Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Comes Of Age Against Andy Lee
by Gautham Nagesh
Many have questioned in the past whether middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is a worthy heir to his father, a Mexican legend, inside the ring. After taking up the sport late and turning professional with basically no amateur background, Junior predictably struggled early in his career. But he also learned, and somewhere along the way grew into a tough inside fighter, just like the old man.
On Saturday night in El Paso, Texas, Chavez Jr. smashed Irish Andy Lee (above) and put any remaining questions about his viability as a prize fighter to bed. Faced with his toughest opponent to date, Junior swiveled his hips and stalked his opponent around the ring for seven rounds, before dispatching Lee with a vicious right hook and flurry at 2:21 of the seventh round. Arguments over his quality have now been replaced by anticipation of a megafight with 160-lb kingpin Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez this autumn. For his part, JCC Jr. promised after the fight to knock the Argentine out. Clearly, the taunts Sergio has sent his way for the past year have not fallen on deaf ears.[[MORE]]
Going into the fight, I was confident Lee possessed the boxing ability and punching power to give Chavez pause. I was very wrong. As Lee told HBO’s Larry Merchant, he simply couldn’t slow the bigger man down with his punches. Chavez has always been extremely large for a middleweight, often coming into the ring on fight night above the light heavyweight limit. But this time he combined his impressive size with tremendous conditioning and indomitable will. It is an impressive formula, and one that would likely work against almost any fighter at 160 lbs.
Early on, Junior allowed Lee to box and land a few punches, but it was soon clear the Irishman didn’t have enough firepower to keep the Mexican at bay. Aside from his size, Chavez Jr. also has a great chin. Even Sergio may struggle to put a dent in it. At one point he mocked Lee openly with his hands down, inviting him to do his worst. Lee obliged with a series of hard shots that landed, only to receive an even harder combination in response. Nothing Lee landed appeared to hurt Chavez, aside from a couple decent uppercuts early on. We thought that punch would be the key, but Lee rarely landed it with any effect.
Chavez has previously shown himself an awesome body puncher, but his left hooks on this night were positively hellacious. Every one that landed seemed to ring out across the outdoor arena like the fireworks that exploded during the pre-fight introductions. He focused less on the body than previous fights, perhaps confident that he would be able to stop his opponent without breaking him down first. But those shots that did land took a toll, and stole Lee’s legs well before his usual mid-round fade. The final combination that stopped Lee featured a couple of vicious body shots, which set up the final right that swept through Lee’s head like a turnstile.
Lee gave a game effort, but like his only other loss against Brian Vera, he allowed himself to get sucked into a brawl. He was up on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, but Chavez was clearly imposing his will at that point. I had the Mexican leading 58-56 at the time of the stoppage. In addition to his usual body attack, Chavez was clearly affecting Lee with his punches to the head as well. He landed a few hard left hooks, and even the ones that missed looked like they were thrown with bad intentions. Chavez was also starting to find range with his right hand near the end, which spelled doom for the Irishman.
Lee has now had a couple shots at the big time, but has fallen just short, perhaps reflecting his natural level. He is an affable and impressive figure in the gym, but perhaps not quite championship level. It is understandable, given their close personal relationship, that trainer and Kronk gym boss Emmanuel Steward had high hopes for the former Irish Olympian. But clearly he isn’t prepared for the likes of Martinez, and probably never will be. A move back to 154 might benefit Lee, or perhaps squaring off with some of the other contenders in a suddenly top-heavy division.
For Chavez, the sky truly is the limit. He is already one of the premier draws in the sport, thanks to his famous name and movie star good looks. Now he can add a fan-friendly, action style and some quality wins to his resume. He sounded like a new man after the fight, calling out Sergio Martinez and promising to hit him in the mouth. Six months ago that would have sounded like the idle boast of a spoiled rich kid. Now it sounds like a promise from a champion. What a difference half a year can make.