Self
Tribute to the Kings is a special night in honour of the first-family of Mexican boxing - Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Omar Chavez. Three of them will take part in boxing bouts.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
In boxing, the road to respect is usually a long one. You put in your time, pay your dues one marginally-more-challenging opponent at a time, and, if you keep winning, ultimately get your shot at the big fight. At least that's how it usually goes. What makes the Sept. 15 middleweight championship bout between Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. so extraordinary is that it completely defies the rules about respect being earned instantly. One minute, this fight fell somewhere between absurdity and atrocity. The next minute, everyone demanded it. And to make things even more unusual, the moment we demanded it, we got it. That doesn't happen very often in boxing.
Himself
Patient, careful matchmaking by promoter Top Rank has enabled Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to arrive at stardom with an unbeaten record, but one (45-0-1, 31 KOs) that does not include a major challenge. Andy Lee, a tall, highly-skilled boxer-puncher and southpaw, will present the most significant test yet for Chavez. How Chavez deals with Lee in their June 16 clash in El Paso, Texas, will go a long way toward predicting if and when he will finally crawl out from the long shadow cast by his father, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., one of the greatest boxers in history. Make no mistake about it. Lee (28-1, 20 KOs) is a definite step up for Chavez. So much so that some have wondered why Top Rank would even take this fight.
