Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. has only to look to his father for boxing inspiration. The middleweight champion retained the WBC belt for his weight class with a 5-round TKO of Peter Manfredo, Jr. The Boston Herald reports Manfredo said this would be his last fight should he lose.

Chavez was younger, faster and clearly the better boxer. Manfredo is 30 years old and trying to come back into the ring. Before the bout, he said he would "beat this kid" knowing full well he was against a younger and possibly better opponent.

Manfredo dropped his seventh professional bout. Chavez is undefeated at 44-0-1 with 31 knockouts. His father is the most decorated Mexican boxer in history. When he retired, Senior was 107-6-2 over a professional career that spanned over 20 years.

Manfredo started out looking like a man possessed. After three rounds of Manfredo showing he was back, then the fight started to change. He had backed Chavez into a corner midway through the decisive fifth round. Unfortunately, he let Chavez get in two punches that proved critical. His hard right hand followed a blow by the left that suddenly put Manfredo up against the ropes and clearly reeling. After that, it was only a matter of time for the champ to finish off the challenger.

After the fight, Chavez verbally challenged Sergio Martinez and Canelo Alvarez to fights later on. His next bout has yet to be determined. The Alvarez draw would likely be more exciting. He is undefeated at 38-0-1 with 28 knockouts even though he is shorter and stockier than Chavez. Alvarez is also younger at just 21 years old. Martinez is undoubtedly more experienced but is 11 years Chavez' senior.

I would look forward more to an Alvarez-Chavez fight. It would be akin to a Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier bout with two titans in their weight classes going at full tilt. Their youth would be a good match for each other. On the other hand, Chavez' promoters may want him to have a somewhat easier time against an older opponent. It depends on what the fans want.

Sports Illustrated reported Chavez is mandated by rules to defend his title against the world's number one middleweight boxer. That means one of his next bouts will be against Martinez sometime in the next year.

Reliant Stadium in Houston hosted the Chavez-Manfredo fight. If this bout was any indication, the next one will be a big seller as well.

William Browning has been a boxing fan since the days of Sugar Ray Leonard in the 1980s.

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