Boxing: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. misses weight before fight with Daniel Jacobs

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Photo / Getty

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been dealt a devastating blow before his fight against Daniel Jacobs even gets underway.

The Mexican boxing star was only officially cleared for the bout earlier this week after he successfully obtained a Temporary Restraining Order against the Nevada State Athletic Commission, to lift a suspension and allowing him to fight.

But the real trouble began when Chavez, a former super middleweight champ, stood on the stage at the weigh-ins and stepped up to the scales.

Jacobs had already stripped down and came in under the super middleweight division limit of 168 pounds - at 167.7 pounds.

Then it was Chavez's time.

The scales continued to climb before officially stopping at 172.7 pounds - a long way over the allowed limit and putting the fight in serious jeopardy.

Jacobs and his team made a deal for the fight to stay on at a new weight of 173 pounds, but Chavez would be slugged US$1 million (NZ$1.5m) of his roughly $3 million paycheck.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., as others have reported, completely blew the 168-pound limit, weighing in at a shade under 173. Just like with Andy Ruiz, this is a strong signal that Chavez did not take his training seriously. @ChavaESPN first reported.

— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) December 19, 2019

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr is the quintessential case of a fighter who never faces any repercussions doing whatever the hell he wants.

— Mark Ortega (@MarkEOrtega) December 19, 2019

Chavez had it all, name, size, chin, resources, but he keeps being lazy and disrespecting his legacy, all his videos "training" are in his home, hope this is the last train for him and retire for his own good

— Ram (@akip87) December 19, 2019

Thankfully the 12-round fight will go on, taking place in Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena.

"It doesn't bother us at all. Danny's still gonna beat his a**," Jacobs' manager Keith Connolly told ESPN.

Chavez's last major fight came back in 2017 when he was comprehensively beaten by the dominant Canelo Alvarez.

He fought Evert Bravo in August, scoring a first round knockout against the lesser known opponent.

Jacobs' last fight came against Alvarez, and although he suffered the same fate as Chavez, he made the bout competitive.