By Francisco Salazar

Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. will work out at the Boxing Academy in Oxnard in the next couple of weeks, trainer Robert Garcia told Boxingscene.com on Tuesday morning.

But Garcia wanted to clarify rumors that he will be Chavez’s next trainer.

“He’s just coming to Oxnard to work out in our gym,” said Garcia, who also trains Brandon Rios, Nonito Donaire, Miguel Angel Garcia, and Marcos Maidana. “He’s going to come back to Oxnard when I return from Macau after Brandon’s fight.

Garcia was approached by Chavez late Friday in Las Vegas. Both were in town for the Timothy Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez fight that took place at the Thomas and Mack Center on Saturday night.

Garcia said their conversation lasted at least two hours and was about a variety of topics in the boxing world. According to Garcia, Chavez asked him if he was interested in working together.

“I wouldn’t mind working with him, but this isn’t the first time he has approached me. He asked me back in 2009 to be his trainer, but his people wanted him to work with Freddie Roach.”

“I believe working in Oxnard full-time would benefit him a lot. He wants to stay in the United States to train full-time and will be in the Los Angeles area while we’re in Macau.”

Chavez won an unpopular 10 round unanimous decision over Bryan Vera on September 28th at the Stubhub Center in Carson, CA. The decision was criticized as a majority of media and fight fans thought Vera did enough to win.

Chavez was criticized in the days prior to the Vera fight for a variety of reasons, ranging from his weight to his commitment in the gym.

The Vera fight was the first time Chavez worked without the services of Freddie Roach in recent years. Instead, Chavez worked with his father, Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr., for the Vera fight.

Garcia has been known as a fighter’s trainer with a no-nonsense approach in the gym. Chavez would benefit from having Garcia as his trainer, not only for improving his boxing skills, but to implement a level of commitment during training camp.

No concrete plans are in place for Chavez’s return to the ring, although there are rumors Chavez will fight Vera in a rematch.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Knockout Nation, and The Ring. He could be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on twitter at FSalazarBoxing