Vanda Set For Chavez Jr.
July 10th, 2008
By Jesse Kelley

Matt “The Predator” Vanda will face unbeaten 22 year old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico this Saturday night. The 12 round main event will headline "Latin Fury V."
Vanda will most likely be the toughest opponent Chavez has faced in his 36 prior bouts when they meet this weekend.
Vanda, of Saint Paul, MN has proven his durability by only being stopped once in 41 fights. Vanda suffered a ruptured eardrum in his lone loss.
Following the biggest win of his career against Yory Boy Campas in 2005, the colorful brawler made a jump to middleweight. Vanda says he did it because he wanted to give his fans the best fights possible and that middleweight was were the action was for him.
Now, Vanda moves back to his more natural weight to face Chavez Jr. in a bout that is almost certain to be filled with action.

When people look at your record, they will probably look at the string of recent decision losses first. People that have been at your fights though have seen you go punch for punch with naturally bigger guys and make exciting fights. What are your thoughts on the decision losses to guys like (Anthony) Bonsante, (Kenny) Kost, Andy (Kolle) and (Sebastien) Demers?
You know, you win some decisions and you lose some. That’s the way it goes. I’m not really too pissed off about it you know? People see the fights, they know what’s going on. People know I am in every fight, that’s all that matters.

You sound ready to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I talked before about you facing bigger guys but Chavez will be coming up to face you. And you will be returning to your natural weight which is Jr. middleweight. Talk about being the bigger guy and how that could play to your advantage.
(Note: Vanda says the fight is at a catch weight of 155 plus or minus a pound)
I want to kick the sh-- out of Chavez brother! I’m in dynamite shape. We really went nuts for this fight. I think it is a good idea for me to get back down to this weight. I should definitely be stronger then this guy with all the training I’ve been doing. I am totally confident we are going to win the fight. I have no doubt about that. He is tall and skinny but I don’t think he is stronger then me. This is going to be the toughest fight of his life. I plan on knocking him out.

Most recently you defeated Bruce Rumbolz. Before that you traveled to Canada to face Sebastien Demers. Like Chavez, Demers had the height and reach on you. Did you pick up anything in the Demers fight that will help you against Chavez?
The thing with Demers is that I had a broken hand from training in that fight. I could only use my left hand in that fight. It is 100% right now though. It wasn’t in my last fight against Rumbolz but it’s good now. Demers is a good fighter but I wasn’t going to pull out of that fight. I think I did pretty good with only one good hand. Demers was a good learning experience but he is a lot bigger then Chavez. It was a pretty good fight to get ready for this one though. Obviously Demers won the fight clearly but I would fight him again in a heart beat. With two hands it would probably be a different story. I’ve been staying in the gym, staying busy in the ring and now it is Chavez’s turn.

Are there concerns about being able to win a decision? If you can, talk about your game plan a little against Chavez.
Basically I think we have to knock him out to win. I want to kick the shit out of him for every round. It is going to be hell on him and it is going to be hell on me. This won‘t be anything knew for me. I have been in with a lot of tough guys, a lot tougher then he has. I am ready to go. That is about all I can say. I am as ready as I can possibly be.