Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s third strike with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) could prove problematic anywhere else in the United States, including his next sought destination.
The second-generation boxer once again found himself at the mercy of the Nevada commission, whose panel voted unanimously to extend his temporary suspension during its monthly meeting Wednesday morning at state headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada. The matter will be revisited during the next commission meeting, which is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Now at risk as a result is a planned Dec. 20 fight between Mexico’s Chavez Jr. (51-3-1, 33KOs) and Brooklyn’s Daniel Jacobs (35-3, 29KOs), with the super middleweight battle of former middleweight titlists–to stream live on DAZN—earlier relocated from Las Vegas to the Talking Stick Resorts Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Legal representatives for Chavez Jr. argued that the order to have him tested was unfounded, claiming the commission lacked jurisdiction since the boxer was neither licensed by the NSAC nor did he carry an active Federal Boxing ID. The claim was met with resistance by the state’s Attorney General, who insisted that the commission does in fact have the jurisdiction to investigate any athlete or ring official “in the best interest and welfare of the sport.”
The move was made by event promoter Eddie Hearn shortly after Chavez Jr. refused a NSAC-ordered random drug test—as contracted through Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA)—upon request this past October at Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach’s famed Wild Card Boxing Gym in Hollywood, California.
For now, plans still in place for Jacobs to move forward with his super middleweight debut.
The bout will mark his first ring appearance since a competitive but clear points loss to World middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (53-1-2, 36KOs) in their title unification fight this past May in Las Vegas. The loss ended Jacobs’ short-lived title reign just seven months after claiming a vacant belt in a 12-round victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko last October in New York City.
Chavez Jr. previously went 27 months between fights, with a 12-round shutout defeat to Alvarez in their commercially successful Cinco de Mayo battle in May 2017 followed by an assortment of out-of-ring issues. The extended ring hiatus finished this summer, as Chavez Jr, won his first fight in more than 2 ½ years following a 1st round knockout of Evert Bravo this past August in San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico.
