09.06.07 – By James Slater: Tonight at Madison Square Garden, on the under card of Cotto-Judah, twenty-one year old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr improved to 32-0-1 (25). His latest win was significant only in that it saw the son of a boxing legend avenge his all-time great father. With some vicious body work, young Julio destroyed the man who had actually ended the career of “J.C Superstar” himself in Chavez senior. With his father as near to actually working his corner itself as possible, Julio Jr, weighing in at 150 pounds even, gave the tough Grover Wiley a good working over.
Wiley came to fight, however, as he had done when upsetting Julio’s dad back in 2005. Wiley hadn’t won a fight since, though, and was no match for the younger member of the Chavez family tonight. Put down near the end of round one – courtesy of a big right hand to the head that hurt him, followed by a wicked left hand to the body – Wiley, weighing in at 149 and a half pounds, was left in a heap in a corner.
Bravely he beat the count, just before the bell came to signal the end of the round. He would not last too much longer.
Julio senior was throwing his own combinations, sat/stood as he was right behind his son’s corner, and he clearly wanted to see his boy do more work to the midsection of the man who had shocked him two years ago. Junior didn’t disappoint, and after being under a little pressure from the game Wiley in round three he put the finishing touches to his night’s work. Two more times he damn near folded Wiley in half with superb body work his father would have been happy with. The second time he hit the canvas in pain was enough for Grover, and he was counted out. The time of the stoppage was two minutes and twenty-seven seconds.
He will have much sterner tests ahead of him in the future, but for now young Julio has made his legendary father very, very proud. Not to mention satisfied. Wiley, from Omaha, lost for the tenth time.