By Osiris Mendez Cruz
Junior middleweight Omar Chavez (28-2, 21KOs) was unable to get revenge on Saturday night in Tijuana, Mexico. The 22-year-old boxer dropped another decision loss to Mexican rival Jorge Paez Jr. (32-4). Chavez lost a ten round majority decision to Paez last December, but this time Paez took a unanimous verdict from the judges. Chavez blames pre-fight leg cramps for affecting him in the ring, and forcing him to often retreat to the ropes where Paez would unload with combinations.
"It's not an excuse but you have to understand that these cramps affected me long before the fight. I'm taking credit away from Paez, but I was not 100%. This was not the first time it happened, but this time the cramps were more painful. Even when [promoter] Fernando Beltran came and asked me why I was not warming up, I said that if I warmed up I would run the risk of not going out to fight because of the intense pain," Chavez said.
