Julio César Chávez Jr. was called to be a worthy representative of boxing royalty: Son of the Mexican Grand Champion, his path in boxing seemed to find a definitive direction in 2011, when he captured the world middleweight championship by beating the German Sebastian Zbik. It was an omen fulfilled: the offspring of the greatest Mexican glory could not pass through the sweet science at night. The following year he lost the title to Sergio Wonderful Martinez.
It was a sad night, but there was a glimmer of hope: Chavez Jr., despite being outclassed throughout the fight, had a burst of pride in the final three minutes that almost made him the winner. Everything went south immediately. A positive test for marijuana alerted that something was not right in Junior’s career. The decline was constant from that moment on. Chávez Carrasco was never again in the orbit of a world title.
In 2024, the Son of the Legend will have a new return to the ring. The last time his name appeared in an official fight was in December 2021, when he defeated David Zegarra. Since then, his sporting footprint has disappeared. Everything that has been said about him has to do with other issues, particularly his addiction problems, which have kept him completely away from the ensogado. His rival, on July 20, will be the Jamaican Uriah Hall. This clash will be part of the fights prior to the main event between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, on July 20 at the Amelie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Chavez Jr.’s record is 53 wins, 6 losses and one draw. At 38 years old, it is very likely that this fighter has already seen the best days of his career pass. In an interview with Telemundo last month, Chavez Carrasco admitted that he has not only had addiction problems with weight loss pills. “I took pills for depression and others to lose weight, and that’s why they accused me of doping. I did try cocaine and marijuana, but it was a long time ago, mostly that and pills,” he confessed.
At the media level, the exchanges of statements with his father have been constant. CHávez Sr. has a clinic specialized in addictions, where he has admitted his son. The process, however, has been very arduous. “I feel sorry for him, because his children are little and he is not enjoying them. It hurts me that he is going to go crazy, that an accident is going to happen to him while driving at 12-1 in the morning at full speed, that he is going to to have a heart attack from so many pills that he takes,” he commented on the Joking with the Riveras podcast last October. On several occasions, Chavez Jr. has lashed out at his father and recalled that he also had serious addiction problems.
The history of Julio César Chávez Jr. has been framed by scandals. One day he became a world champion, but that level did not last long. In contrast, his main antagonist of those days, Saúl Cinnamon Alvarez, with whom there has been a comparison for at least a decade, Yes, he managed to establish himself in the boxing elite. He was everything that Chávez Jr. could never be. But the heir to the dynasty clings to the weight of his legacy and will return to action. Better late than never.
