The first major boxing title fight will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Feb. 4th as Mexico’s Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31 KOs) will attempt to defend the WBC Middleweight Championship against fellow countryman Marco Antonio Rubio (53-5-1, 46 KOs). This fight, which is billed as ‘Welcome to the Future,’ basically features a boxer (Chavez) against a slugger in Rubio. It could quickly turn into a slugfest since Chavez often abandons his boxing skills during bouts.
This is considered by many to be the first major test for the 25-year-old Chavez, who’s the son of the boxing legend of the same name. If he passes it, promoter Bob Arum hopes to line up some huge money fights for him against some of the world’s top fighters in such as Miguel Cotto, Sergio Martinez, and Antonio Margarito. However, he better not look past Rubio, since the challenger packs quite a bit of power in his fists.
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Arum feels that Chavez is ready to step up in class if he can get by Rubio in impressive fashion. A fight with Martinez might be a little hard to arrange since many fans and Martinez himself feel Chavez is ducking him. Arum said Martinez’s is overrated, but has still stalled on making a date with him even though the WBC mandated a fight between the two.
A lot of fans feel Chavez’s record is pretty inflated and he hasn’t really fought any quality opponents yet. Martinez of Argentina is 37 years old and is considered to be the true WBC Middleweight Champion, but had his title stripped from him. While a win over Rubio might silence some of Chavez’s critics, it’s not going to earn him a big payday even though the fight’s going to be shown on HBO and quite a few tickets should be sold in San Antonio for the event.
Chavez might be a little nervous when meeting the 31-year-old Rubio since so much is on the line for him. Rubio is in the later stages of his career at this point and will need to be properly motivated against Chavez. While Chavez might not have too much in the power department, he is pretty accurate with his punches and usually lets his fists go instead of sitting back and waiting. Even if Rubio wins, he’s not going to be a big name in the sport and multi-million dollar paydays won’t be easy to find. Obviously, his chances are going to be a lot better if he takes Chavez’s title though.
Chavez won his belt against Sebastian Zbik by a majority decision in June and defended it once by stopping Peter Manfredo Jr in the fifth round in November. Rubio is 10-0 with nine KOs in his last 10 bouts.
The unbeaten Chavez has the benefit of having Freddie Roach in his corner and he could earn his money if Chavez gets rattled. In a boxing match, the 6-foot-tall Chavez has all of the advantages, such as in speed and movement, but if it turns into a brawl, Rubio, who’s 5-feet-10, should be slightly favoured. If he can walk through Chavez’s best shots then it could be a classic.
Sportsbook 5dimes.com has the odds of Chavez retaining his title at -400 with a Rubio win at +325. Visit 5Dimes.com to place your bet…
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. betting • Marco Antonio Rubio betting