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DiBella Sounds Off On Chavez
Jr.,
Says Fight Sergio Next Or Vacate Title
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. defended his version of the WBC
Middleweight Championship this past Saturday, February 4,
and as long as Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez follows suit in
his upcoming matchup against Matthew Macklin on March 17,
promoter Lou DiBella expects the two to meet to determine
who is the full and real WBC Middleweight Champion.
"As long as Sergio takes care business on March 17, Chavez
must fight him next. Either fight him or he has to vacate
his title. It's plain and simple," said DiBella. "We are
tired of waiting for Chavez to step up to the plate. He
needs to stop hiding behind his people and be a real
champion. He says that he wants the fight, so then prove it.
The WBC ruled in our favor at their convention in December,
and the two were both permitted to have voluntary defenses.
We don't want to look past Sergio's fight on March 17
because he is going to have his hands full with Macklin. If
Sergio wins though, I expect negotiations to begin
immediately for Sergio against Julio. Immediately!"
The only reason that Chavez has the title now is because
Martinez vacated the belt when his mandatory challenger was
allegedly not up to television programming standards. If
Chavez does not want to meet his mandatory, then the son of
the legend should do the honorable thing and vacate his WBC
title rather than continuing to face lesser opposition.
After the Rubio fight this past Saturday, HBO boxing analyst
Jim Lampley candidly stated that Chavez "still has not
fought a fighter of legitimate championship quality."
Martinez (48-2-2, 27KO's) defends his Middleweight crown
against top-rated Irish middleweight contender Matthew "Mack
the Knife" Macklin (28-3, 19KOs) on St. Patrick's Day, March
17, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. The card,
promoted by DiBella Entertainment, entitled "THE REAL
Middleweight Championship - Get Your Irish Up", will be
aired live on HBO's "World Championship Boxing" at 10 p.m.
ET/7 p.m. PT.
Tickets are priced at $505, $355, $205, $125 and $65 and are
on sale now. Tickets can be purchased through the Madison
Square Garden Box Office or through Ticketmaster, at
ticketmaster.com, or call (800) 745-3000. Call DiBella
Entertainment at (212) 947-2577, or visit www.dbe1.com and @loudibella
on Twitter for more information.
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