Fight To Keep Chavez Jr.-Lee Bout In El Paso Appears To Be Winning
The Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Andy Lee fight could be staying in El Paso, thanks to the efforts of City of El Paso officials.
Although it is not a done deal, it appears likely the fight will stay in El Paso, according to sources close to the boxing match. The fight was originally scheduled for June 16 at the Sun Bowl before the University of Texas System chancellor canceled the fight due to unspecified security concerns.
The Sun Bowl is operated by the UTEP which is a part of the University of Texas System.
El Paso’s FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark A. Morgan said on Wednesday that there is no known credible, vetted or specific threat to the fight at the Sun Bowl. Morgan, along with El Paso’s mayor and city manager and other local leaders, spoke at a news conference Wednesday in an effort to try and save the boxing match and have it in El Paso.
Cook said El Paso’s police chief and sheriff have been in touch with the people that made the decision to cancel the fight. The mayor said the decision to cancel was made on raw intelligence and not based on a credible threat.
City Manager Joyce Wilson pointed out that the University of Texas at Austin is hosting boxing matches that will be televised on Friday and has asked the chancellor why that event was not considered high risk but the Sun Bowl fight was.
Although University of Texas Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa would not tell Cook the reason why the fight was canceled, Cook said he believes it is because Chavez Jr. is dating the ex-wife of the son of Mexican drug lord Joaqun “El Chapo: Guzmn Loera.
Wilson said the situation may help in a different way.
“I do want to use this as an opportunity to emphasize that this situation reinforces some of the activities that we are looking at for the quality of life bond election, particularly a major event and entertainment facility so that we can control our destiny and not have to be at the mercy of someone making arbitrary decisions in a facility (where) we don’t have any direct control,” Wilson said.
