Chavez Jr. Will Aim To Be 175 To 178-Pounds in Ring With Canelo

By Miguel Rivera

If everything goes as expected, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will not even weigh 180 pounds when he enters the ring on May 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Part of Chavez's strategy is to eliminate the factor of carrying too much weight, which in turn would make him slow in the ring.

The former WBC middleweight champion will face his country rival, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, at a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds.

Canelo, who is moving up from the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds, will use speed and movement to deal with the bigger man.

Chavez's strength and conditioning coach, Angel "Memo" Heredia, wants his boxer to come in at a max weight of 178 pounds, but the real target is 175 - provided they have no issues with making 164.5-pounds.

Several days ago, Chavez revealed that he was already down to 180-pounds with more than two months to go before the fight.

"We are working on the weight to ensure that he is not too heavy (between the time of weigh-in and night of the fight). Two weeks before the fight, we will evaluate to see the weight he would feel better at," Heredia explained to ESPN Deportes.

"We are looking for a maximum weight gain of 10 to 14 pounds. Chavez is losing weight well, gradually, there will be no dehydration, there will not be a rebound. We will look for 10 pound raise as a minimum but if we raise to 14 pounds it is fine, it is a comfortable weight for Chavez.... he will have mobility and less wear in reference to oxygenation. He will arrive well to the ring."

"The difference is going to be seen in Chavez. The importance is on making the weight, but the most important thing is the recovery... to recover well (after the weigh-in) and reach the maximum weight on the day of the fight. That is something tha we know how to do very well."