with Love is very close to being finalized for July 16, likely at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

"It seems that everything is already a fact. I'm not sure if already signed but there is at least one agreement put together, but they are still finalizing the details. This fight could become official this week," said a source to ESPN Deportes.

Chavez has fought twice in the StubHub. In the first fight he pulled out a win over Bryan Vera in September 2013, a year after his first loss to Sergio Martinez. The second was in April 2015, when he was knocked out  by light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara.

This fight with Love would be the first for Chavez Jr. (49-2-1, 32 KOs) since July 2015, when he badly injured his hand during a tend round decision victory over Marco 'Dorado' Reyes in El Paso, Texas.