By Miguel Rivera
Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is still very eager to get his hands on WBC/IBO/WBA/IBF middleweight world champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs).
There were some discussions for a Golovkin-Chavez fight, at 168-pounds, in 2014. Their negotiations fell apart after Chavez broke away from former promoter Top Rank and a legal battle soon erupted.
Chavez is looking at a tentative return date of December 3 on Mexican soil. Chavez Jr. (49-2-1, 32KOs) has been inactive since last July, when he suffered a bad hand injury during a decision win over Marcos Reyes. The injury required surgery and kept him out of the ring for the remainder of the year.
Golovkin is in talks to face WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Jacobs on December 10th in New York City. Those negotiations are having some trouble and may not come off. A purse bid is going to be staged on October 22nd if a deal is not reached.
There are also talks ongoing for Golovkin to face Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez next September. Chavez believes that Golovkin will eventually break him down, because he doesn't believe Canelo can withstand the big shots of GG.
Chavez Jr. feels that he's the only potential opponent who is capable of taking Golovkin's punches.
"I think it would be a good fight (Canelo-Golovkin), where Golovkin would be pressing and Canelo would be boxing on his legs," Chavez Jr. told ESPN Deportes. "I think Golovkin could knock him out or beat him with an easy decision."
"With me (against Golovkin), I think that I'm the only one who could withstand the punches of Golovkin. And I think that if I come in there in good condition - I think that I could even knock him out - because everyone already saw how Kell Brook hurt him and I am a much bigger fighter than him. At 168 (pounds) it would be a great fight and much more competitive [than Golovkin-Canelo]."
"For the last three or four months, I've been ready to fight but for one reason or another things dragged out with some fights, but thank God I kept training and I am a 100 percent. People are going to see the best Julio that they've been asking to see. I would love to fight three times a year as I did at the beginning of my career and when I was champion."
