By Jake Donovan

It wasn't a performance for the time capsule, but Julio Cesar Chavez Jr continues his winning ways. The latest victim was previously unbeaten Italian contender Tobia Giuseppe Loriga, as Chavez in the main event at Plaza de Toros in Queretaro, Mexico.

Action was slow in the first round, a seemingly running tradition in the legendary Chavez family. Loriga came forward while Chavez shot jabs to the head and body from the outside while circling to his left for much of the round.

Things didn't remain quiet for long; Chavez exploded with a straight right less than a minute into the second round, sending Loriga cashing to the canvas. The Italian rose early but wisely went back down in taking the mandatory eight-count in efforts to clear his head. To his credit, Loriga recovered well, staying in Chavez' face for the remainder of the round, not that he had much wiggle room in a bout fought in a 16' foot ring.

A severe low blow was the highlight of round three, with Chavez going well south of the border in drawing a warning from referee Lupe Garcia. Both fighters looked unsure of what they wanted to do on offense in round four, which led to several clinches, and too little punching. Another Chavez left hook strayed low late in the round, forcing Loriga to double over in pain.

A straight right, left hook combo at the start of the fifth set the table for a one-sided attack by Chavez over the course of the round. Loriga remained buried in Chavez' chest, but missed with nearly all of his counter opportunities while absorbing several uppercuts and left hook body shots in return. Chavez caught Loriga napping late in the round, making him pay with a right hand that drew a favorable reaction from the capacity crowd.

The sixth round was a clinic for Chavez, even as the young Mexican was showing signs of fatigue. His jab was working early, his right hand late, and plenty of body punches in between. Loriga, meanwhile, couldn't get anything going. Though he stood his ground throughout, the Italian's face more and more began to bear the look of a beaten fighter as the bout wore on.

Loriga's head snapped back early in the seventh, courtesy of a left uppercut. A straight right kept the attack going, with the crowd cheering on their countryman. Chavez landed right hands at will throughout the round until slipping on a ring logo late in the round. It proved to be the most damaging blow of the fight; Chavez favored his right ankle for the remainder of the round, further complaining about the pain in between rounds.

Chavez' misfortune was believed to be Loriga's gain, with the Italian gaining courage in moving in on the attack at the start of the eighth. He managed to pin Chavez' back to the ropes, only for the young lion of Culiacan to stand his ground, landing a hard 1-2 as if to remind Loriga who was the bigger hitter of the two. The injury may have affected his mobility, but not enough of a hindrance to where it prevented Chavez from going on the attack at rounds end.

Urged by his corner that they traveled too far to lie down, Loriga looked to finish strong in the final two rounds. It worked for about a minute, until taking a hard right hand from Chavez that rocked his work. A fusillade of shots had the Italian out on his feet, with two final right hands sending him to the canvas for the second time of the fight.

With Chavez looking on across the ring from a neutral corner, Loriga remained on a knee while keeping track of the referee's count. Perhaps his head was still unclear, because he was too slow in rising to his feet, as referee Lupe Garcia reached the count of ten.

The official time was 1:47 of round nine.

Chavez rolls to 36-0-1 (29KO) with the win, scoring his second win of the year, and extending his knockout streak to seven straight. After a self-described sluggish performance against Jose Celaya two months ago, young Julio was much more pleased with his performance tonight.

"I was a lot happier with my performance tonight. A lot of people said I couldn't move, and I proved that."

At least as long as his ankle would hold up.

"Unfortunately, I slipped in the seventh and hurt my ankle. I was moving side-to-side until I felt my ankle roll. It really hurt, I couldn't move it. The referee asked if the doctor should check it, I said I was fine."

If he wasn't, then he did a heck of a job faking it.

The multi-million dollar question now: who's next?

Those asking for an upgrade might be disappointed at what potentially awaits in the bullpen.

"I want Macho," was Julio's emphatic response, in reference to Hector Camacho, Jr, who was victorious in the televised co-feature against Kenny Kost. "I'm ready for him. If he wants some, it would be a great fight, let's make it."

The backdrop behind a possible fight between the two would of course be their far more famous fathers facing one another 16 years ago in Las Vegas. Chavez Sr won a lopsided decision, with Camacho taking a vicous beating throughout.

History could very well repeat itself if the offspring were to square off. Color commentator Wally Matthews noted the tremendous size difference between the two, though Camacho Jr's lack of desire to train gives him a weight advantage, if it can be called that.

The only advantage Loriga boasted going in was his anonymity, which made it nearly impossible to handicap the bout. Gone is his undefeated record, as the Italian falls to 24-1-1, (6KO), snapping a five-fight winning streak. Though brave in defeat, there's little reason to suggest Loriga does little more than fade to Bolivian for the remainder of his career.

There's no fading in Chavez Jr's career, though it's getting to the point where independent PPV's against less-than-desirable opposition – no matter how solid the ratings – just aren't going to cut it. The ankle injury may possibly slow down his hectic schedule; here's hoping the rest leads to quality over quantity upon his return.

Undercard:

Hector Camacho Jr (45-3-1, 25KO) made it three straight wins with a lopsided unanimous decision verdict over spirited journeyman Kenny Kost (14-4-1, 6KO) in the televised co-feature. Camacho Jr scored knockdowns in the second and third rounds, but appeared content to dance his way through the second half of the bout, fought at a catchweight of 163 lb.

Kost's best moments came in the 7th and 8th, but the joke was on his corner when the fight ended with them working on him as if the bout was still scheduled for ten rounds. The two extra rounds wouldn't have helped, as Camacho was never in trouble, and won by wide scores of 78-74 and 79-71 (2x).

With time to kill between the co-feature and main event, Julio Jr's younger brother Omar Chavez (9-0, 7KO) received unexpected TV time as well as a surprisingly tough challenge from Marco Nazareth (3-2-1, 2KO), to where the 18-year old was forced to settle for a controversial unanimous decision in their four-round junior welterweight bout.

Chavez had his way with Nazareth through the first five minutes, before catching a right hand late in the second that forced him to retreat and regroup. The punch permanently changed the tempo of the fight; Chavez picked up in the third, but Nazareth remained in his grill until the bitter end.

Young Omar's face was marked up by fights end, but would find his reward on the scorecards, even though he found himself short on friends once the verdict was announced. The final scorecards – 39-37 (2x) and 39-38 – were all for Chavez, though the decision was surprisingly met with objectivity among the Mexican crowd, who clearly rallied behind the spirited effort of the underdog Nazareth. Chants of "Es un pecado" ("It's a Sin") filled the arena, with boos increasing whenever Omar lifted his hands in victory.

Orlando Salido (30-9-2-1NC, KO) kept hopes alive for another shot at any version of the featherweight title with a fourth round knockout over Renan Acosta (21-6, 8KO) in a preliminary bout. There were no knockdowns, just an overwhelming offensive display by Salido, before referee Ruben Carrion mercifully intervened, 2:39 into round four.

Salido wins his third straight since his November 2006 bout with Robert Guerrero, when Salido was initially awarded a decision before testing positive for drugs. Acosta's three-fight winning streak comes to an end, as the Panamanian also suffers the first stoppage loss of his career.

NABF junior featherweight titlist Bernabe Concepcion (25-1-1, 14KO) opened up the PPV telecast with an impressive 2nd round stoppage over Torrence Daniels (10-4-1, 4KO). Two-way action in the second concluded with Daniels dropped from a right hand on the inside, and subsequently pummeled before being rescued by referee Ruben Carrion.

The official time was 2:42 of round two, with Concepcion racking up his 17th straight victory as he inches closer to title contention.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Jake can be reached for comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .