Peter Manfredo, Jr. v. Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr.
Middleweight Championship Fight – WBC Belt
Going into it, it seemed like an evenly matched fight. Two boxers who have something to prove. One a former reality show contestant. The other the son of a legend. Manfredo’s previous notable fights include Joe Calzaghe and Jeff Lacy. He lost to both. I was impressed by how many professional fights Manfredo has had, especially at his age (43-0-1). It showed during the fight.
Round 1: Right away, I dislike Manfredo’s trunks. I’m of the Mike Tyson school of boxing wear: less flash, more punching people in the face. Chavez is the aggressive. He gets in a good shot at the body. Chavez showing great head movement and great timing early on. He’s quick, but not overeager. Not at all like Freddy’s other protégé, Amir “King of Nothing” Khan. Chavez easily bats away Manfredo’s jabs. Chavez connects with two jabs. Manfredo swings wild to end the round going for a good showing at the end, but fails. Chavez (9-10)
Round 2: Chavez connects with a jab. Then a left hook. There are a lot of punches being thrown, but not a lot are landing. Both have good defensive styles. Hard right by Chavez. Some more exchanges that are defended. Hard counter right by Chavez. Manfredo to the body. Manfredo needs to pace himself. He is going to get tired. Left upper cut by Manfredo. Jab by Manfredo. Chavez (18-20)
Round 3: Hard right by Chavez. Another hard right by Chavez. Exchange of jabs. Manfredo is losing his patience and moving in with his hands down. He’s lucky he didn’t get knocked out. Chavez to the head. Manfredo to the body. Chavez with a right to the head. Manfredo with a left to the head. Manfredo’s tape around his glove becoming undone. Time out by the referee to fix it. Hard left and then the bell and then a hard right by Manfredo. Even (28-30)
Round 4: Missed the first 30 seconds (long trip to the refriderator). Chavez charges in. Exchange of jabs. Crowd is chanting Chavez. Hard right to the head by Chavez. Manfredo swinging wild. Chavez swinging focused. Body/head combo by Manfredo. Chavez taunting Manfredo. Right roundhouse by Chavez. Very exciting round. Chavez brawling a bit. A risky endeavor that pays off. Chavez can mix it up. Hard left jab by Manfredo. Right to the head by Chavez. Chavez (37-40)
Round 5: Left jab by manfredo. Manfredo blocks a combo, but his counter misses. Manfredo has a great left jab. He just needs to follow up like his corner suggested. Left jab by Chavez. Left to the body by Manfredo. Hard Right by Chavez and Manfredo wobbles. Manfredo against the ropes. Chavez is going to town. Manfredo moving side to side along the ropes. He’s not throwing punches. He’s not protecting himself. Manfredo tries to clinch at the same time the Ref jumps in to stop the fight. If it had been later in the round, I would’ve called it a bad stoppage, but there was still over a minute left in the round. TKO for Chavez
Punch stats show that Manfredo threw much more, but landed much less.
Chavez has great timing. He can box and he can brawl. He’s focused and calm in the ring. Seems like a much mature fighter. I would think that the son of a legend would be flashier than someone with Amir Khan’s background. You can’t tell at all that they have the same trainer.
Manfredo’s corner told him to work his combinations off of his jabs. Excellent advice. Classic boxing. Too bad he didn’t take it. I think Manfredo is going to be one of those boxers that up and comers fight and beat on their way to the top. And “Pride of Providence” has to be one of the worst nicknames ever.
Roy Jones: “I saw a very, very good young fighter.” It’s nice that he’s expanded his vocabulary. I think he’s heard all of the taunting of his “really, really bad” comments from my friends Chris and Preston. It’s nice to know that you can make a difference as a fan.
I love that Julio Caesar Chavez, Sr. eschews the uniform of his son’s corner for a tux. Now that’s really, really classy.
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