CHAVEZ JR. SHOULD FIGHT DE LA HOYA FIRST BEFORE PACQUIAO
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 01 Apr 2009
In the ring after his win over Luciano Cuello, promoter Bob Arum mentioned three possible next opponents for Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., namely, John Duddy, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. And Chavez Jr. does not mind who he fights next as long as the opponent has established a name in boxing.
"There is John Duddy, there is Oscar De La Hoya if he continues to fight and there is a third one which is a little different because of the size difference but it would be the biggest fight of the year, with Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Manny Pacquiao - Mexico vs. the Philippines,? Arum said.
De La Hoya has long been hyped as a possible opponent due to his past fight with Chavez Sr., the father. The much-awaited tussle will serve as a vengeance of the son on the boxer who defeated his father twice.
On June 7, 1996, Chavez Sr., who was at the twilight of his pro career, faced de la Hoya. A large cut was opened over the right eye of Chavez at the onset of the first round. It became an alibi for the older Chavez for his loss, as heavy bleeding prompted the referee to stop the fight in the fourth round.
It was later learned that the cut was made earlier in training and was reopened in the fight. Heavy blood flow prompted the referee to stop the fight in the fourth round. Until their rematch in 1998, Chavez would always declare that de la Hoya had not defeated him, but that a gash that he had suffered in training was the real cause of the early end of the fight.
In a rematch with de la Hoya for the WBC welterweight title in September 1998, de la Hoya punched Chavez Sr. repetitively to the head and the body in an effort to force a TKO that could not be doubted. After the eighth round, Chavez could not continue because of severe slash on his lip. De la Hoya was the clear winner over the 36-year-old Chavez.
Although Chavez Jr. won unanimously over Cuello, only one of the three judges scored for the Mexican in a convincing fashion at 98-92, while the other two were more realistic of the outcome by having it 96-94 and 96-95. However Chavez Jr. remains undefeated while Cuello suffered the first loss of his pro career. The Tijuana crowd were expecting a knockout and boos were heard when the result of the fight was announced.
The crowd expected a better performance from the son of a boxing legend and a future Hall of Famer. Chavez Jr. has now a record of 39-0-1 with 29 KOs. He threw several punches to the head and body of Cuello who dropped to 23-1 with 9 KOs, who bled from his nose since the third round.
For the fans of the father and the son, they want the younger Chavez to do what Golden Boy had done to the elder Chavez (107-6-2, 86 KOs), beat him in his fading career. Payback is the name of the game.
But the Golden Boy is not an ordinary fighter and he is out to retire with a very convincing win to erase the trauma of the ?Dream Match.? And a victory over the younger Chavez could very well be an exciting conclusion to de la Hoya?s golden boxing career.
It will be a great tune up fight for the Chavez Jr. and with him bringing the legendary name of his father plus de la Hoya?s marketing magnet, though it was diminished by his loss to Pacquiao, the ?payback? could rake in enough pay-per-view sales.
Granting Chavez Jr, could successfully extract revenge on de la Hoya, he has to fight more quality opponents first before reaching an agreement to face the number one fighter pound-for-pound. Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Chavez Jr. considers the marketability of the fight and is a must before Pacman hangs up his gloves for good.
Top photo: Cesar Chavez Jr (L) of Mexico and Luciano Cuello of Argentina during their Saturday night's battle in Tijuana, Mexico. Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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