by James Slater: Once-beaten middleweight contender Pawel Wolak is said to be devastated at the news, but it seems unbeaten Mexican star and son of a legend Julio Cesar Chavez Junior is headed towards the biggest fight of his life in his next bout. One with Miguel Cotto. Chavez Jr was set to face the hungry and dangerous Wolak in Mexico on Sept. 11th, and the tough Pole is hugely upset that Chavez will now go straight into his WBA 154-pound challenge of Cotto instead (although, according to a piece on Fightnews, there is still a chance, though unlikely, that Julio Jr will fight first in Mexico – against who we don’t know).
Maybe, with such a massive opportunity ahead of him, Chavez Jr thought it would be unwise to risk taking a fight with the never-stopped Wolak; who knows? In any case, ESPN.com are reporting how promoter Bob Arum has New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden “on hold” for December 4th, as this is the venue Cotto-Chavez may well happen at. Cotto, who won the WBA light-middleweight belt with a TKO over a brave Yuri Foreman a few weeks back, has always been a big draw in New York, and a fight with the 24-year-old who is 41-0-1(30) would be no exception.
Back when he won the WBC silver middleweight title with a points victory over John Duddy, Chavez spoke of wanting a fight with Cotto. Now it seems he has it. But can Chavez Junior really be expected to win? One thing that may help him, apart from his great trainer Freddie Roach, is the fact that Chavez is set to begin working with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. As Pac-Man gets ready for his scheduled November 13th battle with another Mexican, in Antonio Margarito, Chavez Jr will help him in sparring. First in the Philippines and then at Roach’s Wild Card gym in L.A, will Chavez and Pacquiao work together.
And while the still untested (at elite level) 24-year-old helps Pac-Man get ready for “Tony,” so too will he be getting top-quality experience in getting ready for his own super-fight. It is possible, also, that Chavez is catching Cotto – who is no spring chicken at age 29 and after having complied a 35-2(28) pro record – at just the right time. The Puerto Rican favourite is still a big name and a respected champion; but is he on the slide?
No-one will ever forget the beatings Cotto took in his losing fights with Margarito and then Pac-Man, and though he has bounced back from his second loss with that win over Foreman, we don’t know for sure how much “Junito” has left in the tank. Would it really be a massive upset if a young tiger like Chavez Jr. took the fight to him, marked him up and ultimately won a hard-fought decision?
All along, with fans yearning for the day he stepped up in class, Ring magazine assured us Chavez Junior could fight. And they were right. On December 4th, we will find out just how far the son of a legend can really go.