Donaire-Sidorenko Replaces Chavez-Wolak

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. felt the brunt of a hard truth today: bad luck knows no boundaries. The undefeated contender and son of a living legend was initially scheduled to battle the dangerousALFONSO GOMEZ Dec. 4 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. But Gomez had to drop out due to an injury suffered during training.POLISH BRAWLER PAWEL WOLAK stepped in to fill his place, and all seemed well.

But it wasn’t. Chavez Jr. got sick on Wednesday. He tried to push past it, but to no avail.  Today, he awoke at STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH ALEX ARIZA’S house–where Chavez Jr. had been staying so his health could be monitored–with a near 103-degree fever. The fight was officially called.

“A fever is a fever,” said Ariza. “There’s nothing we can do about that.”

Added Top Rank founder Bob Arum, “It’s really bad luck, not of [Chavez Jr.’s] doing. Anybody can get a serious fever that knocks out a fight. It’s not something that you can really guard against.”

But while Chavez is out, Wolak, along with the rest of the fighters on the card, are still going to fight beginning at 9 p.m. EST live on pay-per-view. Wolak will now face Mexican Jose Pinzon, who’s only lost one match in his 20-bout career. Rising Filipino star Nontio Donaire Jr. and his opponent, former champ Wladimir Sidorenko, will become the co-feature along with HUMBERTO SOTO’s title defense against URBANO ANTILLON.

While canceling the card, dubbed “In Harm’s Way,” was considered as a last resort, the decision was made that the “show will go on,” because of the stakes for those remaining who were scheduled to fight, said Arum. “I feel deeply for these young men who, obviously, are ready to fight. They’ve put in such hard work preparing. The fighters have a lot at stake here.” 

Indeed, a win over Sidorenko would all but guarantee DONAIRE WOULD FIGHT BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMP FERNANDO MONTIELFeb. 19^th in Las Vegas on HBO. The immediate stakes are even higher for Soto, who’s defending his lightweight crown against the hungry, aggressive Antillon.

Said Antillon’s trainer Abel Sanchez, “Urbano has a picture of the WBC green belt on his bedroom wall. He says he’s getting the real one Saturday night, and I believe him. Soto is a difficult champion to fight-very cagy. The best strategy is to pressure and don’t let Soto get distance to throw his jab. Urbano will be right in his face.”

Rounding out the card is top-rated contender Mikey Garcia, brother of superstar trainer Robert, who squares off against Canada’s Olivier Lontchi. All in all, the card remains both meaningful and exciting.

Nevertheless, Arum said refunds will be available to those who bought tickets “expecting to see Chavez [Jr.].”

The trouble with Chavez Jr.’s health began last Wednesday, when he started to feel sick. He felt better later in the week, however, and by the weekend appeared ready to fight. But yesterday during mitt work at his trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in L.A., Chavez Jr. began to cramp up. He went home with Ariza in the hopes of recuperating. But today, he awoke with a fever of 102.8 degrees.

“Most fighters, they’re mentality is to fight no matter what,” said Ariza. But, he noted, “Any athlete that is training at that kind of a level, your immune system is always gonna be compromised. I think it was just bad luck.”

Arum said that Chavez Jr. will fight again next year. Although no opponent has yet been named, Gomez remains a possibility. Should Chavez Jr. have beaten Gomez’s replacement, Wolak, the tentative plan was to have Chavez Jr. face super welterweight champ MIGUEL COTTO. The fight would have been the biggest test of Chavez Jr.’s career.

But, in light of the circumstances, Arum said, “I don’t think it would be prudent at this point to put him in with Miguel until he fought a couple of fights–at least one, maybe ideally two–at 154 pounds. We’re not looking towards a Miguel fight until after that happens.”