Chavez-Martinez: JD's Reaction and Take-Home Points

Last night's middleweight mega-fight between Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. lived up our expectations and then some.  The outcome was no surprise—Martinez's unanimous decision went according to plan—but very few could have predicted the journey the two took to get there.


JD's Reaction
JD's reaction during the action of the 12th round was that of a lunatic.  I was up out of my seat screaming.

In all seriousness, though, this was a great fight.  It changed the reputations of both competitors, and shocked us all.

The shock factor was twofold.  First: the technical disparity between the two fighters.  Martinez boxed rings around Chavez for the first 11 rounds and the fight was looking like an utter mismatch.  I thought, perhaps foolishly, that Martinez's unanimous decision would be a closer unanimous decision.

Amazingly, though, it was an engaging mismatch.  Martinez fought a virtual masterpiece.  He looked at times like the great Roy Jones, Jr.  In much the way that Pacquiao-Margarito was a worthwhile fight despite its one-sided-ness, so too was this one shaping up to be.

The second fold of the shock factor was Junior's will-power.  Battered and bruised up by the second half of the fight, Chavez looked discouraged.  Any other boxer would have quit after the first 10 rounds.

His strong heart nearly paid off in the epic 12th round.  Late in the fight, a desperate Freddie Roach told Junior to forget about strategy and to let his hands go.  I was reminded of my personal favorite all-time fight, Chavez vs. Taylor. In that fight, a badly-losing Julio Cesar Chavez(, Sr.) knocked out the slick Meldrick Taylor with 2 seconds left in the fight.  But there was no way that would happen here.

Well, it almost did.  Just watch; my words won't do it justice.

Round 12 last night was boxing gold.  Moments like that, especially in the upper ranks of a talent-loaded division, rarely happen.  This was an epic ending to an already entertaining fight.

Take-Home Points

• Martinez ranks among the all-time great middleweights, in my book.  I never thought this before, but he is truly gifted.
• Chavez, Jr. will never be the legend his father was.
• Chavez, Jr. will always be his father's son.
• Chavez, Jr. did not need his dad's legacy to get this far in boxing, though it surely helped.
• The second half of the 12th round was worth the entire pay-per-view price.
• The middleweight division is officially the "it" division.  There are suddenly tons of intriguing fights to be made.
• Roy Jones, Jr. is a fantastic commentator.
• If all pay-per-view boxing events were like this, the sport would be in a better place.

-JD