Sergio Martinez: A Guide to How Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Can Beat Him in the Ring

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31 KO) is a 25-year-old Mexican kid trying to prove he is Boxing's next star. Despite his undefeated record and world title, the only way he can do that is by defeating Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KO).

Martinez was stripped of his beloved WBC middleweight (160 lbs) world title for not facing a mandatory opponent in early 2011. The recipient of this vacant belt became Chavez Jr. after he gave Sebastian Zbik (30-1, 10 KO) his first defeat.

Martinez chased after Chavez Jr while appealing to the WBC board that he should get a mandatory shot at the young champion. WBC eventually granted his wish, telling Chavez to fight him in early 2012.

Many believe the young Mexican warrior would get devoured by Martinez thanks to the lovely displays of beautiful brutality displayed by Martinez in recent outings. Chavez Jr. is not one to be underestimated.

Chavez Jr. has more of a chance than the public give him, and here is a guide to why he has this chance and where am I pulling this idea from. There's a list of factors that can play in Chavez's hands.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Is Growing and Beating Real Middleweights

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is the son of a legend which has put great pressure on him to not only be great, but great NOW! People want to see greatness instantly, but Chavez Jr. has been steadily improving.

Not every fighter's skills are acquired overnight. Admittedly Chavez Jr.'s handlers and matchmakers have put him up against rather soft competition until fairly recently, but the competition is getting stiffer.

Ever since stepping up from the light middleweight (154 lbs) division to middleweight (160 lbs), Chavez has faced increasingly difficult competition and grown in between fights.

Chavez defeated a young in-his-prime middleweight veteran John Duddy (29-2, 18 KO) during the summer of 2010. Then Chavez defeated the only other man to beat Duddy, a 26-year-old Billy Lyell (24-10, 5 KO).

Chavez next faced then undefeated 29-year-old Zbik for the middleweight world title and knocked out 30-year-old veteran Peter Manfredo Jr. (37-7, 20 KO) in Round 5 in a fantastic performance.

Keep in mind, Manfredo is a veteran of the middleweight (160 lbs) and super middleweight (168 lbs) division with bouts against the likes of Joe Calzaghe (46-0, 32 KO).

It's been suggested Chavez Jr. will take on Marco Antonio Rubio (52-5-1, 45 KO) next, a 31-year-old tough Mexican contender with a fearsome punch and a strong beard. He's the ultimate test for Chavez Jr.

Rubio defended his WBC No. 1 middleweight ranking by beating David Lemieux (25-2, 24 KO) by TKO in Round 7 and then destroyed former Chavez rival Matt Vanda (44-14, 24 KO) in five rounds.

If Chavez plans to face him, then perhaps Chavez's promoter Bob Arum can convince Martinez and the WBC to hold off while Chavez faces a man who was meant to be the No. 1 contender anyway.

Defeating Rubio, especially by knockout, would be a huge step toward being ready for the likes of Martinez.

Sergio Martinez by Contrast: Real Middleweights Keep Giving Him Trouble

Sergio Martinez debuted as a middleweight against Paul Williams (40-2, 27 KO) in 2009. Williams had previously been a welterweight (147 lbs) who went up to junior middleweight (154 lbs) for one fight.

Williams had been a middleweight for all of two fights, one against a bum he knocked out in the first round and the other against an old Ronald "Winky" Wright (51-5, 25 KO) by decision.

Martinez lost a majority decision in what should have been a draw. Then Martinez would go on to fight a legitimate middleweight champion in Kelly Pavlik (37-2, 32 KO) and win in amazing fashion.

But in that victory over Pavlik, Martinez suffered a knockdown and lost some of the middle rounds before securing the victory with a brilliant rally in the later rounds.

Martinez would go on to dominate Paul Williams via second-round knockout in a rematch of their first classic and Martinez would bring an undefeated Sergiy Dzinziruk (37-1, 23 KO) down in Round 8.

Martinez then fought his second real middleweight, an undefeated Darren Barker (23-1, 14 KO) who nearly broke Martinez's nose and opened a bloody gash on Martinez's head before succumbing to an 11th-round knockout.

Dzinziruk had to come up from junior middleweight to middleweight for the first time in his career. Williams had barely fought at middleweight. The first two REAL middleweights Martinez fought, Pavlik and Barker, gave him the most trouble in recent years.

If this holds up, then a fight against a more experienced Chavez Jr. will be a hard one for Martinez to win. 

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Can Take a Hell Full of Middleweight Punches

Chavez Jr.'s trademark talent has been his relative inability to be hurt by punches in most of his fights. No matter how many punches Zbik gave Chavez, he ate them and launched forward with his own assault.

Chavez didn't seem phased or momentarily deterred by the constant leather that met his face, and this ability to absorb punches, mixed with his formidable size and punching power, has helped him along so far.

Recently, Chavez has been working on various things such as acquiring a jab and using his great reach to his advantage so his tough chin won't be his only defense. Against Manfredo, this was a success.

Along with a decent jab, Chavez Jr. displayed better movement and a more careful selection of punches. He showed that he knew when to engage Manfredo and didn't get greedy when he nailed him good.

When Manfredo did land a good shot, Chavez was barely moved, and nearly every shot Chavez landed flush looked like it hurt to some degree.

Though he'll never be a defensive genius, Chavez Jr.'s growing defensive capabilities, paired with his already tough beard, could fare well against a great offensive fighter such as Martinez.

Sergio Martinez by Contrast: Has Been Hurt by Every Middleweight He's Faced

As identified previously, Martinez has faced two REAL middleweights. The two middleweights Martinez has faced thus far have hurt been able to hurt him.

Pavlik was able to knock Martinez down.

Barker was able to make Martinez think twice about opening up as blood began to pour from his nose with each thudding jab Barker snapped across his face.

Even junior middleweight Paul Williams was able to hurt Martinez. Williams knocked Martinez down in the first round of their initial showdown (even though that was probably due more to bad balance).

Chavez Jr.'s punch may not be as loudly talked about as his chin, but you better believe he has a heck of a punch because he believes in his punch enough to use it often.

Chavez throws bombs as his knockout percentage of over 67 percent can attest to. Martinez's knockout percentage is nearly 52 percent by contrast. If the two slug toe-to-toe in a chin battle, Chavez wins hands down.

Martinez's chin, while very good, doesn't hold up to Chavez Jr.'s thus far in his career.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Is Younger and Growing Better as He Bides Time

Chavez Jr. is becoming better with time. In each of his fights since Duddy, he's stepped up in competition. He's actually getting better with each performance, as pieces of his fight game become more defined.

He's turning 26 in February. If he blasts Rubio like his consistently developing self can do, then he will not be far from where he needs to be to have a chance at upsetting Martinez.

Sergio Martinez by Contrast: Has Peaked and Is Getting Older

Sergio Martinez turns 37 in February and plans to fight next on St. Patrick's Day in March. He started boxing late and is very athletic, leading a very healthy lifestyle that may prolong the inevitable.

But the inevitable is called the inevitable for a reason. Martinez, like all boxers before him, will decline. He will get slower and will get hit more. As a fighter ages, punches don't wear off like before.

It becomes harder to brush off a shot, and it becomes harder to react when needed. The mind still knows what to do, but the body won't cooperate. In the case of Martinez, that is hardly a worry for now.

But Martinez is a slick fighter who moves around a lot to dodge punches. He doesn't block, he dodges and counter attacks quickly. A fighter who relies on speed and reflexes as much as him can't afford to age.

Fast fighters have an equally fast shelf life. Age hit Pernell Whitaker (40-4-1, 17 KO) badly at age 35. He dodged and hooped and hollered around the ring, even at age 33 against a 24-year-old Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KO).

But Whitaker couldn't handle a 26-year-old Felix Trinidad (42-3, 35 KO) at age 35. Whitaker may not have taken care of himself better than Martinez; he may have had more vices but age comes regardless.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Will Be Ready, but When?

Even if Chavez Jr. doesn't come for Martinez directly after Rubio and allows himself to be stripped of his title as the WBC have threatened to do for not facing Martinez, Chavez can fight others while retaining his status as a mandatory defense for Martinez for whenever he's ready.

Chavez Jr. can chase Martinez for a year asking when will he give him his shot, as Martinez chased him. In the meantime, fighting two more opponents, each a level above Rubio, could give Chavez Jr. every lesson he needs on how to beat Martinez.

And in the first quarter of 2013, when Chavez Jr. comes to collect the belt that was stripped of him as Martinez plans to do in the first quarter of 2012, Martinez will be a year older and Chavez Jr. a year wiser.