
Jason Pagara vs. Cesar Chavez: Date, Tale of the Tape, Prediction
The WBO international junior welterweight title will be on the line in Davao City, Philippines, on Saturday, Feb. 7. The champion, Jason "El Nino" Pagara (34-2, 21 KO), who hails from Cebu City, Philippines, will defend his title against Mexican brawler Cesar Chavez (24-7, 12 KO).
El Nino is one half of the increasingly popular fighting Pagara brothers. "Prince" Albert Pagara is an undefeated 20-year-old super bantamweight who has a future about as bright as his brother's.
This bout is part of the popular Pinoy Pride series that pits tough, up-and-coming Filipino fighters against opponents from all over the globe.
Per Milan Ordonez of ABS-CBN, Pagara is confident and has his sights set on the best at 140 pounds:
""Based on what I’ve seen, I think my chances are good. But I will not be overconfident coming into the fight because I know he also has the punching power. I am looking forward to fighting at the bigger stage,” he adds. “Facing the likes of David Diaz, and Chris Algieri, it motivates me. Danny Garcia is also a good fight for me because he fights toe-to-toe from the opening bell to the closing rounds."
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Here's a look at the tale of the tape for this 140-pound scrap.
| 34 | Wins | 24 |
| 2 | Losses | 7 |
| 21 | KO | 12 |
| 5'8" | Height | N/A |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| Philippines | Country | Mexico |
Pagara has been on a roll of late. In fact, he hasn't lost a fight since Sept. 2011. His current win streak is at seven and all but two of the victories have come by stoppage. Most recently, Pagara stopped Mario Meraz in the fourth round of their bout in June 2014.
He hopes to run his win streak to eight with another stoppage victory.
Chavez hasn't found the success or popularity that Pagara has garnered, but he's still an experienced, no-nonsense professional. He's won three straight in his own right, and every one of the wins has come by stoppage.
The three-fight win streak broke a troubling string of losses for Chavez. Prior to the current run, Chavez had lost four in a row. What's worse is all four of the losses were knockouts inside of three rounds.
As a matter of fact, all seven of Chavez's losses have been by KO.
When a fighter loses that many times by stoppage in a row, you start to wonder if this is the right occupation for him or her. The recent wins must have invigorated Chavez, but the bout against Pagara represents a significant spike in the level of competition. Can he pull off the win?
Prediction
In short, Pagara is too quick and powerful for Chavez. In looking at the bouts Chavez has had, his biggest issue is that he's a plodder with only midlevel power and insufficient head movement.
Against a fighter like Pagara, that's a bad look. The 22-year-old champion has good length and power, and he'll have the speed advantage in this fight. Unfortunately for Chavez, this is going to lead to his eighth loss again by TKO or KO.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.


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