Bob Arum: 'Chavez Jr Fought a Pathetic Fight' (Video Interview)

Marcos Villegas of The Boxing Channel got a chance to speak with Bob Arum after Saturday night's Chavez Jr vs Martinez fight in Las Vegas, and the veteran promoter was pretty candid in his assessment of Chavez Jr's performance.

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Marcos Villegas, The Boxing Channel: "Bob, we just saw what happened. An exciting finish with Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr -- do you feel that ultimately, because of what happened in that last round, Junior finally shut up his detractors and finally earned the general respect of the boxing public?"

Bob Arum: "Well, in one sense, yes, he did, because he showed guts and look how he finished off the fight. In another sense, no, because he fought a pathetic fight for most of the fight, and there's no excuse for that. I mean, all credit to Sergio, but Sergio shouldn't have been so dominant through most of the fight, in my opinion. Which no question he was."

Villegas: "You personally feel that Junior fought a pathetic fight?"

Arum: "I thought he fought -- up until the last round, he fought a very poor fight. Very poor, aimless fight with no plan, no nothing. Had no answer for the jab, and it wasn't until the 12th round that the real Chavez that we know emerged."

[ Chavez Jr vs Martinez: Recap / Video Highlights ]
[ Chavez Jr vs Martinez: Invisible Man by Oli Goldstein ]

Villegas: "You being as much as you've been, seeing that moment happen, what was going through your mind seeing what happened in the last round?"

Arum: "I thought of Chavez-Meldrick Taylor. It almost happened that way. He was 20 seconds away."