Tony Stewart’s Preview of Sergio Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
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By: Tony Stewart
Boxing, among many things, is a sport about respect. Every person who steps through those ropes is in pursuit of it; self-respect, the respect of his or her peers and the fans. And in the eyes of many Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. has not earned that respect, rather he was born into that privilege through the legendary career of his father, Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr.
On Saturday, September 15, 2012, live from the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, we will be treated to a sizzling matchup between the son of a legend, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Argentina’s best boxer in 30 years Sergio Martinez in a mega-fight for respect. They will battle for Chavez’s WBC Middleweight Championship title in a fight of role reversal where the champion is seen as the challenger.
It’s very seldom we are privy to a fight where both men are not just fighting for respect but for legacy. Make no mistake this fight is about respect and legitimacy, not just a title or the illusory ‘pound for pound’ status but quite literally for super stardom and permanence and putting their own stamp on this era’s page of boxing history. It wasn’t until he knocked out Andy Lee that the chiding ridicule of the clumsy, lumbering, laughable Chavez, Jr. faded and what was once an absurd thought suddenly sprang into the focus of everyone. It was now conceivable to see Chavez, Jr. face the preeminent (and more recently vulnerable looking and aging 37 y/o) 2-division champion Sergio Martinez. The fight was made and here we are.
Sergio Martinez (49 wins, 28 by KO with 2 losses) is determined to not only win this fight but to win by knockout. He is fighting for what he sees as an injustice and a disgrace to the sport of boxing. The platitudes and championship status that Chavez has been afforded, he feels, is only because of who his father is, and not that he has earned the right himself and that he is living off the privileges of someone else. Sergio on the other hand has shown that he is made of sterner stuff by toppling former middleweight king Kelly Pavlik and by defending his crown and defeating, by knockout, younger, undefeated, strong, world level opposition who each were equally more than capable of overcoming the smaller-built Argentine fighter. Martinez fights with a tenacity, grace, and natural athleticism that his opponents have not possessed. While his speed and quick countering and deft movement have kept him him out of harm’s way in the past, it is expected that he will have his hands full with a very large pressure fighter in Chavez, Jr.
Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. is putting everything on the line by meeting the toughest and without a doubt most defining challenge of his career so far. At greater risk, more than his 46-fight win streak and middleweight championship, is his name and honor as being the new Julio Cesar Chavez. This is what makes a champion a champion by risking everything in pursuit of greatness. The Andy Lee win was a statement. That he was no longer willing to be seen within the shadow of his father but he was now ready to prove to everyone his worth in boxing gold. He may have started off taking baby steps against less than stellar opponents but he has grown and matured and is now attempting to step into his legacy. He may not doesn’t possess the exquisite craft of his father but he does fight like him, and what he lacks in style he has made up with heart and determination and an iron chin. He knows how to cut off the ring with better and better etiquette. He also knows his greatest weapon is his persistence and pressure to the body, and against Sergio Martinez he will need this plus that extra specialness that will separate him from his beginnings in a severely high stakes fight.
As are most fights, this will be a contest of wills, but it will also be a game of high-speed chess where both men will need to impose their style of fight on the other from the outset and neither can afford to make one error, because it can instantly become costly. If Martinez were to win this fight, adding Chavez’s name to his list of vanquished opponents will speak to his already established resume as an elite fighter and possibly launch him into another ‘potentional’ mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather. And for Julio, defeat at the hands of possibly the 4th best fighter in the world isn’t a bad thing at all, provided he isn’t humiliated in losing.
However, if Chavez wins, everything could change. With the impending exit of the two top men in the sport, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, there are but a few names that could register as the ‘new’ elite of the top echelon of fighters ushering in the next era, and Chavez, Jr., could absolutely be at the very top of that short list. Sergio would still enjoy the respect he’s gained climbing the ladder to the level he is at, however at his age it would be seen as possibly a curtain call on a magnificent career. His age would play the biggest factor in how much further he could go beyond a loss to Chavez, and father time waits for no one.
In the end this fight will come down to one thing, guts. No guts no glory. Chavez, Jr. will have to go where he’s never gone before, within himself to discover just how much of that enormous Chavez gut does he really have to win. Sergio Martinez will have to fight the most intelligent fight of his career against a superbly aggressive, larger and very strong and determined opponent. Picking his moments of when to stand and fight and when to box and move. Both have a lot to gain and lose. The most we can hope for is a very good fight that is not left in the hands of the judges, where both men decide for themselves and us who is the better man.
I expect Chavez Jr., to come in the most prepared he has ever been and put on an incredible performance against a primed and amped Sergio Martinez pulling off an amazing upset win.
Undercard matches:
Super Bantamweights:
Guillermo Rigondeuax (10-0-0, 8 by KO) vs Robert Marroquin (25-1-0, 15 by KO)
Lightweights:
Roman “Rocky” Martinez (25-1-1, 16 by KO) vs Miguel Beltran Jr. (27-1-0, 17 by KO)
Middleweights:
Matthew Macklin (24-4-0, 19 by KO) vs Joachim Alcine (33-2-1, 19 by KO)
Light Heavyweights:
Mike Lee (10-0-0, 6 by KO) vs Paul Harness (4-3-1, 3 by KO)
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