Chavez undergoes surgery; likely out until 2016

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Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The fracture in Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s left hand turned out to be more serious than expected, and the former middleweight titlist could be on the sidelines until 2016.

Chavez, 29, said prior to his most recent fight against Marcos Reyes – a 12-round unanimous decision victory in a 170 lb. catch-weight bout – that he would pursue retirement if he ended up losing again.

Chavez suffered the injury during the fight with Reyes and underwent surgery on the hand Thursday. Dr. Steven S. Shin has advised Chavez to go three months without throwing a punch with that hand.

In an interview with ESPN Deportes, Chavez admitted he was still having problems with the hand during training and had Dr. Shin order X-rays on the hand. Unfortunately for Chavez, the X-rays were not promising, and Shin recommended surgery.

“I was supposed to be back in the gym by the end of this month, but the hand kept bothering me, and I was referred to this doctor, who evaluated me again and told me that surgery was necessary, which changes my plans, but I hope to come out of this stronger,” Chavez told ESPN Deportes.

Chavez added that there is a small possibility that he could return in December, but that depends on if he is medically cleared. Given that he can’t punch with the left hand for three months, that doesn’t seem like enough time to prepare for a fight.

“According to what the doctor said, I’ll be three months without punching with that hand,” Chavez said. “Obviously, I’ll be running and training in what I can so I can be back in December. If not, in January 2016, but I don’t want too much time to pass.”

It’s possible that Chavez could still end up hanging the gloves as his motivation and determination have almost always come under scrutiny in the past couple years.