It seemed like the career of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was practically over.
He may have grabbed a win over David Zegarra in December of 2021, but six months prior, a heavily favored Chavez lost a split decision to Anderson Silva. If you remember, Silva was a former MMA champion who had very limited pro-boxing experience.
Chavez though, couldn’t walk around forever with the stain of losing to an MMA fighter. So, he grabbed Uriah Hall, a former mixed martial artist, and got himself a feel-good victory.
Currently, Chavez (54-6-1, 34 KOs) isn’t ranked anywhere near the top 15 in any of the four sanctioning bodies, but he still has plenty of star power, thanks to his last name. Recently, Chavez somewhat attempted to use said star power when Edgar Berlanga was mentioned to him during an interview with FightHub TV.
Although The Ring’s No. 9 ranked super middleweight just announced a comeback fight of his own, Chavez made it clear that he would love to get it on with Berlanga if he were given an opportunity.
“There hasn't been any talks of fighting him, but I would be thrilled to fight Berlanga. It’d be a good fight.”
Chavez’s weight has fluctuated throughout his career. If he found a way to get his hands on Berlanga, finding common ground in terms of the scales could be an issue. Just a few years ago, the 38-year-old fought as a light heavyweight. Most recently, he jumped into the ring as a cruiserweight, something Berlanga has never done.
Money, of course, can force fighters to look past certain discrepancies. But, for as badly as Chavez wants it, Berlanga is on a different path. He’s set to return on March 15th against Johnathan Gonzalez-Ortiz. If he gets through that, fighting the best that the super middleweight division has to offer is number one on his agenda, leaving Chavez out in the cold.
He won’t be contentious with his handlers, however, if that happens. At this stage in his career, Chavez knows beggars can’t be choosers.
“I’m always open to fighting anyone.”