By Jake Donovan

It was free and it was surprisingly competitive. What more can you ask of a Julio Cesar Chavez Jr fight?

Hopefully not progression, as there's no chance of his stepping up in competition any time soon, especially after Saturday night's scare against Matt Vanda, as Chavez was lucky to escape with a split decision in Hermosilo, Sonora, Mexico.

The bout served as the main event of a special edition of boxing on Azteca America.

There were better ways to pay homage to his legendary father Julio Sr, who turned 46 on Saturday. Chavez Jr didn't expect the final product to turn out the way it did, but it was business as usual in the early going. Much like in Papa's day, no Chavez bout truly gets going until at least the second round. Chavez Jr spent the early going patiently measuring up his opponent, seeking the best course of action before carrying out his business.

The path Chavez sought to travel was that of a brutal body attack, which began to pick up steam in the third round. By round four, uppercuts and straight right hands were landing with regularity. Oddly enough, the rare moments of success for Vanda came with his back pinned against the ropes. It was during those occasions when he was often able enough to throw and land in combinations, well enough to get the heat up off of him, even if only for the moment.

Despite coming in as the heavier fighter, Chavez Jr. was at a natural size disadvantage for the first time in his young career. Vanda spent most of his time at middleweight prior to agreeing to this bout.

The first hint of Chavez not being able to truly overwhelm his opponent came in the fifth, when he used his legs to box more rather than just constantly charge forward. A right hand by Vanda might've had something to do with that, as Chavez suddenly became disinterested in trading in the final minute or so of the round.

Stamina became a huge factor in the fight, rearing its ugly head as early as the sixth round. Chavez Jr, who struggled to get down to 156 lb for this fight (Vanda came in at 153 ½), slowed down considerably, at which point Vanda decided that there was plenty to be gained by doing far more than just showing up for the paycheck. Round by round, the Minnesota native turned up the heat, to which Chavez had few answers in return.

Rounds nine and ten were instant classics in their own right, and a fitting end to the fight. The ninth saw both fighters go toe to toe throughout, paving the way for a strong finish. Chavez came out raging in the final round, well aware that potential defeat was staring him in the face. He managed to pin Vanda along the ropes and land to the body, only to take shots upstairs in return. Vanda regained control of the momentum, driving Chavez Jr around the ring and forcing him to go on the defensive until the final bell.

The looks on the fighters' faces told a completely different story than what would be rendered on the judge's scorecards. Vanda and his team celebrated in one corner, while Chavez Jr sat dejected on a stool while surrounded by his trainers and father in the other.

Young Julio's expression barely changed when hearing the final verdict. Matt Vanda won by 96-95 on one scorecard. Chavez Jr. took 7 out of 10 rounds (97-93) on the other, somewhat off, but perhaps a couple of rounds were close enough to where scoring for the hometown kid isn't criminal. What is a crime was the judge who had it a shutout, with an obscene card of 100-90 giving Chavez a split decision win in the biggest scare of his young career.

Chavez moves to 37-0-1 (29KO) with the victory, but to say he advances or improves is hardly telling of what took place in the ring. His level of competition already hit a wall following the 2007 Fight of the Year nominee against Ray Sanchez last December; a struggle here will only further prolong his progress, or lack thereof, while his handlers figure out his next move.

New life is breathed into the career of Matt Vanda. The heavily tattooed journeyman sees his stock go way up even in defeat, as his record dips to 38-7 (21KO). The 29-year is now 4-6 in his last ten, though chances are less attention will be paid that stat as will the fact that he was on the delivering end of the toughest fight in the continuing career of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Whispers coming out of his last fight suggested a future showdown with Hector Camacho Jr sometime in the fall. Their fathers fought 16 years ago, with papa Julio all but beating the snot out of Hector Sr en route to a lopsided decision win.

Going in, many would insist that the same would happen in a bout between their offspring. This fight might change that perspective, though it would only add fuel to the fire, as his handlers are looking for any excuse to keep his career on the exploitation level.

Until that happens, credit should be given to Top Rank for coming up with a way to showcase their young side show on a night when HBO was off in Deutschland and no other network was willing to step up.

Ironically, a wider audience was able to tune in on the one night Chavez Jr was anything short of overwhelming, regardless of who was in the other corner. Perhaps it means we shouldn't expect another any time soon; the lesson learned on Saturday night that there's nothing in the world more expensive than free.

UNDERCARD

The main event wasn't the only fight to feature way-off scoring. The chief support saw Ulises "Archie" Solis turn back the challenge of Glenn Donaire with a unanimous decision in a spirited bout marred by fouls and three judges who apparently missed a hell of a fight.

Donaire entered the fight surrounded by question marks, largely due to his poor showing against Vic Darchinyan in their October '06 flyweight bout. It appeared that the move down to junior flyweight greatly benefited the Filipino, who was taking the fight to the heavy-handed Solis throughout.

Headbutts left Solis cut and discouraged, but instead decided to box and move his way to victory down the stretch. There was confusion at one point in the fight, as it appeared that referee Pat Russell deducted a point from Solis for a headbutt. However the final scores didn't reflect as such – quite frankly, they didn't even suggest that any of the three judges bothered to objectively score the bout.

Solis prevailed by bizarre scores of 120-118 (2x) and 120-117. Either the final tally was read wrong and Solis really won 118-110 (2x) and 117-110, or there were a bunch of even rounds scored among all three scorecards. Whichever is the case, it didn't tell the story, even if the right guy won in the end.

The win marks the seventh successful defense for junior flyweight alphabet titlist Solis, who improves to 27-1-2 (20KO). He is now 9-0-1 in his last ten fights, though a previously busy campaign was halted by injuries earlier this year, making this fight his first of 2008.

Donaire slips to 17-4-1 (KO) with the loss.

Both fighters come from boxing families; Glenn Donaire is the older brother of current flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire, and Archie Solis the younger, though more successful, brother of featherweight contender Jorge Solis.  Both Solis brothers could pass for the Mexican version of Dominic West, better known to Wire heads as "Jimmy McNulty."

Undefeated Mexican flyweight prospect Hernan Marquez (19-0, 14KO) was impressive in scoring a lopsided decision over German Marez (17-10-1, 5KO) in their eight-round televised opener. Scorers were 79-72 across the board. The bout was a rematch to their much closer first meeting in November 2006.

Marquez looks like a promising prospect, but needs to increase his level of competition if he is to be taken seriously. Marez is obviously an opponent for hire whose goal is to not get knocked out; the Marquez rematch was already his ninth fight in 2008. 

The show was presented by Top Rank Inc and Zanfer Promotions.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com