Ariza Talks Chavez, Says Pacquiao Will Overwhelm Mosley
By Chris Robinson
There definitely is some intrigue connected to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. these days. It seemed like just yesterday that Chavez was winning a listless decision over Troy Rowland that seemed to put the partisans inside of the MGM Grand to sleep. After that dreadful performance Chavez would end up hooking up with trainer Freddie Roach and has seemed to flourish thus far, with his riveting battle with John Duddy last summer serving as proof.
Chavez is currently training in Sinaloa, Mexico for a January 29th date with tough journeyman Billy Lyell. Along with the 24-year old are Roach as well as strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who gave us an update from camp as the bout nears. Ariza typically works out of the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles and insists that it is a refreshing change of pace to be training with the young star in the small city of Culiacan.
Continue reading for Ariza’s thoughts on Chavez’s future in the sport as well as his other fighter Manny Pacquiao and his May 7th date with Shane Mosley in Las Vegas. Ariza had some interesting things to say about the style matchup between the two fighters as well as just how long he thinks the Filipino icon can continue fighting in the sport…
Training with Chavez Jr. in Culiacan…
“It’s always good to come to a new place. I like to see and be introduced to new things and new areas. It’s been very good the last few days. We are in Culiacan, Mexico. It’s in the state of Sinaloa. It’s a small city, nothing like Los Angeles of course. Everything is very convenient. They have a great track there, a great training facility and everything is very close by. It’s a lot smaller than Los Angeles for sure.”
Focused for Billy Lyell…
“Chavez is very focused. On every fight we try to focus, not so much on the opponent but just getting in shape for whatever happens. I think everybody knows Billy Lyell. He’s a formidable opponent. He’s a guy who throws a lot of punches. He’s a durable guy. He’s comes to fight and he beat John Duddy, so we’re not taking him lightly. Chavez gets up, he does his work, and he’s just getting ready to fight.”
No more fear...
“I think [Chavez Jr.] has a tremendous amount of potential. I don’t think anybody really gave him credit for it. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t know how to train or how to make weight. I think that was probably the biggest part of what he told me. It’s just funny, we were sitting down last night and he told me ‘If I would have known just a little bit of that than I wouldn’t’ have struggled to make weight and I wouldn’t have looked like shit in all of these fights. In all of these fights I was killing myself’. Now his fear of making weight is gone and his fear of throwing too many punches too soon is gone. It’s really motivating him.”
School all over again…
“I’ve been with Freddie two and a half years now. There’s always that surreal moment where you are just watching him and you can be that close and personal with the way he trains. I think if you are smart you will try to sit there and soak up as much as you can and adopt some of those training habits and methods that he has. I think ultimately that is what makes you a better trainer or a better coach or whatever it is that you are doing. It’s like going to school all over again.”
Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley…
“To me, it boils down to, if you can't handle a guy who throws twenty punches a round like Mayweather, how are you going to handle a guy who throws 120 punches a round? I mean, it’s pretty academic isn’t it? If you can’t condition yourself for a guy like Mayweather how are you going to get ready for a guy like Pacquiao? But on the flip side, I think I learned my lesson the hard way once. I never view a last performance as a way to get ready for a fight. Even though somebody may have a bad fight the fight before, they know who they are fighting. They know they are fighting a guy who is being trained by Freddie Roach. They know that they are being conditioned by me and they are going to come in tip top shape no matter what. Those are the things he has against him. Mosley, he may just come in at the best shape of his life but at forty years old I just don’t see it.”
Possibility of training in the Philippines again…
“I think a big reason to take a fight like this is so that Manny can stay in the Philippines. So he can take care of his congressional duties. Manny has never not taken anybody serious but there are some guys you just take more serious than others. Even though I didn’t really like the way we trained for Margarito, Baguio is an ideal place to train. Because of the convenience, because of the amenities. It’s just a good place.”
A reason to keep fighting…
“You have to ask yourself this question. Who out there can beat him right now? Aside form Mayweather and Mayweather keeps slipping more and more. Every time he stays inactive and other problems are arising in his personal life and stuff like that, it takes him more and more out of the game. Manny, on the other hand, is staying more and more active. If you start putting him against guys like Mosley and guys like Marquez, I don’t know who else they would have down the line, I mean why would you not keep fighting for 15 or 20 million dollars a fight?”
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here, and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
