Before Saturday night, surging middleweight Brian Vera went virtually two years without a defeat and had won four straight fights. And after his clash with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., he deserves nothing more than to keep that streak alive.
On Saturday, Vera stepped into the squared circle with the hellacious body-punching of soon-to-be super middleweight Chavez Jr. for 10 rounds in a scene that’s become all too familiar in the fistic realm. Chavez Jr. allegorized the bulls tossed into the center of a ring throughout history. But impassioned with a love for violence, Vera scoffed at the idea of playing matador this night.
He instead chose to lock horns with the beast.
Chavez Jr.—a giant in name and frame, a former WBC champion and the son of one of boxing’s most celebrated figures—could hardly withstand Vera. The first few rounds of the fight saw Vera trade on an unorthodox attack and unpredictability to irritate his opponent.
For the rest of the fight, he did what he does best: go to war. Like his fans have become so accustomed to, Vera was a storm of brutality and mayhem.
Per the HBO broadcast, Vera outstruck Chavez Jr. 176-125. He closed the distance and ripped shots to his opponent’s body and head, staggering him and bludgeoning his eyes to the point of swelling.
He completely outworked Chavez Jr., even in close quarters where the former champion is customarily unstoppable.
Slowing down by Round 5 and exhausted by Round 8, Chavez Jr. could only muster one or two punches at a time. Despite his fatigue, the punches that did land turned out to be crucial.
Pinned inside his stable for over a year since his last fight, this young bull’s punches still carried a bloodline of greatness, a freaky ability to hit human flesh and cause serious damage. It was a trait passed down by his father—and maybe even the Almighty before that.
Continuously, Chavez Jr. found a home for his left hook and made many rounds closer than they should have been because of it.
By Round 9, the fight was about even. The last two rounds would seemingly decide the night’s victor.
Like a man possessed, Vera barreled his way out of his corner for the ninth frame. And his method of attack didn’t change in the slightest.
He rushed right into his opponent’s face. He dug with all his might, slamming punches to the body and the head, unloading a savage two-fisted attack—pausing only to double up on left hooks. He situated the top of his head on Chavez Jr.’s chest for leverage and continued the onslaught.
He delivered punches to the ribs, to the eyes and everywhere in between—smirking almost every second of the way. And he did the same in Round 10.
An overwhelmed Chavez Jr. could only look to the referee for help, spending more time in the final two rounds protesting phantom low blows than actually fighting.
When the final bell sounded, Vera lifted his hands in victory. Just two years ago, he had seemed destined for nothing but irrelevance, going 3-5 over the last eight fights before launching the inspiring run that got him to this moment. In his mind, he had just beaten a top-five middleweight and one of the sport's biggest names.
In a fight that was four rounds apiece (at worst) going into the ninth round, Vera took the final two. Chavez Jr. landed more power punches, but Vera's accumulated effort delivered more damage. It was an obvious win for Vera.
But like only in boxing, it wasn’t.
The scores were 98-92, 96-94 and 97-93, all for Chavez Jr. At best, he could have hoped for a draw but nothing more. Yet, he won. Despite getting outworked in just about every round. And judge Gwen Adair went as far as awarding him eight rounds.
Adair must have filled out that scorecard weeks ago because Vera did not lose the fight. But according to her and the rest of her panel, Chavez Jr. didn’t lose either.
As it turns out, maybe the only ones who did lose were us.
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