Chávez Jr. to make ring return next month.
If you are the child of someone who excelled at a particular art and you decide to try your hand at that very same art, the footsteps you follow will inevitably be as big as the shoes you have to fill.
And oftentimes, this is never the intention of the legend’s offspring. In countless examples, it is the public alone who have made it their burden to bear.
This is a story we know very well in boxing, one that has been read to us countless times before we, unlike the never-ending trend, have been put to bed.
When the child of a boxing legend makes their way onto the scene, the question that subconsciously–perhaps uncontrollably–makes its way into people’s heads is, “But will they be as good as their father?”
The answer, almost universally, is that they are not, and this isn’t their fault at all.
Thomas Hearns is one of the greatest of all time, yet his son Ronald is most likely remembered for being knocked out by Felix Sturm and Erislandy Lara.
Joe Frazier’s son Marvis has had his entire career of 21 fights reduced to all of 30 seconds; his knockout loss to Mike Tyson.
Without being mean, Roberto Duran Jr. (the first and most recent one) never came close to reaching the heights of his all-time great father, being knocked out by Britain’s Jack McGann, who has lost at the domestic level.
Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. both provided us with tremendous entertainment last year when they fought each other across two contests, but neither have lived up to their fathers’ reputations.
Tim Tszyu–son of Kostya–looked like a whirlwind when he became WBO champion just under three years ago, but three losses in his last five fights (two of them being really one-sided stoppages) tells us what we already knew: He isn’t his Hall-of-Fame father.
Indeed, the examples of sons being better than their fathers come from the fathers not being all-time greats.
This particular list would include Floyd Mayweather Sr., who lost to Marlon Starling and Sugar Ray Leonard; Roy Jones Sr., who was best known for being taken out in three by a pre-championship Marvelous Marvin Hagler; and Felix Trinidad Sr., who compiled an 8-8 professional record and was stopped in five rounds by Salvador Sanchez.
You see, whether it’s the father or son who is great, greatness tends not to run in the family. Rather, it is an individual trait that can’t be taught, for it has to be inside you already.
The one case of a child living up to their parent would probably be Laila Ali. Of course, she could never match her untouchable father Muhammad, but she still became who many believe to be the best women’s boxer of all time.
But when it comes to sons of legends, almost nobody had it tougher than one man.
If we’re being honest, Julio César Chávez Jr. was doomed from the start. When your father is considered no worse than the second-best boxer from your country’s entire rich history of pugilism, there is a shadow you will sadly forever be living in.
Chávez Jr. was once the WBC middleweight champion, but he won that title on a majority decision over a German called Sebastian Zbik, who was upgraded from interim titlist.
After three defences, Chávez Jr. lost his title to Sergio Martinez and was never champion again. Further losses to Andrzej Fonfara, Canelo Álvarez, and Daniel Jacobs signified that he was done at the top level.
However, it was his loss to Mario Abel Cázares that really told us how much he had diminished.
You know what was even more telling, though? When he lost a professional boxing match to 46-year-old former UFC fighter Anderson Silva, who had a record of 1-1 and had last boxed in 2005.
From there, Chávez Jr. would beat gatekeeper David Zegarra, struggle to beat another former UFC fighter in Uriah Hall, and then lose to Jake Paul in a fight at cruiserweight.
For many, Chávez Jr. represents the biggest example of both nepotism and a stark drop in form across boxing. While the former is up for debate, the latter is plain to see.
Following the Paul loss, Chávez Jr. got into some legal trouble that numbers among many issues in his personal life. It’s pretty messy, so it won’t be detailed here.
In January, though, Chávez Jr. stopped the 10-1-1 Angel Julian Sacco, and he is now set for the shortest turnaround between fights in his career since 2021.
The 40-year-old will be returning against Jhon Caicedo, a 13-1 Colombian who was last knocked out in three rounds by former two-time world title challenger Avni Yildirim.
Chávez Jr. will be squaring off against Caicedo (who he is 19 years older than) on the 25th of April at the Estadio Adolfo López Mateos in Reynosa, Mexico.
The fight will be contested for 10 rounds at the cruiserweight limit.
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