Chavez Jnr hopes to extend unbeaten WBC run

World Boxing Council middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr aims to keep his unbeaten record intact when he defends his title for the first time on Saturday against Peter Manfredo. The son of Hall of Fame boxer Julio Cesar Chavez will be defending the title he won in a unanimous decision over Germany's Sebastian Zbik five months ago. "Once you become world champion, you accept the responsibility of training hard and getting better," Chavez said. "I want to be champion for a long time. I've never trained this hard for a fight. I want to give the people of Houston a great fight." Chavez's (43-0-1, 30 KOs) first title defence was originally supposed to be against Ronald Hearns, son of another boxing legend. Hearns, 32, is the son of Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, who is the first boxer to win four world titles in four divisions. They were supposed to fight in September, but Ronald Hearns had to back out after cutting his hand on a ceiling fan. Manfredo (37-6, 20 KOs), has won six straight fights and is the fourth-ranked middleweight contender. The 30-year-old American said he would retire if he loses to Chavez but if he takes the belt he wants to go out in style with a big payday. "Knowing this is my last shot, I've trained extremely hard for this," said Manfredo, 30. "I'm ready to fight, and I'm ready to take this title back to little Providence, Rhode Island. The 26-year-old Chavez, of Mexico, is now trained by Manny Pacquiao's corner man Freddie Roach. He feels he is more focused and works harder with Roach guiding him. "I trained with my family for a long time, but it's different than training with a great trainer like Freddie Roach," Chavez said. "He has given me a lot of discipline. He has taught me a lot about being a professional. He's given me that dedication through training to get ready."