ANAHEIM, California – Redemption can be one act away for anyone.
For Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, who has sinned at the altar of boxing in lifeless showings against Sergio Martinez, Canelo Alvarez, Daniel Jacobs and ex-UFC champion Anderson Silva, Saturday’s DAZN pay-per-view main event versus Jake Paul is one final cleansing opportunity.
Chavez, 39, opened his post-public-workout comments Wednesday by expressing how pleased he feels in his fitness and preparedness as he heads to Honda Center in a cruiserweight bout against the popular YouTuber now meeting his first former world champion.
“Before, trying to make 160 [pounds], 168, was horrible … now, I’m enjoying it,” Chavez Jnr said.
“It’s so important to win this fight. I recognize I’ve showed up out of shape in the Canelo fight and a couple others. I want to prove I’m still a good fighter. The difference in this fight is my preparation, because I was doing other ‘things’ before. Now, I’m focused, and I feel good … that’s a good change.”
Chavez, 54-6-1 (34 KOs), confided to a veteran Spanish-language reporter he’s known for years that he feels forgotten by many fans, so taking the bout against Paul and his 20-million-plus YouTube followers is a chance “to take advantage of [Paul’s] popularity to get to connect with fans again.”
The question is whether those who do know him well can trust they’ll witness a compelling performance.
In a recent BoxingScene dinner conversation with veteran boxing officials about the interest in Paul-Chavez, one said, “Chavez will likely do what he’s supposed to,” becoming another stepping stone for Paul, 11-1 (7 KOs), to move toward a title shot at cruiserweight champions Badou Jack or Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, who fights in Saturday’s co-main event versus Cuba’s Yuniel Dorticos.
“For all the people who think Julio is just here because ‘he knows what to do,’ they’re wrong,” Chavez Jnr advisor Sean Gibbons told BoxingScene. “He knows what to do, and that’s beat Jake Paul’s ass.
“I’ve sat with Julio. He’s explained the fight to me. I’ve never seen him in a better state, physically and mentally. Anyone thinking he’s just here to lose, they’re going to have a rude awakening. You’re going to see the real Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr Saturday night. My prediction: unanimous decision or eighth-round stoppage: body shot.”
The son of the Mexican legend and three-division champion who once stood as boxing’s pound-for-pound king, Chavez Jnr was afforded generous opportunities in building his career on the family name, appearing on Top Rank pay-per-views and ultimately winning the WBC middleweight title 14 years ago, making three successful title defenses.
But the pressure of the 2012 Mexican Independence weekend card versus Hall of Famer Martinez overwhelmed Chavez, who eschewed training, smoked pot and was famously filmed by HBO munching on kids’ cereal in his boxers as his trainers waited on him.
Even though Chavez uncorked one 12th-round punch that dropped Martinez and brought an unforgettable surge of cheering through Las Vegas’ Thomas and Mack Center, the loss preceded a descent into drug use and depression that derailed the champion’s son and plagued those boo-riddled and shamed showings against Alvarez and Jacobs.
Chavez Snr has urged his son to “train hard – running, sparring … my dad says sparring is the best exercise for boxing … I’ve sparred around 100 rounds for this fight, and that’s been a big difference.”
Although he can’t rewrite history, Chavez Jnr agreed his 26-year-old self would have been wise to pull out of the Martinez fight and seek counseling and rehab sessions that might have helped him steer from the years-long funk.
“Of course, I’d like to change things. I was distracted by these things – dumb things – and after the [Martinez] fight I didn’t have good people around me to teach me or help me how to handle my first loss,” Chavez Jnr said. “My life was breaking before and after that fight. I had two, three bad years after that fight and never recovered. It was mental and physical, so I never came back again.
“Now, I’m back, so I want to fight while I’m still here.”
Chavez Jnr said he’s capable of winning a decision against Paul, explaining no Paul opponent yet has been skilled enough to deliver the frequent hard punches and extended pressure during rounds it takes to win.
He said he’s interested in making Paul “feel more pressure, feel tired, feel like the other guy’s better than you,” and see how he responds.
Someone asked Chavez if Paul’s rise reminds him of his own, with social-media popularity fastening this rise in place of familial bonds.
“I started because I love boxing and like to fight,” Chavez Jnr said. “[Paul] likes to [box], but he has other things. For me, being the son of the best Mexican fighter ever, I always thought I’d be a fighter because I liked it, and I wanted to feel the same way as my dad.”
Chavez Snr ironically fought once at Honda Center, when it was known in 1996 as the Arrowhead Pond. He stopped Joey Gamache in the eighth round in the bout that occurred immediately after Chavez Snr’s first loss to Oscar De La Hoya.
In that bout, Chavez Snr hammered Gamache with left hooks to the head that opened a deep gash near the right eye, creating a bloody battle that smeared him all over the chest in the waning moments as the blow-by-blow announcer remarked Chavez was “looking to restore faith in his legend.”
Nearly 30 years later, the son now returns in his last chance to do the same for the family name.
