Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Eyes Tentative Return Date of December 3

by Miguel Rivera

Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is still focused on returning to the ring by the end of 2016 and says there is a tentative return date in place of December 3 in the United States.

Rodolfo Chavez, the uncle and trainer of Junior, says his nephew is very eager to fight again. If they are unable to finalize the December date, that could open the door for a possible fight in Mexico for October or November.

"The truth is, he wants to fight and he has been training here in Culiacan with me. He wants to fight by any means possible and against anyone. He tells us that he could fight on December 3. He has not been handed any names, but he has been training for anything and has the desire to return," Rodolfo Chavez said to ESPN Deportes.

Chavez Jr. (49-2-1, 32KOs) has been inactive since last July, when he suffered a bad hand injury during a decision win over Marcos Reyes. The injury required surgery and kept him out of the ring for the remainder of the year.

Then he was booked to face WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack in April, but withdrew after suffering a heel injury in camp. A few more dates, with the opponent slated to be J'Leon Love, also fell through. The next opponent is unknown, but at this point Chavez doesn't care who he faces or where, he just wants to get back in the ring.

"At the moment it is probably going to be difficult to get big names, but we all know that a fight with Julio always attracts attention. People watch him to see him win or to get hit. What he wants is to return in style. A lot of things are now behind him and he is eager to fight," said Rodolfo.