By Jason Kim: Unbeaten number #1 ranked WBC contender Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (42-0-1, 30 KO’s) faces easily the biggest test of his eight years as a pro when he faces World Boxing Council middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik (30-0, 10 KO’s) next month on June 4th at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California.

For the 25-year-old Chavez Jr, whose development as a fighter has been glacial in terms of being matched against top tier talent, will have to show what he’s got against the 29-year-old Zbik.

Even though Zbik isn’t the best fighter in the middleweight division and is considered by many to be the textbook definition of a paper champion, he’s still a heck of a lot better than the B, C and D level fighter that Chavez Jr. has been put in with for most of his career while building his impressive looking unbeaten record.

If Chavez Jr. can beat Zbik, he’s going to have to make a decision about whether to face Sergio Martinez, the former WBC champion who was recently stripped of his title by the WBC, or to avoid him and take on whoever his promoter Bob Arum wants him to.

Arum might have other ideas for Chavez Jr. to face guys that he can beat and milk his title against rather than facing Martinez and likely get torn apart in a short fight. Chavez Jr. would likely do poorly against a quality fighter like Martinez. But against Zbik, it’s a toss-up fight, because Zbik isn’t that great either.

Both Chavez Jr. and Zbik are good serviceable fighters. They’re better than a lot of guys in the division but not truly top fighters that can hold onto the title without a lot of careful management. If you put either one of them in with Martinez or Gennady Golovkin, to name just a couple of dangerous fighters, bad things are going to happen to Zbik and Chavez.

However, they’re both capable of milking the WBC title for a little while if given the chance. It’s hard to say who will win between these two because they both look so awfully limited. Chavez Jr. isn’t a big puncher and doesn’t have blazing hand speed. And his defense is rather poor to put it mildly. Zbik seems to have the better boxing skills but is even slower than Chavez Jr. and lacks power.

Zbik can jab you all night long if you let him, but has problems if you pressure him and get in close. If Chavez Jr. isn’t able to take him out, Zbik is going to make a mess of Chavez’s face with his jabs and power shots. Chavez Jr. might still win but he’s going to get marked up badly by Zbik unless he takes him out before the 7th round.