Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. retained his WBC middleweight belt with a fifth round TKO over Peter Manfredo Jr. of season one of The Contender.
Manfredo, as always, gave a gutsy performance but Chavez was in control throughout. In round five, Chavez staggered Manfredo with a hard right hand and then threw a barrage of punches until referee Laurence Cole jumped in to end the bout. The stoppage may have been a bit premature as Manfredo was not defenseless but it was only a matter of time as Chavez was clearly the superior fighter.
Chavez has been fighting professionally since 2003 and has 46 bouts under his belt (44-0-1-1) but is still only 25 and remains a work in progress. However, Chavez - now training under Freddie Roach - continues to improve and this may have been his most impressive performance to date. While Sergio Martinez and Saul Alvarez are the two big names on the horizon for Chavez, it's unlikely promoter Bob Arum will take any risks with him as long as he can earn big paydays against safer opposition.
After the fight, Manfredo indicated that he intends to retire. Healthy 30 year old boxers generally don't stay retired for long. Expect Manfredo - 37-7 with 20 KOs - to take a nice, long break and then get back in the ring in late 2012 or 2013.
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