Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Faces Peter Manfredo in November; But Is He Ready?

Boxing Scene and Ring Magazine Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (43-0-1, 30 KOs) wanted to fight a September tuneup against Ronald Hearns (26-2, 20 KOs) ahead of his November 19th title defense, but his promoter Bob Arum has axed the fight.

Freddie Roach, Chavez's trainer, wasn't going to be with Chavez during the September fight because of prior obligations. Roach will be able to assist Chavez during his defense in November.

The fight would have been held in Mexico and not televised for American audiences whereas his November 19th fight will be televised by HBO.

Peter Manfredo Jr. (37-6, 20 KOs) will be Chavez's opponent in his first defense of his WBC middleweight title.

The fight takes place at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas where the Hispanic population will be coming in droves to support the fast-growing young star.

My Two Cents

Chavez won his title against Sebastian Zbik (30-1, 10 KOs) in June with a courageous, yet questionable performance. While Chavez did land the harder shots while taking shot after shot very well, most of the shots he ate were unnecessary blows.

If Zbik wasn't such a light hitter, Chavez would have been in trouble. Manfredo may not be the best middleweight out there, but he is a fighter with enough heart and power to make someone like Chavez be in for a hard night if he doesn't pick up a better defense.

While Manfredo is a step up in competition, Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KOs) has been declared by the WBC to be the final destination of Chavez's title reign during the first quarter of 2012. He wants his title back that was stripped from him for not facing his mandatory challenger, Zbik.

Beating Manfredo convincingly will help, but Chavez Jr. must dominate him in order to show the world, his team and even himself that he has a chance against Martinez.

Vacating the title isn't an option unless Roach wants to admit that he doesn't think Chavez is ready for Martinez. That won't bode over well with Chavez's fight fans who expect courage first and thoughts second.

Chavez has had troubles with going down to 154 and there are too many experienced fighters at 168 for Chavez to still try to "learn" his way through boxing.

Maybe with the right conditioning, something Roach and partner Alex Ariza are known for, Chavez can move back down to 154 and announce his intention to make a fight with Saul Alvarez happen.

Saul Alvarez (37-0-1, 27 KOs) is the other much-beloved Mexican boxing star at the moment. The two are in their twenties and undefeated and near each one another in terms of experience.

The Mexican audience would approve and Chavez could avoid the more experienced and tougher assignment of Sergio Martinez.