Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Could Give Golovkin a Run for His Money If Focused

Coming off the first loss of his almost 10-year career and a second failed drug test, per ESPN.com, former middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has his eyes set on the seemingly unbeatable Gennady Golovkin in the future.

Not only does Chavez Jr. believe he can beat the 27-0 Golovkin, he thinks he could knock him out, according to BoxingScene.com.

Chavez Jr. will have to best Brian Vera on September 7 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California first, but if Chavez Jr. is 100 percent focused, there is no reason to doubt the Mexican superstar couldn't hand Golovkin his first loss.

Before his disappointing showing, per ESPN.com, against middleweight title holder Sergio Martinez last September, Chavez Jr. was fresh off his dominating TKO win over middleweight contender Andy Lee and appeared to be ready to face anyone put in front of him.

Then an uninspired training camp before the Martinez fight took place, the lethargic showing against Martinez happened and the eventual failed drug test came out of Chavez Jr.’s last bout.

Getting back to being 100 percent focused and taking training camp seriously instead of acting like it is optional, Chavez Jr. could net himself the biggest win of his career.

With Chavez Jr. weighing north of 20 pounds heavier than his weigh-in weight on average on fight night, the extra baggage would pose a daunting task for Golovkin to continue his 13-fight knockout streak.

The extra weight could also pose a problem for Chavez Jr., as he has struggled to make the 160-pound limit and has a catch-weight for his bout with Vera at 165 pounds. With Golovkin likely staying put at 160 pounds, Chavez Jr. may have to make the move up to the 168-pound super middleweight division after his fight with Vera, putting a Golovkin bout in jeopardy.

With Chavez Jr. already having a heavy following as made clear by the 475,000 pay-per-view buys, per ESPN.com, for his bout against Martinez, and Golovkin building more buzz around his name with each dominating win, the fight should have no problem drawing heavy interest from fight fans worldwide.

With a bevy of big time fights coming up in the next few months, a Chavez Jr.-Golovkin bout could continue boxing’s momentum heading into 2014 with a slugfest that could be an early candidate for fight of the year.