The blockbuster fight between Canelo Álvarez and Julio César Chávez Jr. is on May 6, but the brothers of both boxers didn’t wait that long to get into the ring with each other. On Saturday, Omar “Terremoto” Chávez, brother of Julio César, faced off against Ramón “Inocente” Álvarez, Canelo’s older brother, at the Mueluel Bernardo Aguirre Gimnasio in Chihuahua.
In a result opposite of what most people expect in the more famous fight this coming weekend, the Chavez representative came out on top of the Álvarez fighter, as Omar beat Ramón in the second round by knockout. With the victory, the younger Chávez brother moved to 36-3-1, while the elder Álvarez dropped down to 25-6-2.
This was actually a rematch from a 2014 fight, which Inocente Álvarez won by decision over the Earthquake; this time around, Omar left no doubt as to who the better man was, connecting with a series of rights in the second round to put away Ramón for good.
Of course, with such a victory comes trash talk, and Chávez is wasting no time trying to get under the skin of the Álvarez clan. After his stunning knockout, Omar said that “the Chávez dynasty is better and I knew I would knock him out. My brother Julio will continue that next week against Canelo,” before adding “all my respect for Ramón, though.” He also said that he “wanted this victory to provide encouragement for my brother in his fight.”
Canelo and Julio César will face off in Las Vegas on Saturday for the most-anticipated bout of the young year, with the winner getting the first-ever Presidente Adolfo López Mateos huichol belt. Aside from seeing their brothers fight, the build-up to the fight has had ups and downs worthy of such a high-profile showdown, with a purse bet that was later rescinded, trash talk and queries about improper drug testing from both sides, and a joint commercial showing the two boxers crashing through Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.