The return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will come this Saturday night against Andrzej Fonfara of Poland by way of Chicago.
Chavez Jr. (48-1-1, 32 KOs) is moving up to light heavyweight for this bout which will be broadcast live on Showtime from the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
There have been some memorable fights inside the StubHub Center and this can be another slugfest depending on which Chavez Jr. shows up.
Here are my three keys to victory for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Get off to a Quick Start
Photo by Jeff Gross
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has a tendency to start fights slowly and even take some rounds off. In the only loss of his career, which came at the hands of Sergio Martinez, Chavez Jr. was thoroughly dominated for the first 11 rounds and only in the 12th round did he come on to score two giant knockdowns before running out time in the final seconds of the fight.
It is very probable judging on how badly hurt Martinez was that had Chavez Jr. started his assault a few rounds earlier the end result could have been different.
We know Chavez Jr. is capable of fighting aggressive and disciplined from the first round to the last as evidenced in his rematch with Bryan Vera in March of 2014. Chavez Jr. came out slugging in Round 1 and did not let up until the final bell rang.
Chavez Jr. knew he had the harder punches and landed at will hurting Vera in the fourth and seventh round. After the 10th round it was clear Vera had very little left while Chavez Jr who came into the fight focused and in shape still looked fresh.
Even in his knockout victory over Andy Lee, Chavez Jr. hardly threw a punch in the first round. Fonfara is too dangerous a fighter for Chavez Jr to give up a full round to.
Go to the Body
Photo by Esther Lin
Adonis Stevenson used a body attack against Andrzej Fonfara to turn back the tide to his favor when they fought last May. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has had great success wearing down his opponents with left hooks to the body. This is a very dangerous weapon for Chavez Jr. to use and it will help him create opening for his left hook up top and right uppercut which shoots up the middle.
In the fifth round of his big win over Andy Lee, Chavez Jr. hurt him with left hooks to the body that Lee never recovered from. In his rematch with Brian Vera, Chavez Jr. won in a more convincing manner by bruising Vera with heavy body shots.
Fonfara is a natural light heavyweight so he may pose some problems for Chavez Jr. is he able to connect cleanly. Fonfara likes using his jab to keep opponents at bay so a Chavez Jr. body shot can help turn the tide.
Use Combinations With the Left Hook
Photo by Chris Farina
Andrzej Fonfara has a very good straight right hand. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will need to take it away from him by using his combinations.
Chavez Jr. tries to hurt his opponent with one punch because he feels he is stronger than anyone who steps in the ring with him. While this may be true, it is possible for Chavez Jr. to be outworked.
Perhaps he could have staved off the beating Martinez inflicted for the first eleven rounds of their fight. For every one punch Chavez Jr. even considered throwing Martinez had already landed two or three set up by the quick jab. Chavez Jr. was unable to put combinations together.
Fonfara may look to avoid getting caught with one big punch so it will be crucial for Chavez Jr. to string punches together which will set up a big left hook that if it lands can hurt Fonfara.
Header photo by Jeff Gross
