by James Slater – Julio Cesar Chavez and John Duddy; two exciting fighters who have had their names put together for quite a while now. According to BoxRec, the two middleweights will finally meet on June 26th, on the under-card of the Eric Morel-Jorge Arce WBO bantamweight title clash in San Antonio, Texas.
Sure to be a good fight, very probably with plenty of two-way action, Duddy-Chavez has the look of a 50-50 fight; or a fight close to it anyway.. Duddy, the older man at age 30 and currently 29-1(18), is coming off three decent wins since his shock, upset loss at the hands of underdog Billy Lyell back in April of last year. Last time out, though, against Mexican light-middleweight Michael Medina, Duddy had a tough night’s work; winning only via a hard-fought split verdict after ten-rounds. The Irishman will have to put on a better display if he’s to defeat “The Son of a Legend.”
Chavez Jr, sill only 24 and also still sporting an unbeaten record at 41-0-1(30), will be having his first fight back after being suspended for taking an illegal dietary substance. Winning on points over ten against Troy Rowland back in November, Chavez later flunked his post-fight test; being suspended by the WBC as a result. The Rowland fight was Chavez’ first up at 160-pounds, and he will be looking to make a big return against Duddy.
Height and reach-wise, there is not too much between the two men. Duddy stands 5’11” and has a recorded reach of 74,” while Chavez stands 6.0″ and has an inch shorter reach also. I think we can expect to see both guys getting it on at close quarters and banging away to both head and body.
Chavez is arguably the better body puncher of the two and he may be a touch faster as well. Neither fighter is all that hard to hit, and this is one of the reasons the action figures to be so good to watch. Duddy has tried to box more and approach opponents in a more patient way recently, but he remains a fighter who is not that hard to either tag cleanly or drag into a war. Look for Chavez Jr to do both in June.
But, on the other hand, Duddy is sure to have big moments of success also. This is a tough one to pick indeed! I think a distance fight looks likely – neither guy is a one-punch KO artist, and despite the defensive lapses both men have shown, neither guy has shown a bad chin thus far.
I feel Chavez Jr will just nick it, with a hard-fought and highly entertaining split decision. One that may be so good it demands a rematch.