By Luis Sandoval
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr will make his return to the ring after a one year hiatus as he will take on the always tough Brian Vera at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The weight for the fight has been changed a few times and it will now take place at the Super Middleweight limit of 168 pounds.
Originally the fight was scheduled for September 7th but due to a cut suffered by Chavez during training camp, the bout was postponed 3 weeks. Many questioned out loud if the real reason for the postponement was Chavez’s struggle to make weight despite him putting out a photograph of his cut getting stitched up.
While a permanent move to 168 would seem likely, Chavez made it clear he would still fight at Middleweight as he believes there are still some interesting fights he would like to pursue. There are plenty of options for him at both weight classes and he’d be willing to accept any of them.
“I want to come down to 160 if there are good fights. A rematch with [Sergio] Martinez or a fight with [Gennady] Golovkin which people have been talking about. He's one of the best fighters at 160. If not I can stay at 168 and fight with Sakio Bika or Andre Ward who is one of the world champions. Those are the fights that interest me but first it’s Brian Vera” Chavez would inform.
Chavez is a very big Middleweight and admits that while he can still make 160 pounds, it does take some a lot of work and sacrifices on his end. Fighting against Vera at 168 pounds, Chavez feels he will definitely go into the ring way better off.
“I never fought at 168 pounds. It’s my first time fighting at 168 but I think I will feel better this time because well, its 8 pounds. It'll be less sacrifice for me to come down and weight and that's going to make me much stronger when I go into the ring and fight” Chavez would tell the media.
The rematch with Martinez is still a fight Chavez would like to avenge and he also reiterates he wouldn’t shy away from a fight with Andre Ward who has been mentioning Chavez quite a bit in hopes of securing a mega fight with the former Mexican champion.
Regardless of all the talk of the future, Chavez also reminded everyone that his focus was solely on Vera and believes he will be in for a tough and difficult fight.
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.
