Chavez Jr vs Martinez: Arum Critical of JCC Jr's Training, Pushing Immediate Rematch

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was critical of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr's training when speaking about Chavez Jr's loss to Sergio Martinez this past Saturday, and it also sounds for now as though we can expect a rematch between the two next year.

From Chris Robinson:

"A lot of it is the way he trains. You can’t do that. His father will tell you that, he’s got to train like a regular fighter. ... They want to do an immediate rematch. This fight did unbelievable business. The next fight will do even bigger business."

[ Chavez Jr vs Martinez: Invisible Man by Oli Goldstein ]

Chavez Jr and Martinez have both expressed interest in the rematch, so whether you think it's deserved or not, chances are it's going to happen. Martinez has some torn ligaments in his knee that may require surgery, and also suffered a broken hand in the fight, so we aren't looking at the fight happening until next year, and probably March at the earliest.

What's terrifying is the thought that Top Rank will want to do this on May 4, Cinco De Mayo weekend -- not so much because they shouldn't want to do it on that date, but Golden Boy will obviously have designs on putting Canelo Alvarez on that date, too, and I'd hate to see them go head-to-head again.

[ Chavez Jr vs Martinez: Recap / Video Highlights ]

And to be clear, I say I'd hate to see that because I want to see both of these guys fight live. I generally don't like the practice of going head-to-head at all, especially on purpose, but there's just no denying that both shows attracted serious buzz, and delivered on all fronts. Boxing had a really special night on September 15, and I think both promoters upped their game, and obviously the fan response was great at both shows. (I think Golden Boy had the overall rowdier bunch at the MGM -- the atmosphere at Top Rank's show was special for main event, but response could have been better for Martinez-Beltran Jr, which was a terrific fight.)

On the topic of Sergio fighting another top middleweight instead, you just can't expect Sergio Martinez, at 37, to fight someone like Gennady Golovkin. Martinez has paid his dues getting to a money matchup, fighting guys like Dzinziruk, Barker, Macklin -- he wants to make the big bucks now, and he should.

As much as Golovkin may deserve a chance to get a fight like that, and I agree he does and it's a great fight on paper, I also believe Sergio deserves to make the most money he can, and that's with Chavez Jr again, or with a step down to 154 for Cotto or Canelo or Floyd. But it's not with Golovkin or Daniel Geale, and that's just an unfortunate reality for those guys, who would love to fight Sergio, I'm sure. It's too bad for them, but I think the timing is just not right. For Sergio, it's about maximizing his income for what's left of his career. I wish Sergio had the sort of giant fan base to fight those guys and make top money, because he's earned a fan base like that, but he just doesn't have it.