By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – Julio Cesar Chavez has seen something different within his son since he agreed to fight Canelo Alvarez.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has passionately told his father he feels he can’t allow himself to lose to the heavily favored Alvarez on Saturday night. The former WBC middleweight champion, notorious for not preparing properly for his fights, hasn’t taken the usual shortcuts that cost him in previous training camps.
The younger Chavez has demonstrated during this training camp to his ever-demanding father just how badly he wants to beat Alvarez in their all-Mexican showdown at T-Mobile Arena. His son’s professional approach to cutting weight appropriately and applying what new trainer Nacho Beristain has taught him in sparring has convinced Chavez that he’ll upset Alvarez, who’s a 6-1 favorite.
Chavez acknowledges that Alvarez is more talented than his son, but he promised Oscar De La Hoya on Thursday night that talent won’t be enough with so much Mexican pride at stake.
“With all due respect in front of Oscar, I know Oscar wants Canelo to win,” Chavez told De La Hoya as part of a question-and-answer session at MGM Grand Garden Arena. “Of course, I want my son to win. But sometimes it’s not the talent. It’s who wants it more. And Saturday night, Oscar, you’re gonna get a big surprise. You’re gonna get a big surprise because my son is gonna win. He’s gonna pull off the upset because it’s not the most talented. It’s who wants it the most.”
De La Hoya, who stopped Chavez twice in June 1996 and September 1998, and Chavez were friendly and respectful toward each other during the aforementioned event.
The 12-round bout between the 26-year-old Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) and the 31-year-old Chavez (50-2-1, 32 KOs, 1 NC) is the main event of HBO Pay-Per-View’s four-fight telecast from T-Mobile Arena (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT; $69.99 in HD). Though a big underdog, the 6-feet-1 Chavez owns a significant size advantage over Alvarez, who could be out-weighed by more than 15 pounds once their fight starts Saturday night.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.