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The Son of the Legend, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, and The Contender alumnus Alfonso Gomez will collide Saturday, December 4, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., in a fight of seismic proportions.
“In Harm’s Way,” the pay-per-view extravaganza, will be headlined by these Top-Five contenders, risking their imminent world title shots, as they battle for Chávez’s WBC Silver middleweight championship in a 12-round rumble.
“This event at the Honda Center is really going to be spectacular. Julio César Chávez Jr. vs. Alfonso Gomez is one of the most anticipated fights,” said Bob Arum. “Each of the other fights on his card would stand by itself as a main event.
“We’re calling this ‘In Harm’s Way’ which is an excellent title because every fight on this card has a chance of going either way.”
Chávez Jr (41-0-1, 30 KOs), of Culiacan, México, is the son of Mexico’s greatest fighter Julio César Chávez. Chávez, 24, took up the “family business” in 2003, winning a four-round decision in his professional debut.
Seven years later, the reigning WBC Silver middleweight champion and superior gate attraction is poised to make his own mark in the boxing world. He took a major step toward that goal by enlisting legendary trainer Freddie Roach to take him to the next level.
Their first fight together was a gigantic success, winning the vacant WBC silver middleweight with a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over top-10 contender John Duddy (29-1, 18 KOs), on June 26 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Since 2009, Chávez, the WBC’s No. 1 middleweight contender, won 10-round unanimous decisions over Luciano Cuello and Troy Rowland and stopped Jason LeHoullier in the first round. Making those four victories even more impressive is the fact that Chávez’s opponents had a combined record 98-4-1 when he defeated them.
Gomez (22-4-2, 11 KOs), of Guadalajara, México, first gained international notoriety when he was featured in the reality series The Contender during the series’ debut season on NBC, 204-2005. Gomez won three of the four bouts he fought on The Contender, tagging unanimous decision losses on future world title challenger Peter Manfredo Jr, Ahmed Kaddour and Jesse Brinkley, a trio that boasted a combined record of 64-3 when he defeated them.
Gomez, 29, enters this fight riding a four-bout winning streak, three by knockout. His last two victories are arguably his career-best, stopping two-time world champion Jose Luis Castillo in the fifth round in March and winning a technical decision against Jesus Soto-Karass last year.
Known for retiring two-division world champion Arturo Gatti via a seventh-round knockout in 2007, Gomez hasn’t lost a fight since 2008 when he unsuccessfully challenged then-undefeated WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. Gomez is currently world-rated No. 3 by the IBF, and No. 5 by the WBC.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions, “In Harm’s Way” will be televised Live on Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $50 and $30, will go on sale October 8 at 10 a.m. PT, and will be available at Ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone (800-745-3000), and all Ticketmaster retail locations. Seats will go on sale at the Honda Center box office, beginning Saturday October 9.
The Chávez Jr. vs. Gomez pay-per-view telecast, has a suggested retail price of $44.95, will be produced and distributed by Top Rank. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. For Chávez Jr. vs. Gomez fight week updates, log on to www.toprank.com.
