OTD: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. separated himself from his father’s legacy with a history-making win.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. won multiple middleweight titles before getting a shot at the WBC championship against Sebastian Zbik. But as Chavez and Zbik battled, their fight ended up being one of the biggest highlights of his career.
After a 44-fight unbeaten streak to begin his professional career, Chavez faced Zbik for the latter’s WBC middleweight title at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was a massive spotlight for Chavez, the son of a legend and who at the time was one of the brightest young stars in boxing.
Chavez lived up to the hype against Zbik as he ended his opponent’s lengthy unbeaten streak and title reign.
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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. made history with a gritty win over Sebastian Zbik
Chavez and Zbik treated fans to an instant classic in front of a raucous crowd, as both fighters earned plenty of highlight-reel moments in the ring. But Chavez had to overcome some early adversity after Zbik got off to a fast start, landing at a higher rate and leaving Chavez visibly exhausted after the first three rounds.
Chavez found a second wind in Round 4, as he countered with some hard body shots and slowed Zbik down dramatically as the fight went on. In the championship rounds, Chavez poured on the pressure against the gritty Zbik, and the middleweights went the full distance.
On the scorecards, one judge ruled the Chavez vs. Zbik fight a draw, while two judges scored the fight in Chavez’s favor. Chavez earned Zbik’s WBC middleweight title in an important moment for the younger boxing star in his family to establish himself in the sport.
Zbik’s defeat was the first of his career after winning his first 30 fights with relative ease. He became the inaugural interim WBC middleweight champion by defeating Domenico Spada in 2009.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. looks to hand Jake Paul his second career loss
Fast forward to 2025, Chavez will face Jake Paul in the latter’s first fight since defeating Mike Tyson last year. Chavez and Paul headline an intriguing card on June 28th in Anaheim in a 10-round cruiserweight bout.
Chavez is coming off of wins in three of his past four fights, and most recently defeated former UFC star Uriah Hall last July. He’s bounced back nicely since dropping a split decision to UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva in June 2021.
Chavez will look to shock the world once again when he faces Paul later this month. If his Zbik fight is any indication of what’s next for Chavez, expect fireworks in the ring.