Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the past with Freddie Roach (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)
By Chris Robinson
On Saturday night, in Carson, Calif., former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was given a tougher-than-expected fight from gritty challenger Brian Vera inside of the StubHub Center.
Chavez vs. Vera was an entertaining affair that saw Vera outhustle Chavez in several rounds while Julio appeared to land the more telling and powerful blows throughout the contest.
After ten rounds of action, scorecards reading 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94 were all in Chavez’s favor despite several ringside observers seeing the fight for Vera.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Chavez’s co-promoter Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions revealed that his fighter had suffered an injury to his right hand in the fourth round.
During his time on the dais, Chavez went into detail on how the injury affected his effort.
“Of course what happened is I threw less punches than I was used to throwing,” Chavez said, addressing the media. “And when I hurt him with the left hook [in the tenth round], I couldn’t finish him because I couldn’t throw my right hand.
“I was always in control of the fight,” said Chavez. “I really believe I didn’t knock him out because I hurt my hand in the fourth round.”
There was serious confusion during the days leading up to the fight, as Chavez declared this past Tuesday that he wouldn’t be able to make the contracted catch weight limit of 168 pounds that he and Vera agreed upon.
The following day it was revealed that the weight limit for the fight had been changed to 173 pounds.
Chavez would end up weighing 172.4 pounds at the weigh-in, over 14 pounds more than he did this past Sept. ahead of his match with Sergio Martinez.
This camp for Chavez was drastically different, as he came into training well overweight and saw the Vera match postponed on multiple occasions.
Absent from Chavez’s team this time around were his former trainer Freddie Roach as well as strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.
Asked if he felt it was difficult not having them with him this time around, Chavez denied such assumptions but did note that he very well may be reaching out to Roach for his next fight.
“I don’t think so, you know? I think Freddie Roach is a great trainer. Probably for my next fight I’m going to hire him, to train with him. Of course he’s a great trainer,” said Chavez.
PLEASE CHECK OUT Chris Robinson’s exclusive coverage from the Chavez-Vera fight night in California…
Tim Bradley says that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr needs to refocus and decide if boxing is really for him
Robert Garcia feels Julio Cesar Chavez Jr landed the better punches than Brian Vera in their fight
Brian Vera wants a rematch with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. ‘I would love to do it again’
Virgil Hunter says he saw suspicious activities taking place ringside during the Chavez-Vera fight
Team Chavez Jr. claim that Julio’s injured hand affected his performance against Brian Vera
Mikey Garcia talks Chavez-Vera, the changes with Alex Ariza, facing Rocky Maritnez, more
Behind the scenes with Brandon Rios, Robert Garcia, and others at the Chavez-Vera fight in Carson
Andre Ward admits that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in a natural pay per view opponent for him
Joel Diaz on Diego Magdaleno’s victory and his thoughts on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Brian Vera
Gennady Golovkin and Abel Sanchez speak on the benefits of training at the Summit Gym in Big Bear
Robert Garcia says Chavez Jr will still be a beast vs Vera and feels he can challenge Andre Ward
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com