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Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Bryan Vera: Rematch likely for December

A rematch may be on tap for the most controversial fight of the year.

Jeff Gross

Multiple sources, including ESPN.com and Boxing Scene, are reporting that a rematch between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Bryan Vera is looking likely for early December, probably in Vera' home state of Texas.

In case you missed it,  the boxing world was treated to another controversial moment this past Saturday as it appeared Vera outfought Chavez most of the way, only to be on the bad end of a decision to his more popular foe.

Despite all of the junk before the bout about the fluctuation of the weight limit, the fight did very well on TV, drawing 1.4 million viewers. That's not quite as high as Chavez's fights with Andy Lee and Marco Antonio Rubio did, but it was enough to be the most watched fight on premium cable so far this year.

When asked about the weight limit for the rematch, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum was blunt according to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:

"It'll be 168, no bullshit."

The only minor road block to the fight getting made as easily as expected is that it could be difficult to fit it into HBO's budget. It's no secret that cable networks tend to be low on funds this time of year and with the rematch kind of springing up suddenly due to the controversy of the first fight, HBO may not be able to televise it.

Here is what Arum told Rafael on the availability of HBO for the fight:

"I did talk to the network, and the immediate reaction was, 'It was a great fight, we'd love the rematch on the network, but we don't know if we have the money,' Arum said.

"I would love for the fans who watched the first fight to have the opportunity to watch the second one as part of the cost of their subscription.," Arum said, adding that if HBO could not accommodate the bout because of its budget that he would put it on pay-per-view.

Hopefully, they can find the money to broadcast it on HBO because I'm not sure how many fans would be excited about paying extra to see a fight that only exists because the judges couldn't get it right the first time.

Are you looking forward to the rematch? Or do you not care about Chavez any more perhaps?

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