Bringing The Fire Back – Martinez vs. Chavez, Jr. By Jason Petock, Doghouse Boxing (Sept 4, 2012) Doghouse Boxing - Tweet
The
venerable eternal flame of boxing has been all but extinguished over
the past few years by various culprits. Dejected fans, a biased and
unforgiving media, and the promise of unexciting and potentially
set-up fights and mismatches have left the sport and its followers at
an inevitable crossroads. Compound that with the pipe dream of a
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao meeting that has become the hypothesis
to end all others before it, boxing optimists aren’t left with much
in their bag to be too hopeful about. With the future of the sport
always hanging in the balance by clichés and adamant dejectors, it
has been a definitive ray of light on the horizon when considering
the explosive showdown that is scheduled for September 15th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada between
Argentinian Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez 49-2-2 (28) and Mexican
son and namesake Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. 46-0-1 (32). Pegged for a
day alongside the highly anticipated match-up between Josesito Lopez
30-4-0 (18) and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 40-0-1 (29) at the MGM
Grand, also in Las Vegas, Nevada, fans will have their dance cards
full. This should prove to be a great night of boxing.
Leading
up to their bout both men haven’t pulled any punches with their
verbal parrying, making it more than clear what they think about one
another and how they see the fight playing out. During HBO’s Face
Off with Max Kellerman (video embedded on this page), the two let the words fly which will
hopefully be a precursor to the leather that they will be throwing in
Las Vegas against one another. When asked about his size advantage by
Kellerman, Chavez, Jr. agreed of its significance with, “My size
will be important to win this fight, but I’m not relying on weight
to win. It will be my boxing and my intelligence.” To which
Martinez disagreed, answering with, “You are lost then.” An
overblown Chavez, Jr. has been successful in past campaigns against
smaller fighters, most recently against a beaten but simply
overmatched and less experienced Irishman Andy Lee 28-2 (20), who
didn’t move during their fight and stayed in the pocket, although
Lee did land his straight left against Chavez, Jr. in a virtual
“hype” fight of sorts. Yet Martinez is not Lee, and will bring
technical boxing ability, strength and experience into the ring
against the Culiacan fighter.
Martinez
possesses great speed, ring agility, deft mobility, and is
exceedingly underrated as a puncher. His fluidity and natural comfort
zone in the ring is going to be a true test for Chavez, Jr., who
looks to escape his legendary father’s massive shadow with a win
over “Maravilla”. With a solid chin that hasn’t been truly
tested against high level punchers, Chavez will more than likely
resort to his standard bull rushing tactics and body shots in his run
for a victory over Sergio. His plodding style leaves much to be
desired, and with Martinez not willing to be a stationary target
Julio is going to have to do far more than just pin his opponent and
hope to merely outweigh and overpower him. Jr. hasn’t faced an
opponent like Martinez yet during his career, and while his camp may
feel like this is the opportune time for the younger Chavez to take
on Martinez this will undeniably be the biggest test of the young
fighters burgeoning but questionable career to date. This bout has
all of the makings of a ring classic, a contest where either Chavez,
Jr.’s over touted “granite” chin will get tested or where
Martinez will age overnight and concede to youth and hype.
Needless
to say it is bouts like the upcoming one with Martinez and Chavez,
Jr. that match young against old, and Argentina vs. Mexico, in a
contest that has already garnered public favor and interest. There is
nothing more compelling or awe-inspiring than watching two boxers
representing their respective countries in the squared circle with
legions of fans behind them. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. has the weight
of the nation of Mexico and his father’s illustrious and famed
career on his shoulders. With Sergio Martinez there is a revalidation
of his position in the boxing landscape and the Middleweight
division. To be the best you must fight the best. And if part of the
public deems Chavez, Jr. as one of the “best”, then it is
Martinez’s job to prove them wrong. Sergio has to prove to an ever
judging boxing public that he still has what it takes at 37 years
old, and that father time will continue to elude him. Bernard “The
Executioner” Hopkins has continued to defy the odds, so there’s
no plausible reason that a game, determined, and greatly prepared
Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez is any less capable of such a task.
Maybe all it will take for boxing to catch a fire again with fans
will be that first punch thrown on September 15th that will ignite
the spark which will turn into the raging inferno that boxing once
was. Burn baby, burn. Jason can be reached with your questions, concerns, gripes, moans, complaints, insults or kudos at BoxingWarrior@hotmail.com. Your feedback is appreciated as always. Stay honest and keep punching.
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