Jesus Chavez Will Get a Boost in His Return

To his fans, super-featherweight Jesus Chavez is a hero.

How many other fighters would dare to take on Erik Morales, a perennial name on the best pound-for-pound list, with one arm?

The other was dangling uselessly at Chavez’s side from the early rounds on after he tore a muscle in his right shoulder.

In addition, Chavez was knocked down twice in the second round and was bleeding from a cut over his left eye. And, compensating for his inability to throw punches with his right hand, Chavez favored his left side and tore a ligament in his left knee.

Although he should have been in a hospital, Chavez remained in the ring and finished the 12-round match staged 15 months ago. He lost a unanimous decision, but, with a left hook and a stinging jab, made it close enough to lose by only two points on one judge’s scorecard.

Still, Chavez (40-3, 28 knockouts), who will make his comeback tonight in a 12-round match against Carlos Hernandez (41-4-1, 24) at Staples Center, dismisses the idea that he is any sort of hero.

That’s a title he reserves for his wife, Aunisa.

She is expected to be ringside after getting a two-week leave from her post as an engineering specialist with the National Guard in Iraq.

“She is my hero,” Chavez said.

The two were married last May just before her unit was deployed to the Middle East. Chavez and his wife communicate via phone or e-mail.

At first, Chavez acknowledges, he would be shaken up by the daily reports of violence in war-torn Iraq.

“I’ve gotten better now,” he said.

The therapy he was getting for his injuries served as mental therapy as well. His mission was to mend through extensive rehabilitation, made all the more difficult by the fact he was trying to heal both his shoulder and knee.

Mission accomplished, Chavez said this week, promising he’ll be at full strength tonight, physically thanks to the rehab and mentally because his wife will be sitting ringside.

While Chavez-Hernandez promises to be an attractive match, the card also features what is being billed as a farewell appearance of Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez (106-5-2, 88). The 42-year-old Chavez, will fight a 10-rounder against 34-year-old Ivan Robinson, who is 31-9-2 with 12 knockouts but has won only three of his last 11 fights. The last two of those for Robinson, once a title contender, were an eight- and six-rounder.

Tickets have been scaled down to $50 and $25.

The fight was contracted at a maximum limit of 145 pounds. Both men weighed in at 143.

When the name of Robinson, a Philadelphia fighter, was offered to Dean Lohuis of the California State Athletic Commission, Lohuis saw a notation from the Pennsylvania commission to please contact them before licensing Robinson.

“I had some concerns as well,” Lohuis said, “because this was a former 10- and 12-round fighter now fighting prelims. The Pennsylvania commission told me they just wanted to be sure Robinson was not being used as fodder for some young cannon.

“But I think he is a fair opponent for Chavez. They are both in the closing stages of their career. They have both seen better days.”

With that in mind, Staples Center is merely renting out the building rather than offering a site fee as it has for its previous boxing shows. Neither HBO nor Showtime, the major pay-per-view outlets, was interested in being actively involved in tonight’s telecast, though Showtime will serve as the distributor of the broadcast.

But Showtime executives chose not to comment on tonight’s show, which doesn’t say much for the quality of the main event.

While the fans may come for the main event, they will probably go home talking about the undercard.

Along with Jesus Chavez-Hernandez, there is an International Boxing Federation bantamweight title fight between champion Rafael Marquez (33-3, 30) and challenger Chapo Vargas (37-10-3, 12), a six-round lightweight match between Julio Cesar Chavez’ son, 19-year-old Julio Jr. (18-0, 13) and Adam Wynant (9-3-1, 3), and a four-round, super-welterweight fight between Vanes Martirosyan of Glendale (1-0), a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, and Jovanni Rubio (6-5, 4).

Tonight’s show, titled Adios in honor of the senior Chavez, is actually, if you read the fine print, his California farewell. Which means we only have to endure another 49 of these.

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Fernando Vargas, a former 154-pound champion, has signed to fight World Boxing Council 154-pound titleholder Javier Castillejo on Aug. 20 in Chicago. But the WBC is threatening to strip Castillejo of the title for failing to instead face mandatory challenger Ricardo Mayorga.