By Luis Sandoval
This same time last year Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was a couple weeks away from the biggest and most difficult fight of his career as he was ready to tangle with pound for pound fighter Sergio Martinez. The son of a legend risked his title and his undefeated record against a fighter who many thought would never be able to get Chavez in the ring after numerous failed attempts.
While it was commendable of Chavez to finally step up and take on Martinez, he unfortunately came up short in the biggest test of his career. He did however manage to give us one of the most dramatic moments in recent memory as he was able to hurt and knock Martinez down in the 12th round but wasn’t able to finish him. In the end, the moment only masked the previous one sided 11 rounds where Martinez controlled the fight.
Fast forward and it’s now his Mexican countryman Saul “Canelo” Alvarez who is taking a leap and fighting the best pound for pound fighter in the sport in Floyd Mayweather. During his press conference to announce his fight with Brian Vera, Chavez was asked what kind of chance he gave Alvarez against Mayweather.
“The chance I give him is he's young and he's advancing. So let's hope the time he’d had and the fight with Trout will give him the experience so he can have the progress he needs to defeat Mayweather. Because up until the Trout fight, I saw Canelo fight but I don't give him the possibility because it’s very hard to connect with one solid shot on Mayweather” Chavez would share.
Chavez isn’t the only person who isn’t giving Alvarez much of a chance against Mayweather. Like in all his fights, Mayweather is the favorite but Chavez also believes there are some factors that might come into play on Floyd’s part.
“It’s a good fight. It’s a good fight because Mayweather is also almost 37 years old and has his own problems so I think all those factors in the background are going to be very important for September 14th” said Chavez.
There was once a high demand for Chavez and Alvarez to fight but with promotional issues and both men drifting further apart in weight classes, the closest we ever got to a battle was both men fighting on the same date in the same city last year. This September however, Alvarez will have the stage all to himself and will try to avoid the fate of his countryman Chavez.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @truewest007. You can also tune in to Boxingscene’s official audio show The Boxing Lab every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with host Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
