Trainer Abel Sanchez was interviewed by Fighthype.com following Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s(48-2-1, 32KO’s) surprise loss to Poland’s Andrzej Fonfara(27-3, 16KO’s) at the StubHub Centre in Carson, California this past weekend.
Sanchez was accompanied by his star charge and middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin(32-0, 29KO’s), who was in line to face Chavez last year until negotiations reached a dead end for any of the numerous reasons that tend to derail big fights these days. Chavez fought Fonfara two weight classes above Golovkin’s 160lb hunting grounds after years of struggling on the scales. It is often presumed he does not extend himself enough during preparations for his fights, and Sanchez feels it is this aloofness towards training that is ultimately costing Chavez at this point. This was his first time in his pro career he failed to hear the final bell.
“Chavez has been killing himself to make weight and it paid off for Fonfara today. Chavez looked sucked-up, at the weigh-in he looked too thin. Not because he lost weight but because he lost it in a fashion that’s not productive. He’s been doing that for a while, and it finally paid off for someone besides him.”
Predictions for Fonfara to win inside the distance were a scarce commodity in the weeks leading up to the fight as Chavez has always displayed a granite chin even in performances where he has failed to shine. In his first loss to Sergio Martinez, he blocked most punches with his face and was only visibly shaken once or twice. Incidentally, the cameras that followed both participants throughout their camps before that fight captured a lackadaisical Chavez eating cereal in his underwear when he should have been suffering in the gym.
Sanchez felt if Chavez were in against his man Golovkin instead of Fonfara the result would have been slightly different.
“Sooner, it[the stoppage] would have been sooner. You can’t take away from your abilities by killing yourself like that.”
But he did not dismiss the possibility of the pair fighting in the future if Chavez can dedicate himself properly to the sport that elevated his family name in to Mexican folklore.
“If he can get down to [1]68[lb.] or 64, if he does the work the way he’s supposed to do, of course, he’s still a big name.”
And big names are what Golovkin needs on his resume. He has two middleweight belts and the heaviest hands south of the heavyweight division, but as yet has not been granted that signature bout that brings a prizefighter to the attention of the laymen. But if Chavez is suffering to make the light-heavyweight limit of 175lb dropping a further seven pounds will surely diminish him and produce the same sub-par performance that Sanchez is criticising him for against Fonfara. The condition that Chavez needs to make weight the right way is fine in principle but difficult to cover contractually. Once the fight is signed, it doesn’t matter how he slims down as long as he does it. If a shadow of Chavez shows up, he has only himself to blame, again.
