“I have one more fight left with Matchroom, so it will possibly be in December,” Chaves said to La Casaca Boxing Club.
Winning that fight alone might not be enough. He may need to look exceptional against a credible opponent to persuade Matchroom that he remains worth another contract.
Hearn visited Chaves in the dressing room before the Garcia fight but did not see him afterward or join him in the ring. Chaves said his promoter, Georgina Rivero, was unhappy about Hearn’s absence.
Initially, Chaves claimed it did not bother him, but his later comments revealed that he noticed.
“There are many people who disappear when these things happen, as in this case with the promoter,” Chaves said.
The timing is difficult to ignore. He received promotional attention when he was knocking out opponents and being presented as one of Argentina’s brightest prospects. Once Garcia beat him, Hearn was no longer there.
None of this proves Matchroom has already decided to let Chaves leave after December. It does show how quickly a young import’s position can change after the zero disappears. Promotional enthusiasm is easy when a prospect is producing knockouts. The real test comes when the company must determine if it wants to spend money rebuilding him.
Matchroom has already learned that Chaves is not ready for a top lightweight. Now it must determine if his weaknesses can be repaired or if it merely bought an inflated record.
Chaves deserves credit for accepting responsibility, but his explanation also raises serious questions about his corner.
“They studied me 100 percent, and we as a team made the mistake of watching very little of Eridson,” Chaves said. “From the little we watched, we imagined he would come out and do the same thing.”
Preparing for a significant fight in Newark without properly studying the opponent is inexcusable. Chaves and his team assumed Garcia would come forward and trade because that was how he had fought in the footage they watched. They did not prepare for movement, counters, or changes in rhythm.
“I trained to go forward because that was what had worked for me in all these fights,” Chaves said. “We didn’t have a Plan B, Plan C or Plan D other than going forward and exchanging.”
Once Garcia refused to cooperate, Chaves had nothing else. He followed him around the ring, struggled to cut off his exits, and walked into counters throughout the fight. Even after four knockdowns, neither the fighter nor his corner found a different approach.
What happened was more than a bad performance. It was tactical negligence built on overconfidence.
His 19 knockouts in Argentina encouraged the team to believe that aggression and power would travel without the supporting skills. Garcia showed what happens when a puncher accustomed to compliant opposition meets a crafty boxer who controls distance and refuses to remain in front of him.
The knockout percentage concealed Chaves’ mechanical weaknesses. His feet did not position him to trap Garcia, his attacks became predictable, and he lacked the defensive awareness to enter safely. Those deficiencies were always there. Garcia was simply the first opponent skilled enough to reveal all of them.
Hearn now has two bad matchmaking options. One route is to give Chaves a ham and egger, allow him to score another knockout, and advertise the performance as a successful return. Fans will recognize that rehabilitation job immediately. Stopping someone selected to lose would not show that he learned anything from Newark.
Instead, Matchroom can match him against a capable lightweight who can move and counter. Such an opponent would give Chaves a genuine chance to redeem himself, but it also risks another one-sided defeat that ends any discussion about a new agreement.
A top opponent is not necessary. Chaves does need someone good enough to test the areas Garcia punished. Matchroom must find a fighter who forces him to cut off the ring, control his aggression, and change tactics during the fight.
A decisive win under those conditions would give Hearn a reason to consider another deal. Knocking out a soft target would leave the questions unanswered. Another boxer taking him apart would likely finish his Matchroom run when the contract expires.
An immediate rematch with Eridson is not something Chaves believes he deserves. That is another honest admission. He knows he must earn it by beating someone else first.
December is not merely a comeback date. It may determine if Chaves remains a Matchroom fighter or becomes another heavily promoted puncher whose value disappeared once his record met a real test.
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