Jose Celaya: “Chavez Jr. vs. Celaya will be a great fight for boxing!”
 INTERVIEW By Benny Henderson Jr (Jan 18, 2008) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Laura De La Torre)
The boxing media salivates for great fights, the boxing fans demand them, and if the upcoming throw down between the undefeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 34-0-1 (27), and Jose Celaya, 31-3 (16), is anything like Celaya predicts, it will be a fight for the fans and possibly fight of the year candidate for 2008.
February 9th at the Domo De La Feria, in Guanajuato, Mexico, Celaya will step into the ring for the biggest fight of his seven year when he takes on JC Chavez Jr. for the vacant WBC Continental Americas light middleweight strap. A fight
that most in the fight world predict as a win for Chavez Jr., but it is a fight that Celaya believes he can win, which will open up more doors for his future.
Celaya has fought for seven years and has banged out a respectable career thus far; his last loss came from the hands of undefeated James Webb in 2005 when Celaya was drained for having to drop five pounds the day of the fight. Although Jose lost the bout it was a hellacious throw down. Since his win the southpaw has had five consecutive wins, and has faith that his sixth will come against Chavez Jr.
In this exclusive interview conducted by Doghouse Boxing, Celaya speaks out on his upcoming bout as well as other topics, enjoy.
Benny Henderson Jr.: First off I would like to say thanks for choosing Doghouse Boxing as a platform to sound off on your upcoming bout against Chavez Jr. Give the readers your thoughts.
Jose Celaya: Well first off Benny I would like to thank you for your support and prayers, I need it. I thank God for everything He has done for me, He has opened up this door for me and I am taking advantage of it. Chavez Jr. is a great
fighter, he is tall and strong, I know he is going to be in great shape I am going to be in phenomenal shape. Let the best man win.
BH: Chavez Jr. has a big name, mostly because of his dad, so what do you feel a win over Jr. would do for you career?
JC: Chavez Jr. is the hottest name in Mexico; everybody in the Latino market knows his name. By me defeating Chavez Jr. it will open up a lot of doors for me and bigger pay days and hopefully closer to a world title. I am really working hard to win this fight.
BH: Looking at Chavez Jr. what do you feel are his strengths that will pose a threat to you, and what weaknesses do you see in him that you could possibly capitalize on?
JC: He is tall, but his weaknesses are that he fights squared and he is not that quick. I’ll use my jab for ten rounds going from orthodox to southpaw and use a lot of movement that will throw him off. I need to touch and go, stick and move.
BH: There are a lot of fans and media that look at this fight as a losing situation for yourself, more or less the odds are stacked against you. What does that do for your morale?
JC: Well, obviously they are going with Chavez Jr. because he is the more active fighter. But I am not worried about it, my speed and skill will throw him off. It doesn’t bother me, I’ll take it one round at a time.
BH: Your last loss came in 2005 in a hellacious fight against James Webb, since then you have banged out five victories. What have you learned about yourself since the Webb fight?
JC: I learned to stay in shape and keep my weight down, obviously that was a problem in the Webb fight. I had to burn five pounds the day before the fight and that affected me. It was a misunderstanding with the scales.
BH: Now you are a family man, you know have a wife and a child, how does that affect your training, train of thought, and career?
JC: It gives me more power, I am stronger, I have my wife by my side. I fight for my family now.
BH: If you could send out a message to Chavez Jr. using Doghouse Boxing as a platform, what would you say?
JC: Like I said before it is nothing against Chavez Jr., this will be a great fight for boxing, I am going to go out there and put up a great fight.
BH: What can the fight fans expect from Jose Celaya come fight night?
JC: I am going to be on my toes for ten rounds and box.
BH: Anything in closing?
JC: I want to thank all my supports that have stuck by my side since day one. Thanks to my wife and kids. This fight with Chavez Jr. is a gift from God and I have to take advantage of it.
Writer’s Note: I would like to thank Mario Serrano for setting up this interview, and a thanks goes out to Jose Celaya for his time and thoughts.
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