PORTLAND -- Jason LeHoullier got the news and didn't blink. He had an opponent, a fight date and a location.

So the opponent is Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. So the place for the 10-round light middleweight fight is the Mexican resort of Nuevo Vallarta. So what.

"I'm excited, man," LeHoullier said. "I've got nothing to lose. This is what you fight for."

LeHoullier will climb into the ring July 25 to face the son and namesake of the most celebrated athlete in Mexico, Julio Cesar Chavez. Fight posters bill it as Latin Fury 10. The featured undercard bout has Yuriorkis Gamboa, a gold medalist in the flyweight division for Cuba in the 2004 Olympics before he defected, fighting Whyber Garcia, a native of Panama.

"I've never fought outside the U.S.," LeHoullier said before starting his workout Wednesday night at the Portland Boxing Club.

He was told Hispanic fight fans are especially passionate. As an Anglo, he has no expectations of winning a decision. He must knock out Chavez Jr.

"(Chavez Jr.) has the exact same left hook to the body like his old man," said Bob Russo, LeHoullier's trainer and manager. "It's like they patented it.

"Otherwise, the kid is nothing like the old man. He's taller, heavier and stands up a lot when he fights. He has a 38-0-1 record but it's mostly against, you know, opponents. He didn't have an amateur career."

Meaning, opponents were signed to test the young Chavez but not beat him. The elder Chavez retired in 2005 after winning 107 fights and losing six, along with two draws. He had an 88-fight win streak and won six titles in three weight classes. His 23-year-old son spent much of his childhood watching his father in the gym.

LeHoullier is 31, with a record of 21-1-1 after eight years as a pro. He was matched with WBC light middleweight champ Vernon Forrest in a non-title fight in April 2008 in Ledyard, Conn. The fight was postponed once to May and moved to California before it was canceled when Forrest hurt his ribs during sparring.

"I was disappointed, sure," LeHoullier said. "But things happen for a reason. I've got this fight. If I lose the decision down there, people will understand. (If) I fight well, I win because it should lead to other fights."

LeHoullier usually starts slowly, taking punches to give punches. He has been a tough but sometimes unimaginative fighter. His last fight was his first loss. Harry Joe Yorgey beat LeHoullier on a split decision last August in Nashville, Tenn.

"I'm more mature, but I still keep coming at you," LeHoullier said. "My style has never changed.

"I have been jumping rope for this fight and I've never done that before. I hate jumping rope, but I want to move against this guy."