by James Slater: Unbeaten 24-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, is possibly one win away from really breaking into the big time in his chosen sport. The son of a legend, who scored his biggest win to date last time out, when he clearly out-pointed tough Irishman John Duddy to claim the vacant WBC Silver middleweight strap, will face another durable and aggressive guy on September 11th.
Set to rumble with Poland’s 28-year-old Pawel Wolak, a New Jersey-based warrior with a 27-1(17) pro record, Chavez, Fightnews.com have reported, will possibly face reigning WBA 154-pound champ Miguel Cotto after that if he emerges victorious. The prospective challenge of Cotto is pencilled in for December 4th, but Chavez faces a potentially hard night’s work against the never-stopped Wolak, who he will meet in Culiacan, Mexico, on the same card as the WBA lightweight title fight between Miguel Acosta and Ricardo Dominguez.
Wolak, known as “Raging Bull,” has been beaten only by former “Contender” Ishe Smith, who won a very close decision over him two years ago. Since that loss (which some people felt Wolak deserved to win), the all-action fighter has won six in a row. With decent wins to his name over guys like Norberto Brava and, last time out, James Moore, Wolak now takes his biggest fight to date against Chavez. Having boxed once before at 160-pounds, the 5’8″ Polish hard man will no doubt feel going back up to middleweight to face Chavez will be no real problem.
Indeed, all the pressure in this fight will be on Chavez Junior’s shoulders. With that date with the still-formidable Cotto, and the title shot that will come with it on the line, Chavez, 41-0-1(30) can afford no slip-ups. Now guided by ace trainer Freddie Roach, who has clearly taught Chavez a lot already, the perhaps peaking Mexican star must avoid getting too involved with the dangerous Pole. Chavez managed to stick to his gameplan of boxing and not going to war with Duddy back in June (the same month Wolak last fought and won, against Moore) and he will likely look to adopt similar tactics in September.
Chavez is the younger guy, he is taller and has a longer reach and he will be fighting in his home country. All things considered, it would be a pretty big shock if Wolak were to cause the upset and ruin Chavez’s hopes of tackling Cotto. But the upset could happen; especially if Chavez does overlook Wolak and is not on top of his game. This fight is no gimme for Chavez, that much is certain.
But the son of the man who proved himself to be one of the all-time greats looks the more versatile fighter than Wolak, he is really on a roll right now and he has Roach’s invaluable assistance also. Wolak will defintely have to go some if he’s to get a win. If it’s at all close on the cards, chances are strong Chavez will pick up the W, and while a Polak stoppage win really would be a jaw dropper, this appears to be his best shot. Can the man who has stopped 17 of his 27 victims turn that number into 18?
Look for Chavez to box patiently, going to both head and body in an attempt to break down his durable and aggressive challenger. Wolak, who had a whole lot more amateur experience than did Chavez, has never been badly hurt in any of his pro fights so far, and he will feel in his heart that he can beat Chavez. Instead of doing that, I expect him to go the full 10-rounds, losing via a fairly close margin.
Then, can Chavez drop back down to 154 and give WBA champ Cotto a serious run for his money? Hopefully, we will get to find out.