Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Sebastian Zbik for the WBC Middleweight Title Results:
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr finally gets his chance at a real title belt when he meets Sebastian Zbik for the WBC middleweight crown. Of course, the belt was only available after the WBC stripped Sergio Martinez of his rightful belt, and gave it to Zbik in his place. But nonetheless, it was a title opportunity and offered Chavez Jr. a chance to take his game up to the next level. Would the largely unheralded European battler Zbik prevail, or would Chavez Jr., backed by Freddie Roach, assert his status in the division and move onwards to more big fights in the future?
Chavez Jr. vs. Zbik Results
Shaping up into a nice scrap. First two are close rounds. Chavez doing well, with Zbik looking fundamentally very sound.
In the 3rd, Chavez shows some crisp combos. Zbik throws some back, which land flush on Chavez, Jr. Chavez defiantly gestures before fighting back. Chavez, Jr. is impressive, but his defense is leaving something to be desired. He still won the round, pulling out to a 2-1 lead after 3 on my card.
Good fight. Nice pace and even action without holding. Zbik is solid, moving forward with good form, fast hands, and solid fundamentals. The 4th round was all Zbik. 2-2.
Chavez, Jr, needs to turn this into a dogfight, with Zbik seeming so far the superior technical fighter. He is doing some good bodywork, but halfway through the 5th round, Zbik’s prospects look a bit more promising. Chavez Jr’s effort and heart are good, but his defense right now looks horrific. With a big surge at the end of the 5th, Chavez, Jr. showed he is still in this fight. 3-2 Zbik.
In the 6th, with Zbik looking a bit slower and increasingly tired, Chavez, Jr. took the initiative, landing a few hurtful-looking bodyshots, with some nice rights to the head too. 3-3, even fight.
Round 7: Chavez, Jr., who apparently added 20 pounds since the weigh-in, looks the significantly bigger man. Zbik does better on the outside, where his soundness in technique gives him an edge. When laying on the inside with the bigger man, Zbik gets manhandled a bit. Good even round. Some crisp combos by a resurgent Zbik draws Chaves’ ire, as he unleashes himself on his foe. Great action! Tough round to score. Call it even, 3-3-1 in rounds.
Zbik opens the 8th peppering Chavez, Jr., who waits for his opportunities. On the outside, Zbik continues to find Chavez, Jr. very easy to hit. Chavez, Jr. lands a few telling hooks to the body. Chavez, Jr, needs to get inside more, His work is by far the more authoritative, but he’s just not doing enough in this round. At the same time, his bodywork is beginning to tell, which could be a crucial factor in this fight. 4-3-1 Zbik.
In the 9th round of a difficult fight to score, Chavez, Jr. opens with more urgency, but Zbik stoically continues to apply his proletariat boxing tactics. It’s not exciting, but he wins exchanges with fast combos. The son of the legend turned it on in the final minute, but Zbik did his share of good work. 5-3-1 Zbik.
Good bodywork by Chavez, Jr. to open the 10th round. Zbik is still finding the ever-available Chavez, Jr. by getting off first and out-quicking him and out-working him. Chavez, Jr. does the more authoritative work, so it’s sometimes difficult to score these sessions. Zbik looking a bit ragged, with Chavez, Jr, really digging to the body at the end. 5-4-1 Zbik in rounds.
11th round: Both men winging. Chavez, Jr. showing active hands and really digging into the body. Zbik taking a body pounding, with Julio coming on now. Chavez, Jr. hurting him now. Zbik remains resolute, but this is Chavez, Jr’s round. I have it even going into the final round, 5-5-1.
In the final round of a fight that might still be for the taking, both men redouble their efforts and focus. Chavez, Jr. dominates the inside, while Zbik is now complaining about low blows. Still he’s landing shots. An uneven first two minutes breaks out a bit at the end. Chavez, Jr, is not doing enough, despite his momentum.
Close round. Gave it to Zbik. This fight can go any number of ways without much argument. Good fight. Hard to score. I had it 115-114 Zbik and have a strange feeling I’ll be overruled.
The winner by majority decision is Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr! Scores were 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112. It’s difficult to not be struck by the comparisons to his legendary father. As if it’s not enough for them to have the same name and the fact that their best weapon is the hook to the body, but they both now won their first world title in their 44th bout in LA.
Mikey Garcia vs. Miguel Beltran Jr. Results
Mikey Garcia once again showed why he is a highly-touted prospect with a 4th-round stoppage over Rafael Guzman. Guzman, a late sub, was no match for the powerful Garcia, who moves to 26-0 (22 KOs)
Vanes Martirosyan rose from a first-round knockdown to stop tough Saul Roman in the 7th. After dropping Roman, Martirosyan laid it on heavy until the ref came to Roman’s rescue.
Also on the card, Christy Martin, ahead on all cards, was stopped in the 6th and final round by former victim Dakota Stone. An injured hand forced her to turn and run from her opponent, leading to a stoppage by the referee.
Thanks for checking out our coverage of the June 4th HBO card headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs. Sebastian Zbik, as well as super-hot prospect Mikey Garcia back in action yet again. Keep on coming back to ProBoxing-Fans.com for more of the latest and greatest boxing news and coverage on the web today.
