Of Hell Freezing Over & Flying Pigs
By William Trillo
If someone had told me back in December of 2005 after an out of shape and gassed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. embarrassingly stumbled his way to a draw with Carlos Molina that one day I would be writing that Junior was worthy of a shot at the Middleweight title of the world, I would have laughed and told them to stick their head out the window to keep an eye open for flying pigs.
Well ladies and gentlemen…..turn your eye to the sky for those oinkers, and if you think your eternal destination is hell, I suggest you take a jacket.
This Saturday night on another Top Rank promoted “Latin Fury” card, Julio Cesar Chavez not only took a huge step toward a shot at the title, but with that step he may have finally got out from under the shadow of his Father, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.
In a fight that was the seen as final proving ground for both Jr. and his foe John Duddy, it was the young Chavez who outlasted Duddy in a fight that was a very entertaining give and take battle for the entire 12 round affair. Don’t let the 120-108 scorecard fool you, the fight was far from being that one sided and the 116-112 score is a much better indication of what transpired in the San Antonio ring.
Duddy came into this fight to win and he did everything he could to defeat Chavez Jr. At one point a strong right hand buckled Jr.’s knees and it appeared as though maybe Duddy might be able to do it. But something was different about Chavez Jr. on Saturday night. Most noticeably he was in top shape and showed none of the pudge around the middle that we have become acustom to seeing. The other obvious change was Freddie Roach in his corner and it wasn’t just Freddies physical presence. Chavez Jr. was a different fighter with a different mindset and Roach showed him how to display skills I was always sure he did not posses.
I was wrong. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has turned the corner and has become a legitimate top 10 and world class fighter.
With that said I am not sure if the comments by his promoter Bob Arum after the fight about Julio becoming a Super Star who could beat any fighter in his weight class are not a bit grandiose, but hey who can blame Arum. Bob has stuck with this kid through thick and thin. He held onto Chavez Jr. when most reasonable and “knowledgeable” men had long written Chavez Jr. off as nothing more than a spoiled and lazy son of a legend. So if Arum wants to shout from the rooftops that Julio Cesar Chavez is going to be the next great Middleweight Champion of the world…let him have his brief moment, he deserves this one.
Furthermore, as I was doing my research for this article I found that phrases like “Hell Freezing Over” & “When Pigs Fly” are found all over the world. Having learned my lesson with the Chavez Jr. blight I would like to share some of these Idiom’s from different countries with you and how I might need to use them in the future:
In Spain they use the term “When Frogs Grow Hair“. Apparently I didn’t listen to anything I just said because I will be happy to run with that one if Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. thinks he can defeat Sergio Martinez in a Middleweight title fight.
In Tagalog it’s “When The Heron Turns Black“. Keep that one handy when you think Floyd Mayweather Jr. will decide to give up on his drug testing demands with Manny Pacquiao.
In France the term is “When Hens Grow Teeth“. I will store that one when Jean-Paul Mendy and Sakio Bika fight in front of a sell out crowd.
In Russian the expression is “When The Crawfish Whistles On The Mountain“. Remind me about that one when Don King convinces Vitali Klitschko to honor the 2.5 million dollar offer he made to Nicolai Valuev before he lost to David Haye.
In Turkish the expression is “When Fish Climb Trees“. Go ahead and break that bad boy out right around the time Selcuk Aydin not only agrees to give Jo Jo Dan a rematch but is happy to travel to Dan’s Canadian home to do it.
The Ukrainian term is “When Fish Speak“. Have that one ready in case you think David Haye will stop speaking and actually climbs into the ring with Klitschko…either one of them.
The Polish term is “When The Cactus Will Grow On My Hand“. I would have loved to have that one right around the time Arreola tipped the scales at over 250 pounds AGAIN, and people still insisted he would beat Adamek.
In Romania it’s “When I’ll See The Back Of My Head“. That’s a term I will keep handy if and when the eventual Super Six winner says he will fight and beat Lucian Bute.
Also in Brazil, a common expression is “When Snakes Smoke“. O. K. …a Latin Country and a term about snakes. You gotta know where I am headed with that one. Let me know when that Season One Contender Champ is not picking on a fighter from a weight or two lower than his own division.
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Very clever column. I would disagree on saying Arum stuck with the kid.
Arum used the kid to make lots of money. Junior is a big draw, and he had him on TV and a zillion PPV broadcasts that he did himself. The kid was an earner and so Arum did what he does best, follow the money. If he didnt have that name, Arum would have gotten rid of him years earlier.
Roach is giving Jr the same stuff he has been giving Pacquiao.
Blood test is in order.