The Future at 154
By Julian Kasdin (Sep 12, 2006)
In the next few year or so Oscar de la Hoya, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas will have all officially retired. This will leave a huge void at super welterweight which for a time will be filled by people like Cory Spinks and Sergey Dzindziruk, but neither of these fighters are very young, though they are not old by today’s standards. That said, boxing thrives on new talent and I believe that at super welterweight that talent belongs to three young fighters: 19-year-old Julio Cesar Garcia, 38-2 (32), 20-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 27-0-1 (21), and 21-year-old Zaurbek Baysangurov, 14-0 (12).

Two of these names, Garcia and Chavez, American fans are very familiar with. They are currently two big welterweights who will clearly move to 154 in the next few years. Baysangurov, the less well known of the three, is a talented Russian
who already fights at super welterweight, and after this weekend might be the furthest along of the bunch.

Chavez, obviously, is known as the son of one of the greatest fighters all time, Julio Cesar Chavez senior, and while most sons of famous fighters tend not to do well JCC Jr. has hardly disappointed his fans thus far. At 5’11” he is taller than most people his weight; he also possesses ever improving power, a solid jab and body attack. He has some flaws in his game, but at 20 and never having had an amateur career he is learning on the job and learning quickly. His fight on the 23rd with Matthew Strode, 20-1 (9), should tell us a lot about how this young man has developed as a fighter.

Next on the list is Julio Cesar Garcia, a man that fellow writer Robert Jones, first alerted me to. Garcia, like Chavez, had no amateur career, and instead has learned everything as a professional. He has really begun to find his power, and despite not letting his hands go sometimes has a solid offensive arsenal. He could use some work on his defense and has to learn not to stand in front of his opponents without doing anything. This man is very young and could go very far given the right training and matchmaking. On the 29th he fights against Joe Wyatt, 23-1 (15), easily his toughest opponent who should not only be able to test his chin but also give him some good rounds that will help this young man learn how to become a better fighter.

Finally we have Zaurbek Baysangurov. Baysangurov, like Chavez and Garcia, is a tall fighter for his weight, standing at 5’10.5”. He possesses knockout power in both hands, is quite fast and skilled and is good at putting together combinations. Like almost all young fighters he is sometimes too quick to go for the knockout and this leaves holes in his defense that, until recently, have not been a problem. This weekend he fights against Marco Antonio Rubio, 34-3-1 (30), in what is clearly his toughest test to date and could lead him on the fast track to a title shot if he wins big. Rubio will be able to test Baysangurov’s chin and force the young Russian to work more on defense and smart aggression. His fight this weekend could propel this young man from relative obscurity to fights with people such Kassim Ouma, Vernon Forrest, Ike Quartey and Sechew Powell.

There are probably some young fighters I missed, and I am sure there will be more to come along in the next year or so. These are the three that I think are furthest along and seem to possess the necessary talent to fill the void left my last generation’s superstars.


Questions or comments,
e-mail
Julian at: Alcaldemb@aol.com
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