Sergio Martínez - Julio César Chávez Jr.: Final Thoughts

Before I start, I would like to thank the people across the internet who have stumbled upon my blog. It had recently reach the 9000 view mark.

     The recent Chavez Jr. - Martínez fight was a blast! As predicted, Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez got the victory. Despite the fact that he never finished his man, he still showed a dominant performance against a young challenger in Julio César Chávez Jr. The last round was an epic struggle, as Chávez Jr., was close to knocking out Sergio Martínez. Still, I view that last round struggle as the result of a "Lucky punch." Martínez hung in there and continued on, like a true champion that he is.

     A rematch, in my opinion, is not necessary. Sergio Martínez showed why he is Pound for Pound one of the best fighters in the world. No lucky punch will be able to change this distinction, and I bet that if they do it the second time, the outcome will still be the same. It is either that Martínez would cruise his way on another dominant and one-sided decision or he will eventually get the knock-out sooner or later. In my prediction, I had to gamble with the Martínez punching power, considering the way he took out Paul Williams who was also taller and heavier than Martínez.

     Fundamental Boxing Knowledge has showed us once again why weight advantages favor a fighter when it comes to resiliency and punching power. It usually happens. Still, a knock-out is a variable on the table because of Sergio Martínez previous performances. The whole world is definitely treated with another boxing display, as if Martínez was giving the young Chávez Jr., a boxing lesson. Speed was a supreme variable in this match, and Sergio Martínez had a lot of it.

     My advice for Julio César Chávez Jr., is to clear the drawing table. His merging with Freddie Roach was a good decision, but it would be better if Julio would start learning something new. Keep his bully style of fighting, but develop his head movement and a little bit more hand speed. Now, I'm just an avid boxing fan, and it is clear that I'm no Freddie Roach, but just based on observation, I believe this transition would be necessary for him if he desires to transcend in the sport of boxing.

     I still would hope to see Julio César Chávez Jr. again. He is still young after all and there is still a lot of time to make up for this defeat. A great match I would want to see him in is against Kelly Pavlik. Now that is a compelling match-up. I'd probably go 50/50 on this. At this moment though, it is clear that Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez is the reigning King of the Middleweight Division. I am hoping for better matches to come from both fighters, and I hope someday but not sooner, that they would go and do it again.

Picture: Sergio Martínez showing respect after surviving a last round close knock-out ordeal against Julio César Chávez Jr.

Julio César Chávez Jr. - Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez: Thoughts and Predictions

     Julio César Chávez Jr. versus Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez for the World Middleweight Championship is going to be an epic fight that boxing fans around the world think of as a possible candidate for "The Fight of the Year". Although, the likes of  Chávez Jr., is not that of a world-class caliber prize fighter; It's in the competency between both fighters that compels boxing fans like myself to wonder of what outcome will this fight end. For me personally, I think that this fight can go either ways. For every great fighter to burst out of the boxing scene, we never really recognize them as much until they have managed to reach a stepping stone in their careers as fighters.

     Stepping stones could either be found in winning an Olympic Gold Medal or as grand as beating a Pound for pound fighter. These experiences have defined their character and the skills they carry into the sport of boxing. These great aspects that influence people through breathtaking displays of brilliance each time they step into the squared circle. This maybe the same thing going for the likes of Julio César Chávez Jr., who goes up against the pound for pound superstar in Sergio Martínez. It is not the first time that we've seen a non-ranked fighter to have come out of nowhere to beat someone who is rated to be one of the sports best.

     Let us take Manny Pacquiao for example. Manny Pacquiao was virtually unknown internationally despite being a two-time world champion at that time when he faced Mexico's growing legend, Marco Antonio Barrera. Now, in this fight, I wouldn't have even predicted this way coming. It was unbelievable that Pacquiao would blow the roofs against one of pound for pound's best fighters in the world. I believe Pacquiao's real stepping stone into the big-time was Barrera. In this manner, I can also place Chávez Jr. in the same respect.

     To me, this encounter may almost look like a deja vu. My predictions for this fight is that Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez will KO Julio César Chávez Jr. in any round. This means, that Martínez can go home with an early victory if he decides to do so. It could reach the middle rounds or even the later rounds. It really just depends on what tempo these guys are exhibiting in the early seconds of the fight. Sure, it is also possible that it could go into the judge's scorecards, but my prediction stays solid. I stand by it.

     My final thoughts on this bout is that, Julio César Chávez Jr. is a great fighter, and he has a good chance to beat Martínez. I am not to judge on the several occurences that an underdog would beat a great fighter. It's natural, upsets do happen in regularity. This is the sport of boxing; anything can happen. I would have wanted  Chávez Jr., to try and beat Kelly Pavlik first before facing Martínez. Despite this, who am I to judge? Freddie Roach once wanted Manny Pacquiao to beat Wayne McCollough first, before he fought against Barrera, and look how that fight turned out for him?

     Again, I am just basing my predictions from credentials and statistics which provides accurate predictions following tendencies and probabilities, which we all know, is not really the case when you talk about something like boxing. Even if my blog would happen to cover the Barrera-Pacquiao fight predictions, I would have heavily favored Barrera in this aspect. Thus, from the way this fight is going, in my opinion, it only shows, that this fight is really up for grabs between both contingents. Will Chávez Jr. become his own fighter apart from his father's legendary stature, or will Martínez prove once again why he's considered pound for pound's very best? It really all comes down into who wants it more.

Picture: A poster of boxing's mega-fight between Julio César Chávez Jr. and Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez for the World Middleweight Championship, to be held at the Thomas and Mack Center University in Las Vegas, Nevada.