By Miguel Rivera
Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain revealed former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will have to do about 120 sparring rounds, beginning Tuesday, and he will mostly focus on mostly defensive work that they need for their upcoming fight.
Chavez Jr. will face fellow Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on May 6th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
"On Tuesday, he will begin to box. Hopefully from here on until the fight, he will do no more than 120 rounds [of sparring], at most. I do not usually have my fighters do more of that," said Nacho to ESPN Deportes.
There is a catch-weight of 164.5-pounds in place. Canelo last fought at the junior middleweight limit of 154-pounds in September, and Chavez Jr. fought at super middleweight, 168-pounds, last December.
Chavez at the moment is around 180 to 182, while Canelo is said to be around 174-pounds.
Nacho is not worried about Chavez Jr. being capable of reaching the contract weight. There is a stipulation that will cost Chavez Jr. a million dollars for every pound above the contracted weight.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the contest is whether or not Chavez Jr. will be capable of making the weight. For Nacho's part, he's not that concerned over the weight. His biggest concern is improving the defensive abilities of Chavez. He doesn't want the boxer taking a lot of punches from Canelo in the bout.
"What happens is that we need a lot of reps, especially on the defensive end, and the good thing is that provision is what's needed for the strong work," Nacho said.
"If he takes care of himself, he will not have any problems [with the weight]. Obviously, he has to eat, on weekends he goes through Sunday and eats a little more, but he'll be fine."