Chavez Jr. has inherited expectations

LAS VEGAS – He’s the son, Junior. But there are dividends in that relationship only if dad is an old-school monarch or Wall Street oligarch. For Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., the inheritance is a burden, a trust fund for a nation that worshipped the father and expects the son to be just like him.

“I have a lot of pressure,’’ said Chavez, who is simply called Junior by Mexicans looking for the next fighter to capture and occupy their hearts. “I am fighting in the shadow of my father.’’

Dad’s shadow can’t be beaten, or maybe even matched. In Mexico and lots of neighborhoods north of the border, Julio Cesar Chavez might as well be cast in bronze. Junior only hopes to cast his own shadow in an attempt that continues Saturday night at the MGM Grand against Troy Rowland in the final undercard fight before Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto.

It won’t happen against Rowland, a little-known middleweight from Grand Rapids, Mich. Without a name change, cynics don’t think it will happen at all. But don’t expect Ocho Cinco or World B Free on Junior’s next passport. The proud Chavez name and all of its impossible expectations are part of the identity, which is still evolving and remains shot of fulfillment until a signature fight for a major title.

“This one is very important, of course, but logically I want bigger fights, bigger names,’’ said Junior, who hopes for a defining moment in 2010. “In the end, the results will speak for me and not my name.’’

The 23-year-old said his father — who opened a bar-and restaurant, Julio Cesar Chavez Campeones, Tuesday in Mesa, Ariz. — has repeatedly offered him the same advice in the years since he climbed into the family business without any amateur experience.

Like father, like son, however, doesn’t exactly apply to boxing. It’s not a mom-and-pop store. Dads fight so their sons don’t have to. After being knocked out by Mike Tyson in Usian Bolt-like time, Marvis Frazier, Joe Frazier’s son, probably wishes he had paid attention to that one.

In part, Junior got into the bruising family trade, because he grew up around it. Junior is hardly a stranger to Las Vegas. He was a kid, small enough to sit on his dad’s knee, in fights that have generated the same kind of buzz that surrounds Pacquiao-Cotto. The experience is one of Junior’s advantages. He knows what to expect. He says he will know how to deal with it.

But there are also disadvantages, inherited, but there nonetheless. In part, there is the 40-0-1 record that critics say has been built on soft opposition. The argument is that Junior has been protected because of his father’s name. Without amateur experience, however, Junior has been fighting opponents who have served their apprentice with as many more amateur bouts than he has as a pro.

Then, there is concern about his father’s lifestyle since he retired. He has been in and out of rehab for substance abuse. It’s tough to talk about, so tough in fact that promoter Bob Arum didn’t mention the dad when he introduced the son Thursday at news conference for the undercard. The omission was not incidental. It was intended, said Arum, who knows that the son is uncomfortable with talk of his dad because of genuine concern for his lifestyle. Junior urged his dad to quit drinking before his final fight, a loss in Phoenix in 2005.

The son said Thursday that his dad is fine. At his new restaurant Monday in a converted Home Depot at a strip mall in the Phoenix suburbs, the dad was emotional at the sight of a place named after him.

“Nobody could ever beat me,’’ the 47-year-old Chavez said. “My losses were only because I defeated myself.’’

Mention Junior, and immediately there is a proud father who sees a son determined to carry on a legacy defined by that name.

There are photos of dad with Junior and his younger son, Omar, throughout the restaurant, which includes a 1,700-seat arena where patrons can watch Home Box Office’s pay-per-view telecast of the Pacquiao-Cotto card, including Junior’s scheduled 10-rounder against Rowland. The walls also are covered with photos and sketching of dad’s greatest fights. Then, there is a WBC-sponsored museum with one wall featuring Mexican legends.

The next Mexican legend?

“My son,’’ the dad said in a matter-of-fact tone that also seemed to say that this legend will have the same name, but its own personality.

NOTES, QUOTES
· Father and son agree. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Jr. pick Cotto to upset Pacquiao. “It is about style,’’ said the elder Chavez, who believes Cotto’s ability to throw combinations and size will trouble Pacquiao. “Cotto has the right style.’’
· Chavez Sr., on how he would have fought Pacquiao: “I would have beat him up.’’
· Cotto trainer Jose Santiago said Thursday that he has carefully studied the eighth round of Pacquiao’s disputed loss to Pacquioa in a March, 2008 rematch. “I especially like the second Marquez fight and especially the eighth round,’’ Santigao said. In the eighth, Marquez bloodied Pacquiao and backed him into the ropes with a right hand.
· Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach knows that the Cotto camp has talked about the eighth in the Marquez rematch, which Pacquiao won in a split decision. “Ridiculous,’’ said Roach, who continued to say Thursday that he believes that Cotto has slowed dwon since his loss to Antonio Margarito. Since Margarito, Roach said he has not seen any of the speed he displayed against Zab Judah and Shane Mosley.