Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Sergio Martinez: Head to Head

(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) By Joseph Herron: After over a year of verbal sparring from both camps, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez is finally upon us!

The main event will be broadcast on HBO PPV and can be purchased for $49.95 through your local cable company, satellite provider, or online via www.toprank.com. The four bout televised event will have a start time of 9PM EST/6PM PST.

The two combatants in tonight’s main event own a great amount of disdain for each other and have made public declarations of their mutual hatred. The well documented feud goes back to March of 2011, when HBO rejected Sergio Martinez’s mandatory challenger Sebastian Zbik as a suitable opponent for the former WBC Middleweight Champion.

Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez: Is the boxing world counting out Junior too soon?

By Joseph Herron: In what most fight scribes are calling the most impactful 160 pound contest since “Trinidad vs. Hopkins, 2001”, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KOs) will be facing Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KOs) for the universally recognized Middleweight Championship on Saturday, September 15th, at the sold out Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While most boxing experts and fight scribes were dubbing this superb match-up as a pick-em fight just two short months ago, the estimated probability has dramatically shifted to favor the lineal Middleweight king, “Maravilla” Martinez.

For weeks, rumors have swirled in and around Vegas concerning Junior’s lackadaisical work ethic and relaxed training regimen in preparation for the most important fight of his young career. It was also rumored that elite level trainer Freddie Roach had to be convinced by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum to stay in Junior’s camp for the aforementioned reasons.

Ricky Hatton wants Mayweather, Pacquiao, Khan and Brook

By Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) is like a big kid in a candy store now that he’s decided to make a comeback on November 24th against who knows what kind of opponent. Hatton, 33, will be fighting in Manchester, England on the 24th of November and his opponent will probably be a soft touch brought in for him to shake off the ring rust from three years of inactivity huge weight gain. Hatton says he’s interested in facing Amir Khan, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Kell Brook. That’s a pretty impressive list I must say, but I don’t know that Hatton’s chances are good at beating any of them.

Even a fragile chinned Khan or the stamina plagued Brook could be enough to trip Hatton up before he’s had the chance to make the really cash in fights against Mayweather and/or Pacquiao. If Hatton is serious about wanting Mayweather or Pacquiao, he’s going to need to skip the Khan and Brook fights and go straight to Mayweather or Pacquiao. Those guys are getting older and it’s doubtful they’ll be hanging around too much longer.

Hatton told the Manchester Evening News “I’d love to get a crack at them [Khan and Brook]. I dream about another go at Mayweather and Pacquiao, without a doubt. The ultimate goal is to redeem myself.”

Josesito Lopez might be too heavy to beat Saul Alvarez tonight

(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Marcus Richardson: Josesito Lopez (30-4, 18 KO’s) might very well have kissed goodbye his only chance of winning tonight agaisnt WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KO’s) by coming in a flabby looking 153 lbs during Friday’s weigh-in for tonight’s bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Before this fight, the heaviest that the 28-year-old Lopez had ever come in was 144 3/4 lbs for his fight against Victor Ortiz last June. Lopez appears to have power feeding in the past couple of months and has put on a lot of weight.

That weight, a lot of it ending up on his abdomen, will likely see him in the 160s tonight against Alvarez and that’s probably too much for Lopez to be carrying around. What Lopez should have done is stay as light as possible because his speed was his main asset against Alvarez. Lopez was never going to able to bulk up in three short months and compete with the stronger, younger and better skilled Alvarez in a toe-to-toe battle.

That’s just not going to happen. Lopez was never a big puncher, and just because he bulked up with a little muscle as well as fat it doesn’t mean that he’s going to be able to beat Alvarez at his own game. This weight that Lopez has put on is going to hurt him in a big way by preventing him from being able to box properly. He’s going to have problems when it comes to being able to move like he’s done in the past, and without his movement he’ll be a sitting duck against Alvarez.

Khan dumps Roach, Virgil Hunter a leading candidate to replace him

By Michael Collins: Well, Amir Khan has finally pulled the trigger and dumped his trainer Freddie Roach after suffering back to back losses in his last two fight. You had to figure someone was going to end up a casualty after Khan’s latest failing and unfortunately for Roach it’s him that’s being dismissed. According to Dan Rafael, Virgil Hunter, the trainer for WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward, is a leading candidate to get the job.

Khan said on his twitter yesterday: “Officially I’ve left Freddie Roach. Just spoke to him and had a good professional chat and maybe in the future we (will) work together. Freddie understood why I’m looking at other trainers and wished me all the best for the future.”

It’s somewhat surprising that Roach is being released from his position because he helped Khan capture two world titles at light welterweight. It’s hard to blame Roach for Khan’s loss to Lamont Peterson, a fight in which Khan could have won had he not shoved Peterson so often. Khan had warnings from the referee to stop shoving but he continued to do it and ultimately it cost him two points in deductions.

Sergio Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. – Preview & Prediction

by Geoffrey Ciani – Ever since Sergio Martinez scored a devastating second round knockout against Paul Williams, he has been gunning for a big name opponent. Unfortunately for Martinez, he was unsuccessful in his attempts to lure boxing superstars Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao into the squared circle. Therefore the 2010 ‘Fighter of the Year’ has been biding his time, having spent the last couple of years taking on lesser known competition in the forms of Serhiy Dzinziruk, Darren Barker, and Matthew Macklin. This Saturday night Martinez will finally get his chance to shine when he takes on Julio Cesar Chavez Junior.

The son of a legend, Chavez’s career was initially viewed as nothing more than a cheap gimmick to cash in on his father’s name. He has since, however, shown vast improvement and began carving out a mark of his own. This was best illustrated in his most recent performance when he overpowered Andy Lee for a seventh round stoppage in June. Chavez is a big strong middleweight who frequently enters the ring well above the official 160 pound middleweight limit on fight night. He is a brutal body puncher whose sheer size and power have enabled him to officially remain undefeated through 48 professional contests.

Chavez Jr. looks BADLY weight drained at weigh-in; Sergio Martinez looks great

By Michael Collins: WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) was able to successfully make weight during today’s weigh-in with Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) in Las Vegas, Nevada for their fight tomorrow night. I wasn’t prepared for how badly weight drained Chavez Jr. looked in weighing in at 158 pounds. He looked absolutely terrible, like someone that crawled out of a hospital bed to come in weigh-in. In contrast, Sergio Martinez looked sensation in weighing in at 159 pounds with no signs if being weight drained.

Chavez Jr. looks like he drained off a huge amount of water weight and I’m just wondering if he’s going to be able to put that weight back on still fight at high level. Chavez Jr. has gotten away with this against lesser fighters than Martinez, but I think he’s about to run out of luck tomorrow night when he squares off with the 37-year-old Martinez at the sold out Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Several weeks ago, Chavez Jr. still looked to be in the upper 180s and it looks like he’s drained well over 20 pounds of water weight since them. I know we’ve heard that Chavez Jr. was down to 166 last week, which suggests that he’s been draining water for a while now. But in looking at how painfully thin Chavez Jr. was at the weigh-in today, I don’t see how he can win this fight tomorrow night against Martinez. Chavez Jr. is WAY too thin and he’s going to take a beating in this fight.

Martinez-Chavez Jr: Middleweight Supremacy Awaits

By Padraig Ivory: On Saturday night boxing enthusiasts should be presented with their answer, as one fighter ascends to the peak of the middleweight mountain. The unbiased majority can already envisage the green strap loosely aboard the torso of Argentinean sensation Sergio Martinez. However the silhouette of Mexican fighter Julio Chavez Jr, escaping from the shadow of his much celebrated father, is fast approaching the summit of the 160lb division. The Thomas and Mack Centre will be expecting a raucous atmosphere as the drama unfolds.

Numerically speaking Chavez Jr is the owner of the superior professional record boasting an immaculate 46-0-1, with 32 knockouts racked up to date. In contrast the resume of ‘ Maravilla’ reveals the Oxnard resident has tasted defeat on two occasions since entering the paid ranks. Boxing purists will confirm that numbers are merely that, numbers. The quality of competitor to have bravely stood across the ring from the unorthodox power punching Martinez can lead to only one conclusion when the topic of comparing records is raised.