Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Chavez Jr. vs Zbik
On 4 June 2011, Chavez
defeated WBC Middleweight Champion Sebastian Zbik to win his first
world title at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, taking
a major step toward establishing his own legacy while his famous father
looked on. He was behind early against Zbik, who was the quicker fighter
and landed more punches early. But Chavez kept coming forward, countering
with hard body shots that seemed to slow his German opponent down.
The fight drew 1.5 million viewer on HBO: Boxing After Dark making
it the most viewed since 2007 when Paulie Malignaggi fought Lovemore
Ndou.
Chavez Jr. vs Manfredo Jr.
Chavez Jr. successfully defended
his Middleweight title with a fifth round knockout of Peter Manfredo
Jr. in Houston on 19 November 2011.
Chavez was marginally outworked,
but he landed a higher percentage of punches and more power shots
than Manfredo. In the fifth round, Chavez hurt Manfredo with a hard
right hand and unloaded a flurry when the challenger wobbled and backed
up on the ropes. He didn’t answer with any punches and referee Laurence
Cole finally stepped in to call it at 1 minutes, 52 seconds. The fight
averaged 1.5 million viewers on HBO.
Chavez Jr. vs Rubio
On 4
February 2012, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Chavez faced
Mexican countryman Marco Antonio Rubio in a 12 round scheduled championship
Middleweight bout. Chavez Jr. retained his WBC Middleweight title
after beating Rubio by unanimous decision. Chavez bossed the majority
of the exchanges and was awarded the fight 118-110, 116-112, 115 -113
on the judges’ scorecards. Chavez landed 237 of 560 punches thrown
(42%) whilst Rubio connected 201 of 962 punches (21%). The fight was
watched by 19 million viewers in Mexico. In the US, the fight was
shown live on HBO: Boxing After dark and average 1.9 million viewers.
Two
weeks before the fight, Chavez was arrested in Los Angeles on charges
of drunk driving.
Chavez Jr. vs Lee
On 16 June 2012, at the University
of Texas at El Paso, Texas. Chavez Jr. recovered from a slow start
he blamed on leg cramps and stopped Andy Lee at 2:21 of the seventh
round to regain the WBC Middleweight title. A right uppercut by Chavez
snapped Lee’s head upwards and sideways and Chavez connected on a
barrage of punches before referee Laurence Cole intervened and waved
an end to the fight. The fight averaged 1.6 million viewers on HBO.
With
the victory, Chavez put himself in position for a title-unification
fight with recognized World Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez.
