Chavez Jr vs. Lee: Julio Cesar Must Take Next Step to Become Elite

After knocking out Andy Lee in Round 7 on Saturday, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is ready to take on even better opponents.

Lee was arguably the best Chavez has faced and entered with a 28-1 record. Looking at the aftermath, Julio Cesar has a golden opportunity to reach the elitist level. To that end, let's see how he can get there.

Title Defenses

Andy Lee was Chavez's third consecutive title defense and sixth overall successful defense.

So, we know that Chavez has the proven experience and results to take on a challenger and come out on top. The more he continues to shine on that kind of stage, especially by knocking out the opposition, the more it enhances Julio's reputation.

And gaining more validity by taking on tougher opponents is Chavez's best bet.

Potential Challengers

Sergio Martinez would certainly be a fascinating fight because Martinez is defying his age at 37 and still dominating opponents.

Currently riding a five-match win streak (49-2-2 overall), a victory over Martinez immediately propels Chavez into the elite class. Another fighter would be Andre Ward of the super middleweight class.

Ward is 25-0, only 28 years old, has 13 knockouts and is in the prime of his career. Boxing up a class and winning would emphatically increase Chavez's status and being 47-0-1 would simply create the opportunity for one of the best legacies ever.

Possible Legacy

The victory over Andy Lee puts Chavez at 46-0-1 with 32 of his fights having been by knockout. That's a current knockout percentage of 66.67 percent.

Four of his six title defenses were knockouts and at one point Julio Cesar had 13 consecutive knockouts. If Chavez were to take on either of the two aforementioned fighters and win, his legacy would have unparalleled potential as he's just 26 years old right now.

With a good five to seven years left, Chavez has numerous opportunities to hit elite status early and build his legacy, which could reach nearly 60 wins.

John Rozum on Twitter.