THE SON OF MEXICO NEEDS A BIG CHANGE IF HE WANTS TO FIGHT PACQUIAO
By Hesiquio Balderas
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 30 Mar 2009
Bob Arum said that there are big plans for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 'The Son Of Mexico' for this year. But it was a surprise that the legendary promoter was so sure to match the pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao with the young Chavez.
Manny is fighting at 140 pounds against Ricky Hatton in May. Chavez just fought at the weight limit of 154, but as Manny showed against De La Hoya he can bang with the big guys. It seems just impossible at this time that someone can beat Pacquiao, he seems to be super natural, adapting to many weight classes and getting better each time he steps into the ring, and considering that Chavez has a lot of flaws in his fighting style, Arum is right to think that the fight could sell.
We have to take into consideration that 'The Son of Mexico' doesn't have the career of Oscar, Morales or Barrera. But he is still Julio Cesar Chavez, and that name alone is worth dollars, and Saturday night in Tijuana, Chavez filled the 20,000 capacity bullring in Tijuana, Baja California. The kid was brave in this tough fight against Luciano Cuello of Argentina, it was a bloody fight, a war, a brawl. Julio did a little better than Cuello and got the unanimous decision victory.
But to be honest, Jr. needs to work a lot more, in his defense, he needs to develop a jab. It is incredible that he gives up his advantages in height. Chavez really doesn't have a good defense and if you were to face a speed demon like the Pacman, without defense, you will eat a lot of leather.
Chavez's only advantage over Pacquiao will be his size and it should be interesting to see if Pacquiao can take the shots of a big 154 puncher like Julio.
Julio is brave, has courage, has a good chin and as he said after the fight, "the blood was bothering me I couldn't see, but this is a good experience for me." But the most important thing, Chavez Jr. needs to do is to hire a good trainer, a good professor, like Freddie Roach or Nacho Beristain, or even one of the Mayweather brothers, or Emanuel Steward.
His uncle handles the corner of Chavez and it is incredible that they couldn't even stop the bleeding around his right eyelid and his nose.
How can Chavez learn without a good teacher, a technical boxing genius like Emmanuel Steward or some other high quality boxing strategist. it's just right on time to make a huge change if the plans for the Culiacan native is to take on the elite of the boxing world.
Arum also mentioned John Duddy and Oscar De La Hoya as future opponents for Chavez Jr. But as much heart as Julio has, it seems hard that he can beat guys like Duddy or De La Hoya. Now let's imagine what can he do against the king of the hill right now? Manny Pacquiao would be too much for him at this stage of their careers and at any weight.
If Arum really wants to do the fight, it should be a huge success financially because of the names involved. But if Chavez also wants that fight, he needs to learn more and get rid of his corner and get away from the distractions of his surroundings, get away from his 'trainers' that are worth nothing and get that discipline and that good trainer that can take him to the next level. Otherwise, his 'bout' with Pacquiao will never happen, a fight that the Mexican people love to see.
Top photo: Mexico's Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (L) takes the offensive against Argentina's Luciano Cuello in this bit of action from their fight last Saturday at the Plaza de Toros Monumental de Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico. Photo by Zander Boxing.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Hesiquio Balderas.
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