Garcia Details Possible Return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

By Steve Kim

After his July 18th victory over Marcos Reyes in El Paso, Texas, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. underwent surgery on his left hand, which he damaged early on in that fight. Since that point, Chavez Jr. has been out of action but trainer Robert Garcia - who prepared him for that bout - expects him back in the gym soon.

"I was told he's going to start training in December because his hand is still in rehab and all that," explained Garcia, who this weekend will be in the corner of Brandon Rios as they face Tim Bradley at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

"So in December the doctor said he can start punching. So the plan is to get him back in the ring late January or early February. My guess - and if they ask me - I'm going to push for February, better. Because if he starts training in December, that's two, two-and-a-half months in the gym with Julio."

Once again, Chavez Jr. had problems making weight, but Garcia insisted - "when we were in the gym, Julio did everything he was told."

He was even given certain days off from training at Garcia's new gym in Riverside.

"When you have a fighter who hasn't done it right all his career and then I'm training him everyday for amonth or so, the body needs some rest. So I'd give him a Thursday off once in awhile and I'd give him that day off but when he was in the gym, believe me, he always trained a good two, two-and-a-half hours. So he does train.

According to Garcia, it's what takes place outside the gym that really hampers Chavez Jr.

"It's bad habits, eating and sleeping habits that he had is what hurts him. He doesn't sleep at night, he sleeps during the days and I'm sure he doesn't sleep the full eight hours a day. When you have a family, you have a baby, you have  wife, there's no way you can sleep during the day and those are the habits he had gotten, staying up all night and that's probably the main reason he didn't perform the way he should.

"What I do know is that for the past month, month-and-a-half, he's been trying to change those habits because he realized it's not good. He's getting used to sleeping during the night and waking up in the morning like a normal person does. So if he does make that change I think we will have a different Chavez in the fights."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.