Chavez vs. Lee WBC Title Bout Tickets On Sale

ByBoxing Press

Undefeated WBC Middleweight Champion Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. will return to the boxing metropolis of El Paso, Texas for the first time in nearly six years, headlining “Viva Chávez!” on Saturday, June 16, at Sun Bowl Stadium.

After initial concerns from The University of Texas System regarding the world championship event from taking place at the Sun Bowl Stadium in The University of Texas at El Paso, Chancellor Francisco Gonzalez Cigarroa announced last week that he will allow the event to take place as previously scheduled.

Chávez Jr., who will be making the third defense of the title he won last year, will be battling No. 2-world-rated contender Andy Lee, marking the first world championship fight to be held in the Sun Bowl Stadium since June 13, 1998 when Oscar De La Hoya knocked out Patrick Charpentier in the second round to retain his welterweight crown. The Chávez Jr. vs. Lee world championship rumble will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET.

“Top Rank is dedicating this great event to the citizens of El Paso who helped us make this event possible, UTEP and for boxing in demanding that the Chavez Jr. vs. Lee championship bout take place at Sun Bowl Stadium,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

These two warriors boast a combined record of 73-1-1 (51 KOs) – a winning percentage of 97% and a victory by knockout ratio of 70%.

Chávez Jr. (45-0-1, 31 KOs), of Culiacan, México, making his first appearance in El Paso since August 19, 2006 when he knocked out Jermaine White in the fourth round of their welterweight bout, is the son of Mexico’s greatest fighter Julio César Chávez.

Chávez, 26, took up the “family business” in 2003, winning a four-round decision in his professional debut. Eight years later, the reigning World 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, a dominant 12-round unanimous decision victory over top-10 contender John Duddy (29-1, 18 KOs) in June 2010 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. After his January 29, 2011 unanimous decision win over Billy Lyell, Chávez Jr. became the second family member to win a world title, dethroning undefeated WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik via a majority decision.

That June 4, 2011 slugfest took place at Staples Center in Los Angeles just a few blocks north of the Olympic Auditorium where the legendary Julio César Chávez won his first world title. Chávez Jr. successfully defended his title on November 19, 2011 with a fifth-round knockout of Top-Five contender Peter Manfredo, Jr. at Reliant Arena in Houston, followed by a hard-fought unanimous decision on February 4 over No. 1 contender Marco Antonio Rubio at the Alamodome.

Lee (28-1, 20 KOs), who at 6’2, is one inch taller than Chávez, Jr., was born in London but is Irish of heritage. Ireland’s sole boxing representative in the 2004 Olympics, Lee made his professional debut in 2006, winning a six-round decision over Anthony Cannon.

Trained at the famed Kronk Gym in Detroit by Hall of Fame inductee Emanuel Steward, who has referred to Lee as “my left-handed Tommy Hearns,” Lee possesses exceptional skills, speed and movement, complemented by good punching power and experience against good opposition.

He enters this fight riding a four-year, 13-bout winning streak with eight of those victories coming inside the distance, including a win over Bryan Vera last October to avenge the only loss on his professional ledger. He enters this fight as a consensus Top Three world-rated contender, ranked No. 2 by the WBA and WBO and No. 3 by the WBC.

Presented by the University of Texas at El Paso and promoted by Top Rank in association with Zanfer Promotions, DiBella Entertainment, The City of El Paso, AT&T and Tecate, tickets to the Chávez Jr. vs. Lee world title tilt go on sale Saturday, May 5, at 2 p.m. ET / Noon MT. Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $60, $40 and $25, plus applicable service charges, can be purchased at the UTEP Ticket Center, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at (915) 747-5234.