They don’t call middleweight kingpin Sergio Martinez (49-2-2, 28 KO’s) "Maravilla" for nothing. For the linguistically-challenged, the Spanish adjective Maravilla means marvelous.
And marvelous is just how I expect Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (46-0-1, 32 KO’s) to make Martinez look at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in less than two weeks.
Don’t get me wrong, Chavez will be buoyed by the pride of representing his legendary father’s name, protecting his undefeated record, and fighting in front of a large Mexican crowd in Vegas. And there is no doubt in my mind that he will be more than willing on September 15. But he simply won’t be able.
This fight prediction does not require a deep-dive, statistically. It’s a sheer matter of Martinez being way too fast, way too skilled, but most importantly, fighting a way more difficult roster of boxers. How many fighters can say that they KO’d Paul "the Punisher" Williams and bloodied and outboxed Kelly Pavlik, in back-to-back fights no less?
Chavez, on the other hand, has only one "quasi-significant" victory over middleweight contender Andy Lee. And I say "quasi" because Lee, like Chavez, doesn’t have the most glossy fight resume either.
At the end of the day, "JC Jr." will be able to find solace in the fact that there is no shame in losing to the third best boxer in the world (Martinez).
Sergio Martinez will stop Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. via technical knockout, around round eight.