By Ryan Burton
Over the past couple of months it appeared that the return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.'s (46-1-1) would come against middleweight contender Brian Vera (23-6). Chavez last fought in September when he lost a unanimous decision to Sergio Martinez. He was subsequently suspended for nine months and fined $900,000 dollars for testing positive for marijuana. The fight was first being planned to take place in Vera's home state of Texas on June 22nd. The fight was first pushed back to July 13th and now Chavez is slated to return on August 3rd in Mexico City but now will likely face Martin Murray who lost a close decision to Martinez who had captured the WBC middleweight title with his victory over Chavez.
Martinez badly injured his knee in the fight and is likely to sit out the rest of 2013. Martinez's injury, coupled with the close nature of the fight will likely prompt the WBC to sanction a Chavez-Murray fight for the interim middleweight title.
Vera told BoxingScene.com that he has a signed contract to face Chavez and is waiting to hear back from his manager and promoter Banner Promotions for clarification on the status of the fight. The 31-year-old is understandably frustrated with the uncertainty of the fight that he thought had already been finalized.
"I wish I knew (what was going on). I thought it was a done deal. My manager is meeting with Artie (Pellulo) my promoter to see what's going on. I guess nothing is set in stone even when you sign the contract," Vera stated.
Vera has reeled off four wins in a row including two this year on ESPN Friday Night Fights. He said that he was looking forward to facing Chavez and shocking the world by giving the son of the legend his second career loss.
"I want to show the world that I'm ready for the next level big fights. I stumbled before on HBO by not being ready but I'm in a great position at Plex Performance (in Sugarland, TX) with Ronnie Shields so it is my time to shine," Vera told BoxingScene.com.
Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com Follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter and tune in to BoxingScene Radio, BoxingScene's official audio on Tuesdays from 6-8PM PST. The show is hosted by Ernie Gabion, Luis Sandoval and Ryan Burton
