by David P. Greisman

Though Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fought much better for his second bout with Bryan Vera than he did for the first, there are still significant changes that need to be made in his training camp, according to promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, who passed along criticism he said came from Chavez’s father, the Hall of Fame fighter Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

“I think that he certainly improved on his image from what he did last time, and he certainly was in shape,” Arum told reporters in the Alamodome in San Antonio after Chavez beat Vera by unanimous decision this past Saturday. “But as his father told me, unless he gets a real trainer and goes in with a game plan and has somebody experienced in his corner, we’re all fooling ourselves. And that’s not me saying it. That’s somebody who really knows boxing better than me.

“There was obviously no game plan” for the Vera rematch, Arum said. “In others words, it was freewheeling, which for the fans is very, very entertaining, but as a strategy for an A-class fighter, sort of stupid.”

Chavez Jr. used to work with Freddie Roach, but began to work with Vladimir Baldenebro prior to Chavez-Vera 1.

Chavez admitted to ballooning up to as high as 205 pounds prior to that bout, and he came in at 172 pounds on fight night, much higher than the weight limit that had been initially agreed upon and was subsequently renegotiated multiple times.

Chavez has said he’s now maturing, particularly after the birth of his daughter.

“I think it’s for real,” Arum said. “But as his father said, unless like every world-class fighter he gets himself a full-time, astute trainer and comes in with a game plan, he ultimately is just fooling himself. That’s not me saying that, even though I agree with it. It’s the father.”

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