In a showcase fight on the undercard of Erik Morales vs. Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. increased his record to 17-0 (12) with a third round TKO of Ryan Maraldo (19-15-1). The fight was expected to be a difficult one for Julio, as Maraldo had thirty-five pro fights under his belt–much more experience than any other opponent he had faced. Once again, however, Julio proved his dominance of skill and power and, though he received his first point deduction (for low blows in round two), came out victorious.

Chavez calmly blocked Maraldo’s punches for about half a minute into round one before starting to throw some of his own. Maraldo was still punching more but also missing more. Halfway into the round, his face was already red, either from being hit or from not being in condition for the fight. During the second half of the round, Chavez started getting in his left hook more, often a little low and prompting warnings from the referee. In the last seconds, Chavez had his opponent in the corner and was battering him just as the bell rang.

In round two, Maraldo again started as the, landing more shots, though without much power behind them. A minute into the round, he started to lean against Chavez, who repeatedly pushed him off and then landed a series of good shots to Maraldo’s head. Though he looked to be a hurt a little by the punches being landed on him, Maraldo continued to get some punches of his own in and keep Chavez busy. Halfway into the round, the referee deducted a point from Chavez for the repeated low hooks which he continued to throw in this round. However, this only served to motivate Chavez as he went to the head of Maraldo, who now both slowed in movement and was able to throw fewer punches. With half a minute left in the round, Maraldo, bruised under his right eye and cut under his left, was pressed against the ropes as Chavez landed on him with lefts and rights. Somehow he managed to withstand the punishment and even throw a few weak punches as the round came to a close. PunchStat: Chavez landed 54 out of 105 punches thrown, Maraldo only 9 out of 100.

In the third, Maraldo came out a little refreshed and managed to get in a few good shots before he started showing his weariness well a minute into the round. Chavez was landing solid shots the whole time, though, and was in pursuit as Maraldo stumbled backwards or onto the ropes for support. The fight would have been stopped had not Maraldo continued to throw punches throughout the round, though certainly weak ones. Finally, with just a few seconds left in the round, Chavez landed a perfect left-right combo which prompted the referee to step in and give Chavez the TKO win at 2:56 into the round. Final PunchStat showed Chavez as landing 132 out of 269 punches thrown (49%) and Maraldo as just 30 out of 325 (9%).

In the main event of the evening, Erik Morales won a twelve-round unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao for the vacant WBC International and IBA super featherweight titles. Martin Castillo also defended his WBA super flyweight title with a twelve-round decision against Eric Morel, and Jorge “Travieso” Arce scored a tenth round TKO over Hussein Hussein in a WBC flyweight title eliminator.
notes

Referee: Toby Gibson
Judge: Adalaide Byrd
Judge: Bill Graham
Judge: Jerry Roth
Promotor: Top Rank / HBO
Ring Announcer: Michael Buffer
Commentator: Larry Merchant
Commentator: Jim Lampley
Commentator: Roy Jones, Jr.
PPV Buys: 350,000
Scheduled Rounds: 6
Result: TKO3 2:56