Jhon Caicedo vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Preview April 25th, 2026
Former WBC Middleweight boss Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. of Mexico returns to the ring in his homeland this weekend as he takes on Jhon Caicedo of Cali, Colombia. The pair will be meeting in a 10-round cruiserweight battle from Reynoso, Mexico. Chavez last stepped into the ring in January when he stopped Angel Julian Sacco in the fourth round. In his previous outing in June, he Chavez dropped a wide 10-round unanimous decision to Jake Paul. Caicedo last fought in June when he was halted by Avni Yildirim in the third round in a shot at the vacant WBC International Light Heavyweight Title.
Caicedo vs Chavez Jr. Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jhon Caicedo +400
- Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. -600
My Pick
Caicedo is just 21 years old and has already built up a record of 13-1 with 5 Ko’s with his lone defeat coming at the hands of the veteran Yildirim in his last outing. He made his pro debut in May, 2024 and has 77 rounds of experience to his name. As a pro he has tipped the weight scales from 166 lbs up to 190 lbs. Unfortunately there’s no height and reach information for Caicedo though so we don’t know how he stacks up size-wise against Chavez.
As far as power goes, Caicedo is below average as just 38.5 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and didn’t stop any of his past seven opponents. The youngster stepped up in class in his last fight against Yildirim and also fought for the fist time outside of Colombia as he travelled to Turkey. However things didn’t work out too well for him. still, he’s just 21 years old and has plenty of time to make a name for himself in the sport. Half og his 14 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record.
Chavez Jr is now 40 years old and has fought just five times since 2021. Of course, he lost to Jake Paul last summer but beat Uriah Hall by six-round unanimous decision in his previous outing in July, 2024 and then bounced back from the Paul loss with a stoppage victory. The fight against Hall was his first since December, 2021 when he topped David Zegarra by 10-round unanimous decision and six months prior to that he dropped an eight-round split decision to Anderson Silva. In November, 2020 Chavez stopped Jeyson Minda in four rounds and two months earlier he dropped a six-round technical decision to Mario Abel Cazares after an accidental headbutt caused the fight to be stopped.
In August, 2019 Chavez returned after a 26-month layoff and blasted Evert Bravo out in less than 90 seconds in a light heavyweight tilt. His previous bout was a unanimous decision defeat to Canelo Alvarez in 2017 in a fight he was dominated in. He then quit in the corner against Daniel Jacobs in December, 2019 after coming back against Bravo. After all is said and done, Chavez makes the ring walk with a record of 55-7-1 with 35 Ko’s.
Chavez was banned for nine months and fined $900,000 in 2013 for testing positive for an illegal substance. His other losses were a unanimous decision to Sergio Martinez in September, 2012 to lose his WBC Middleweight Title, which he had won via a majority decision over Sebastian Zbik in June, 2011, and a ninth-round stoppage at the hands of Andrzej Fonfara in April, 2015. However, Chavez had Martinez down and in deep trouble in the last round in their title fight before the bell arguably saved Martinez. Against Fonfara though, Chavez suffered a bit of a beating. Size-wise, Chavez stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch.
He possesses decent power in his fists as 63.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage with just two of them coming since November, 2020. Chavez used to be a powerful boxer with a solid chin and was hard to keep at bay when letting his hands go. Most of his knockouts came due to an accumulation of blows rather than just once punch. He likes to apply pressure to the body and head and keep moving forward until he eventually breaks his opponent down. He’s boxed 358 rounds since his pro debut in 2003 and has wins over Brian Vera (twice), Marco Reyes, Andy Lee, Marco Antonio Rubio, Peter Manfredo Jr. and John Duddy. He also fought to a six-round draw with Carlos Molina in 2005.
Prediction…
Chavez Jr. has a wealth of experience and is a former world champion who successfully defended his title three times and also won a few minor belts. He’s 19 years older than Caicedo though and is known for his lack of training and discipline while stamina has sometimes been a problem for him as well. He had problems with addiction in the past and was deported from the USA for alleged links to organized crime in his homeland. On the bright side, Chavez has plenty of ring IQ and experience while Caicedo will taking a leap in class again. You never know what you’re going to get with Chavez but as long as he’s more interested in winning than just collecting a paycheque he should do enough to earn a win.
Chavez has the skills and experience.
Play Chavez Jr. -600
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Jhon Caicedo betting • Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. betting