Julio Cesar Chavez JR: Contender or Pretender
By Delroy Hill
On December fourth, unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., 41-0-1, 30 KO’s, will defend his WBC Middleweight Silver Title against Alfonso Gomez, 22-4-2, 11 KO’s.
The bout is the main event of the “In Harm’s Way” pay per view event and will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event is a four fight card and will feature Filipino star Nonito Donaire, 24-1, 16 KO’s, making his bantamweight debut, taking on Volodymyr Sydorenko, 22-2-2, 7 KO’s. Lightweight titlist Humberto Soto, 53-7-2, 32 KO’s, will face Urbano Antillion, 28-1, 20 KO’s, and rising lightweight star Brandon Rios, 25-0-1, 18 KO’s, will square off against Noe Bolanos, 21-5-1, 13 KO’s.
The main event is a replacement for the proposed match between Chavez JR., and newly crowned WBA World Light Middleweight Titlist Miguel Cotto. The fight was called off when Cotto announced that he would be taking the rest of 2010 off due to lingering effects from recent shoulder surgery. Once Cotto made the announcement, HBO declined to keep a date for Chavez, JR.
The fight is in the talks for Spring 2011, as long as Chavez gets by Gomez in December.
Although Chavez comes from pure boxing pedigree, he is highly criticized for padding his record by fighting bums and nobodies. The criticism is justified, and at this point it’s time for the son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, SR., to prove he is the real deal. He is coming off the best win of his career, a 12 round unanimous decision over Ireland’s John Duddy. Duddy is a B level fighter at best, and other than “The Derry Destroyer”, Chavez’s only other notable wins are a pair of decision victories over Duddy victim, Matt Vanda.
On the other hand, Gomez has a better resume. He’s fought the better opposition with 13 fewer fights. He finished third in a field of 16 fighters on NBC’s “The Contender”, and received the most recognition from fans of the show. Gomez, the singer and rapper outside of the ring, spoke very highly of his experience on “The Contender” and the effect the reality television series had on his career.
“The Contender gave me exposure that every fighter wishes for.” “It opened the door for me to have great fights against Gatti, Cotto, Tackie, Manfredo, and the rest of the guys,” Gomez told Charlene May of officialscorecard.com.
Gomez’s best wins came against faded ring legends Arturo Gatti and Jose Luis Castillo. He also has notable wins over Ben Tackie, super middleweight contender Jesse Brinkley, Carson Jones, Peter Manfredo, JR., and welterweight contender Jesus Soto Karass.
Of the four losses on Gomez’s record, three are to the type of fighters that the younger Chavez has been kept away from. He faced Cotto for the WBA World Welterweight Title in 2008, and lost when the ref stopped the fight at the end of the fifth round. Gomez was down a number of times in the fight as he was punished by the Puerto Rican champion. He lost in his second pro fight to a young Ishe Smith now an accomplished middleweight title contender. Although he has fewer professional fights, Gomez also holds an advantage in amateur experience, holding a record of 80-10, whereas Chavez, JR., has a limited amateur background.
The major issue in this fight is the weight. The bout will be fought at a catch weight of 157 pounds. Chavez initially wanted Gomez to come all the way up to the middleweight limit of 160 pounds, but agreed to the catch weight. Although Gomez has fought above 147 pounds a number of times in his career, he is naturally a welterweight and more comfortable in that division. Chavez JR., will likely outweigh him by a full 10-15 pounds come fight night, and it will play a huge role in how the fight plays out.
Gomez needs to pressure Chavez and do his work on the inside, under the taller man’s jab. He is credited with having heart in the ring, and it will need to be on display come December. He has his work cut out for him, attempting to over come a three inch height and a four inch reach disadvantage.
For the unbeaten titlist, Gomez is certainly a step up in competition, but what does a victory over him represent for Chavez’s career? If he does defeat Gomez, he will likely receive criticism for bringing a welterweight up two divisions, despite the catch weight. The same criticism that Floyd Mayweather, JR., faced when he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez. The only thing he gains from this fight is a credible name on his resume, and the possibility of answering some questions about his heart, if Gomez is able to land a few big shots. Gomez is not a home run hitter by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s no Paulie Malignaggi.
A victory over does a lot for Gomez. It would surely put him in the mix in the welterweight, junior middleweight, and possibly middleweight divisions.
In the end, the fight could go either way, although most are picking Chavez to win, because of his size advantage, and a more polished look in his last fight. Gomez seemed determined and confident, as he performed a battle rap over a Lil’ Wayne instrumental at the press conference announcing the December card.
Looks like it could be a good night of boxing.