CHAVEZ JR, DUDDY PROMISE A GREAT FIGHT ON SUNDAY
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 24 Jun 2010
The son of Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Ireland?s John Duddy have promised a great fight in their showdown for the newly conceived WBC silver middleweight title at the Alamadome in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, Manila Time.
Chavez Jr who trained under the celebrated four-time "Trainer of the Year" Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles along with conditioning expert Alex Ariza said that the clash with Duddy is "the most important fight of my career and I prepared very well because I know I have a very strong opponent."
Chavez who according to Ariza worked hard and did everything expected of him contrary to rumors that he doesn?t like to train hard, said fight fans will be in for a pleasant surprise when they see Chavez in action. Chavez himself said "I think the people will win on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) because it will be a great fight."
The tough and competitive Duddy agreed with Chavez pointing out an important aspect to their big showdown saying, "We know that a victory in this fight will put the winner close to a title shot and I?m sure it will turn out to be a memorable fight."
The 24 year old Chavez is undefeated with a record of 41-0-1 with 30 knockouts while the 31 year old Duddy boasts of a record of 29-1 with 18 knockouts with both fighters known for their skill and punching power.
Chavez Jr is coming off a unanimous ten round decision over Troy Rowland on the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight card last November 14, 2009 while Duddy in his last fight scored a 10 round split decision over game Mexican warrior Michael Medina on the undercard of the Pacquiao-Joshnua Clottey main event at the Dallas Cowboys arena on March 13, 2010.
An intriguing fight especially for Filipino fight fans would be the return of three-time world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (65-7, 43 KOs) to the Alamadome where he was demolished by Pacquiao in an 11th round TKO in November 2003. Barrera is determined to erase the memory of that setback with an impressive showing against Brazilian Adilton DeJesus (26-4, 21 KOs).
The 35 year old Barrera who is returning to the ring after a 15 month layoff following a 5th round technical decision lost to current WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan told a pre-fight news conference in San Antonio "I want to be the first Mexican to win four championships in four different categories and why I?m here with Top Rank who will help me achieve that goal that I still have in boxing. But, first I must defeat DeJesus and then look for that dream of the lightweight belt."
De Jesus who is considered a very strong opponent said he is determined to win against the Mexican legend, Barrera. He said "I came very prepared and I have great confidence that this preparation will help me get the biggest win of my career against a great boxer like Marco Antonio."
In what has been described as an all-Texas shootout, local heroes Raul "The Cobra" Martinez and Gabriel Elizondo meet in what is likely to be an explosive super flyweight clash and featherweight Salvador Sanchez II goes against Tomas Villa.
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum noted that "this is one of the editions of the Latin Fury series that looks more competitive, especially the main event between Chavez Jr. and Duddy, which doesn?t have a clear favorite. Both fighters can win."
Among fight fans in Texas as well as in Manila the fight that has aroused much interest is the Texas State super flyweight championship between Martinez (26-1, 15 KOs) and Elizondo (22-3-1, 10 KOs) who are both from San Antonio.
Martinez? only loss was a 4th round TKO at the hands of then IBF/IBO flyweight champion Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire at the famed Araneta Coliseum on April 19, 2009 when Donaire dropped the previously undefeated Martinez no less than four times en route to the rousing win.
Martinez told the news conference in San Antonio "We?ve gone a long time without a world champion from San Antonio. The last was Jesse Leija. Gabriel and I are regarded to be the next world champions from the city following our great amateur careers. Elizondo is a good friend, but this is business and will be a great opportunity for both of us to shine on a big fight card."
In the opening TV fight, Salvador Sanchez II (1-3-2, 9 KOs) of Mexico faces Tomas Villa (22-7-4, 14 KOs, of Midland, Texas (formerly from Chihuahua, Mexico) in an eight round featherweight match-up.
The fight card will be telecast by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN over Studio 23 beginning at 11:00 a.m with a replay on Channel 2 on July 3 at 10:15 a.m.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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