Not the best of world title fights but I'm starting to be won over by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (43-0-1, 30 KO's) as he defends his WBC middleweight title against Peter Manfredo (37-6, 20 KO's).
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| Chavez and Manfredo face each other in Houston |
When Chavez turned pro he was a bit of a joke, nobody really expected this kid to do as well as he has done, but credit has to go him and now that he's with Freddie Roach, he will get better. Obviously we dont know how much Roach had worked with him in the buildup to this fight because of Pacquiao, but the sparring will have been great. He looked pretty strong last time out in winning the title against unbeaten German Sebastian Zbik and what really impressed me in that fight was his body shots. Chavez Jr has got some good rounds under his belt recently, he's still learning, but he will have gained a lot last time out and I think he's due a stoppage.
Manfredo does look a stronger fighter at middleweight, but the worry I have about this guy is that when he's stepped up in class, he's struggled. The Calzaghe fight was a joke, he got absolutely hammered and although many said the stoppage was premature, it was fair enough as more punishment was on the way. He then was involved in a stinker over 10 with the on the way down Jeff Lacy, and in his last loss, Sakio Bika dismantled him in his hometown, like Calzaghe in three rounds. He's beaten some ok contenders recently, but the best win of late, which was in May last year, was against Angel Hernandez, a light middle by trade.
For me Chavez is getting better, he's not up to fighting the top five or six in this division at the moment, but I think he's due a stoppage and it could very well come sometime after nine rounds against a guy who's been outclassed when fighting at world level.
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