Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will look to become a world champion again in his possible showdown against Gennady Golovkin on July 19 at the Forum in Los Angeles, California.
Chavez, who is coming off a win over Brian Vera in their rematch earlier this month, had all praises for Golovkin, but added that he is motivated to defeat the 31-year-old Kazakh champion.
Chavez admitted that beating Golovkin is easier said than done, but the 28-year-old Mexican said that he is confident he'll beat the reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Organization middleweight champion.
"When does a boxer not want to be the best," Chavez told Golpe a Golpe, BoxingScene reported. "Golovkin has done great things in the last two years. He's had a lot of knockouts, he is a top fighter who has done well. I think it is the best fight for me. This is a fight that motivates me, it's a tough fight and I'm very confident that I will beat him."
The fight is not yet sealed, but ESPN reported during the weekend that both camps are set to finalize the details of the showdown with reports indicating that the weight issue is among the concerns to be tackled.
Sources indicated that Golovkin's camp pushed for a massive fine if either fighter fails to make the 168-pound limit, and the stipulations was already agreed upon by both camps.
Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum confirmed that a fighter who goes over the limit will have to pay a hefty $1 million fine. Chavez has had issues making the weight, but Arum is confident that the former WBC middleweight champion will avoid getting fined.
"We had no objection. It goes for both guys," Arum said on the weight penalty. "We know there has been a history with Chavez. But he has no problem making 168 now. He made it with ease for the Vera rematch. He wasn't dehydrated on the scale."
Golovkin's promoter, Tom Loeffler, said that they asked for the penalty to have a fair shake against the bigger and heftier Chavez Jr.
"We feel $1 million is significant enough that it will make Julio come on weight," Loeffler said. "GGG is a small middleweight and makes 160 very easily, so we don't expect any issues with GGG making weight and he has never been overweight in his entire career."
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