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Boxing Scene's Francisco Salazar has reported that Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will be working out at Robert Garcia's Boxing Academy in Oxnard, California over the next few weeks. However, Garcia made sure to make to clear that he is not Chavez's trainer, and the boxer is only coming there to work out at the gym.
"He's just coming to Oxnard to work out in our gym. He's going to come back to Oxnard when I return from Macau after Brandon's fight."
According to the report, Chavez met with Garcia Friday evening, and although Garcia stated that he is not officially working with Chavez, he did admit that Chavez asked him if he would be interested in working together. Garcia, currently training Brandon Rios to face Manny Pacquiao next month, turned him down.
"I wouldn't mind working with him, but this isn't the first time he has approached me. He asked me back in 2009 to be his trainer, but his people wanted him to work with Freddie Roach.
"I believe working in Oxnard full-time would benefit him a lot. He wants to stay in the United States to train full-time and will be in Los Angeles area while we're in Macau."
It's no secret that Chavez has had severe weight issues. His last fight, against Bryan Vera, was a laughingstock even by boxing standards. The weight limit continued to climb until it was suitable for HBO/Top Rank's golden child to make. To top it off, Chavez was awarded a wildly unpopular decision.
Chavez did not work with Freddie Roach for the Vera fight. It's questionable whether they will ever come together again.
Garcia is undoubtedly one of the most well-known trainers in the sport. In addition to Rios, he trains Nonito Donaire, Marcos Maidana, and his brother, Mikey Garcia (who incidentally missed weight for his last fight). Rios also had weight problems when he fought at lightweight. How much of that is due to lack of training or simply the the idea that Rios was way too big for 135 is up for debate.
Even though Garcia has declined Chavez's offer for the moment, do you think this is actually the start of something? And, if so, would Garcia potentially be a good fit for Chavez? Or is he beyond saving, regardless of the trainer?