By James Blears
World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman says he’s convinced that Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. won't ever fight, and it’s time for Oscar to hang up his gloves and ring in the changes.
Momentum is already gathering for a showdown, so that Jr. gets his chance to avenge the two ring defeats of Dad against the then much younger whipper-snapper, De La Hoya. One site being mooted is the giant Azteca stadium, where the older Chavez drew the world record crowd of 136,000 to witness his demolition of arch rival Greg Haugen, who was then unable to grab a taxi back to his hotel - at any price. Julio Jr’s promoter in Mexico, Fernando Beltran, confirms that no new or next generation negations are yet underway with De La Hoya, but Chavez is ready and willing to participate.
Don Jose paid tribute to Oscar also warning: “Oscar was a great champion, a great boxer, very good for the sport and he did a lot. But boxers should understand when the time is up. They should understand when it is more important to preserve their prestige and record for history, rather than continue exposing their health and their lives. The legacy is there. I hope he will not touch it any more. For his own sake, for his own record, for his own future, he shouldn’t fight any more.
The timing for an Oscar vs. Julio Jr. bout is also not ripe because the younger Chavez is still far from the finished article. Don Jose commented: “Julio Jr. is still a little raw, and Oscar is definitely in a part of his life that he should not continue fighting any more. I’m sure it’d be a very big money fight, but I doubt that it will happen. And Julio Jr. should pay attention to gaining more bouts to get ready to fight for the world title at the end of this year. That is what he should do, and nothing else.”
