By Geno McGahee

On June 26th, Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., 41-0-1, 30 KO’s, vies for the vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Title against “Irish” John Duddy, 29-1, 18 KO’s. The children of famous boxers typically fail to fill the shoes of their boxing dads and you cannot really compare Chavez, JR., to his father, but is he a real top contender?

The WBC currently has Chavez, JR., listed as the number one contender for the 154 pound title with Kermit Cintron and Antonio Margarito behind him. When you look at the opposition that he has faced, it’s hard to justify listing him that high, especially above Cintron and Margarito, although Margarito should not be allowed to fight again. Apparently, Chavez, JR., has no desire to go for the junior middleweight crown and has opted to move up to the middleweight division.

We saw an example of a 160 pound Chavez, JR., when he took on Troy Rowland on the Manny Pacquiao – Miguel Cotto PPV undercard. He would win a wide decision, although the fight was much closer than the scorecards indicated. On fight night, I scored it a draw. Despite his 30 KO’s in his 42 fights, he is not a big puncher and he certainly isn’t a devastating puncher like his dad was. He was a prospect at 154, perhaps earning a spot in the top 15 of contenders, but at 160, he appears to be just a bloated light middleweight.

The collective record of Chavez, JR., opponents is 507 wins, 183 losses, and 19 draws. He has recently stepped up the opposition but he has not faced an opponent like John Duddy.

John Duddy has not been a spoiled fighter. He has taken on many good opponents and has come out on the winning side in all but one fight. He made his first big appearance on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights in 2005, when he squared off against undefeated contender Lenord Pierre. Duddy would score a first round stoppage, winning in 1 minute and 23 seconds, and making quite the impression on the boxing world. Pierre would go on to have several good fights including a memorable war with Willie Gibbs. Pierre was a legitimate tough guy with skills and grit and Duddy starched him in a round.

In 2006, Duddy would take on former champion, Yori Boy Campas, going a tough twelve rounds and winning a unanimous decision. Duddy showed his ability to box and punch and outsmarted as well as outfought the seasoned veteran.

Another notable win came over former title challenger, Howard Eastman, a fight that Duddy won unanimously on the cards.

There was continual talk and negotiations for a fight with the then Middleweight Champion, Kelly Pavlik, but it never materialized and Duddy was deciding whether or not to even stay at the 160 pound division or to move down to 154. His career seemed to stall and he was falling off the map of potential opponents for a title shot, possibly leading to a mental lapse causing the disappointing loss to Billy Lyell, a fighter with a record of 18-7 going in. He has rebounded with three straight victories going in and is heading into this opportunity with a full head of steam.

The common opponent between the two is Matt Vanda. Chavez, JR., struggled to get a split decision in a fight that many thought he lost with the exception of one Mexican judge, an obvious Chavez fan, scoring it 100-90 in his favor. They would rematch and he would win a unanimous decision. Duddy had no problem with Vanda, using his boxing skill to win a clear cut unanimous decision.

A big question going into this fight is: Can John Duddy get a fair shake. The fight is taking place in Texas, not a great place for the Irish kid to get a break and the focus of the event, as it has so many other times in these “Latin Fury” cards is on Chavez, JR.

When you look at the close fight with Troy Rowland and the judges scored it overwhelmingly for Chavez, JR., or the fight with Vanda that many contend he lost, where the scoring was out of whack, it’s not an unfair concern from Team Duddy that if the fight goes the distance, they may be in for a loss, even if they win every round.

The agenda for Duddy should be to stop Chavez, JR. I don’t believe that he can hurt Duddy and if he could recapture the aggressor he was on the night he stopped Pierre, the “Son of the Legend” may crumble and crumble fast. Remember that this is only the second appearance of Chavez, JR., as a middleweight and he began his career at 130, and fighting the majority of his career at the 147 pound mark. Duddy is a middleweight with a middleweight punch and some boxing skills. If he presses the fight, we may have a fraud exposed.

Going into this fight, the majority expect Chavez, JR., to come out victorious. He is the favorite and Duddy is considered a relatively safe gamble, but there will be many in for a surprise come fight night when Duddy comes out victorious, probably by stoppage late in the fight, capturing the Silver Title that the WBC has put up for bids, whatever that’s worth.

The worth of the title will be entry into the top ten of the middleweight division, and no matter which of the two win, expect them to either get a title shot immediately or possibly match up with former champion, Kelly Pavlik. Perhaps Duddy-Pavlik will finally occur.

Just in case, you think that this pay per view is a rip off, and the majority of these Latin Fury cards are unquestionably so, a co-feature with the over the hill Marco Antonio Barrera is intended to sweeten the pot.

The Duddy-Chavez, JR., bout is interesting because it’s a curious match up. Chavez, JR., has been mowing down very carefully selected opposition and has moved up to 160 to take on his toughest foe. How will he do when he fights somebody like Duddy? He will need to bring more than he’s ever brought before to pull off the biggest win of his career and prove himself as a contender in the middleweight division. It’s a tall order. Expect Duddy to win by KO.

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