SAN DIEGO, June 17, 2012 – Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. made sure he didn’t meet the same fate as Manny Pacquiao last week at the hands of the judges.
Chavez Jr. notched a decisive win with a TKO victory in the seventh round over Irish boxer Andy Lee. Chavez remains undefeated at 46-0. In winning,
Perhaps even more important, Chavez may have finally won the respect of many boxing fans who felt he hadn’t lived up to the greatness promised by his physical tools and the pedigree bestowed by his father, the four time champion Julio Caesar Chavez. It was an impressive, dominating performance over Lee, who was expected to present more of a challenge.
Lee started off showing great energy, with a sharp effective jab that kept Chavez from getting very close in the first two rounds. But Lee seemed to run out of steam fast. Chavez took a few sharp blows. But he seemed unaffected and kept pressing forward. Once Chavez realized Lee wasn’t able to seriously hurt him, he started taking it to Lee at will. Chavez closed the ring off, backing Lee up and shortening the distance between them so that Lee could not launch effective punches.
Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. showed plenty of power against Andy Lee. Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank.
Meanwhile, Chavez was able to use his more compact, bulkier build to advantage, getting in close and landing vicious power shots. At the halfway point of the 12 round fight, it became clear that Lee would probably not last to the end. It only took one more round for Chavez to end things. He walloped Lee with several hard combinations. It was an easy call for referee Laurence Cole to stop the fight, and absolutely the correct decision.
__________
Read also: Pacquiao vs. Bradley replay Saturday, June 16; Chavez-Lee fight follows
_________
This was his third fight under Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, and his guidance seems to finally be sinking in with Chavez. He made weight on the first try, although it was obvious he rehydrated up a good ten pounds and was a big middleweight when compared to the rangy Lee. He fought with focus and determination. Better late than never for Chavez getting serious.
Chavez celebrates his victory over Andy Lee tonight in El Paso, Texas. He remained undefeated at 46-0. Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank.
After the fight, Chavez delighted the partisan crowd at the Sun Bowl in El Paso by saying he is eager to face the middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. Chavez has been accused of ducking Martinez, a formidable test. But this time it looks like it might happen. Chavez is coming off a significant win here, and showed the kind of punching power and energy it will take to go up against Martinez.
Chavez also showed the ability to take a punch, and he’ll need to be able to withstand some serious punishment to have any chance of beating Sergio Martinez. Martinez is an assassin with one-shot, one-kill capability in the ring.
Chavez would need to stay at 160 pounds rather than going up to 168 pounds, which Freddie Roach said Chavez planned to do. Martinez is a more lean middleweight than Chavez naturally, which will help Chavez along with his ability to take a punch to stand in against Martinez. These two have the capability to put on a great show for the fans.
Boxing fans can take heart from tonight’s fight. This win by Chavez was just what the doctor ordered to cure the lingering hangover of the Pacquiao-Bradley fight. It was decisive, it was impressive, fun to watch, and best of all it sets up the prospect of an exciting match up later this year. There isn’t a single fan or boxing expert who wouldn’t love to see Chavez Jr. fight Sergio Martinez.
Will Sergio Martinez be Chavez’s next opponent? Fans love the idea. Photo: Associated Press.
Top Rank wasted no time in announcing that Chavez and Martinez would fight on September 15 in an HBO pay-per-view bout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Great news, right?
Not so fast. Golden Boy recently booked the same night for a Showtime pay-per-view fight between Canelo Alvarez and Victor Ortiz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. This assumes Ortiz wins his fight next Saturday against Josesito Lopez.
One of these fights will have to give. People who would go see one of these fights in person can only see one, not both like they might if they were on different nights. Fans at home won’t double up on pay-per-view. Even on Communities we can only host one live boxing chat at a time. Boxing would be cannibalizing itself and the sport doesn’t need it. So don’t book your flight and stay tuned.
Lee is now 28-2. He will need to put in a few solid outings before he gets an opportunity for another marquee fight. He started off with energy and landed good clean blows in the first two rounds, but he never seriously hurt Chavez. His punches ran out of steam. Lee and trainer Emanuel Steward will need to rethink Lee’s approach if he is to get back on the road to boxing success.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a serious boxing fan covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Ringside Seat in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego. Gayle can be reached via Google +
Please credit “Gayle Falkenthal for Communities at WashingtonTimes.com” when quoting from or linking to this story.
Copyright © 2012 by Falcon Valley Group
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
