By Hans Olson
Hot off his unanimous decision win over Marco Antonio Rubio in February, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is set to return to action on June 16 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX.
Challenging the “Son of a Legend” for the WBC middleweight title will be Ireland’s Andy Lee.
HBO will televise.
Whoever comes out victorious will likely face the division’s lineal champion, Sergio Martinez, this autumn.
“I want to make sure we get everything solidified so that Sergio gets his big shot at the winner,” said Lee’s promoter Lou DiBella to the USA Today’s Bob Velin.
DiBella, who also promotes Martinez, feels that the fans will be the ultimate winners.
“It’s not often the fans win,” continued DiBella. “Often, our biggest fights aren’t made. Here’s a matchup between two young guys that fans want to see, and here’s finally the writing on the wall that the great older middleweight champion [Martinez], and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world and one of the best fighters, in my mind, of the last generation, is going to get a shot at the top young guy in the fall.”
“If the pieces fall the way they’re supposed to, boxing’s the winner and the fans are winners.”
Andy Lee, who moved from his native Ireland to work with Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward in Detroit, has had a run of successful fights since his lone career loss to Brian Vera in March of 2008—a loss he avenged on HBO’s air on the undercard of Sergio Martinez vs. Darren Barker last fall. A few months prior, he thrilled in a come-from-behind knockout win over the previously undefeated Craig McEwan.
Lee recently had a stay-busy fight, easily getting rid of the overmatched Saul Duran with a 2nd round TKO.
Boxing Insider’s Hans Olson can be reached at hanswilliamolson@yahoo.com