By Geno McGahee

This Saturday night, for WBC Silver in the middleweight division, Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., 41-0-1, 30 KO’s, will take on “Irish” John Duddy, 29-1, 18 KO’s, in a 12 round bout on the Latin Fury PPV. The prize for the winner is being a future challenger for the WBC Champion, Sergio Martinez. The obvious hope is to see Chavez, JR., succeed and go on to take his shot at the crown, but Duddy is far from a pushover.

Duddy should be the favorite going into Saturday’s fight with his proven track record, grit, and his overall better performances as a middleweight. Chavez, JR., has not been impressive at 160 pounds and has never fought anyone as good as Duddy…nowhere close. I expect Duddy to win.

Julio Cesar Chavez, SR., was a great WBC Champion, holding the title in the super featherweight, lightweight, and light welterweight divisions. He made numerous defenses, made boatloads of money for the people associated with him, and became a legend in Mexico. His legend is what Chavez, JR., has been riding high off of, and to the credit of the team supporting Chavez, JR., they have far surpassed the success of the children of other all time greats like the kids of Thomas Hearns, Buddy McGirt, and Aaron Pryor.

The contention by some is that Chavez, JR., is mostly hype and has been carried along through creative matchmaking and a close relationship with the WBC. Remember that Chavez, JR., is the number one contender at the light middleweight division of the WBC, a ranking that is hard to justify.

It’s the moment of truth for the son of the legend Saturday night.

Backing up the main event is the return of Marco Antonio Barrera, 65-7, 43 KO’s, taking on Adailton De Jesus, 26-4, 21 KO’s. Barrera was one of the best fighters of his generation, but a loser in three of his last five fights and an obvious slowing of the reflexes make this return to the ring one of concern for his safety. He has only lost to the best, but the fact that he is losing regularly now proves that he is no longer at the top of his game. He has lost to Manny Pacquiao by decision in a fight where he played self preservation rather than trying to win, lost to Juan Manuel Marquez, and was just beaten by Amir Khan. His two recent victories were over mediocrities in Freudis Rojas, a loser in seven of his nine fights, and Sammy Ventura, a fighter with a record of 25-19, when he took on Barrera. De Jesus isn’t a great fighter, but he has a puncher’s chance, and has taken on some real opposition. This may be an upset in the making.

It’s an interesting pay per view…not because it’s the top of boxing colliding, but because you have the possible end to a fraud in the game or a fighter proving that he belongs in the upper echelon of the middleweight division with a win over a legitimate top contender. It may also be the farewell fight for Marco Antonio Barrera. There is some intrigue here, but it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the price tag. I consider it the first Chavez, JR., fight possibly worth renting.

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