RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., super bantamweight contender Alejandro “Cobrita” Gonzalez Jr. and heavyweight contender Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola participated in a media workout on Wednesday at Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside, Calif., prior to their upcoming fights on Premier Boxing Champions on CBS and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®. The fights will take place as part of an afternoon-night doubleheader on Saturday, July 18, at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas, live on CBS Sports (4 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. PT) and SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).
PBC on CBS will kick-off the action with a doubleheader featuring the U.S. debut of undefeated Irish champion Carl Frampton (20-0, 14 KOs), who will defend his IBF Junior Featherweight World Championship against Mexican contender Gonzalez Jr. (25-1-2, 15 KOs) in the 12-round main event. In the 8/10-round co-feature, heavyweight star Arreola (36-4, 31 KOs), of Los Angeles takes on Cameroonian heavyweight Frederic Kassi (18-3, 10 KOs).
In the main event of the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader later that evening, Mexican superstar Chavez, Jr. (48-2-1, 32 KOs) meets fellow Mexican brawler Marcos Reyes (33-2, 24 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight bout.
The 12-round co-main event will feature a pair of top bantamweights, as Puerto Rican Olympian McJoe Arroyo (16-0, 8 KOs) and Arthur Villanueva (27-0, 14 KOs), of the Philippines put their undefeated records on the line for the IBF Bantamweight World Championship.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is the first fighter to train at Robert Garcia’s new boxing academy in Riverside, which opened June 8. Garcia formerly trained all of his boxers at his well-known gym in Oxnard, Calif.
Julio Cesar Chavez, arguably the greatest Mexican fighter of all time, made an appearance during his son’s workout to show his support and offer words of encouragement.
Here’s what Chavez Jr., Gonzalez Jr., Arreola, Julio Cesar Chavez and Robert Garcia (Chavez Jr.’s trainer) had to say Wednesday at the Riverside gym:
JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR., Former World Champion
“I think Robert Garcia was the best option for me after my last fight. He speaks Spanish and knows the Mexican style. He has trained a lot of champions and I have a good connection with him.
“I missed the basics of boxing training for the last fight. Since I had such a long layoff, I needed to get back to the basics and I never did.
“I feel like I am in a good place right now. I am confident in my boxing ability because I know I am in the right condition. I sparred 10 rounds yesterday, this never happened in my last fight.
“I must win this fight and then everyone will see that I am capable of fighting the big names like [Gennady] Golovkin and [Carl] Froch.
“I must stay prepared and focus on my current opponent. He’s only 27 and has the ability.
“I learned a lot in my fight against [Andrzej] Fonfara. I really felt his punches, I became very tired. He taught me that I needed to spend more time in the gym and on my strategy. But I don’t think it was the wrong decision to fight him.
“I am currently training not just for my fight with [Marcos] Reyes, but also for a potential rematch with Fonfara.
“I feel like I need to have a dominant performance to show my fans what I am capable of. I must work my jab and use my defense.
“For this fight I will be at 168, but I am not sure what I will weigh for my fights in the future. I’m ready for less than 168 to face opponents like Canelo [Alvarez].”