By Dan Ambrose: In his first non-mandatory title defense of his WBC middleweight belt, unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (43-0-1, 30 Ko’s) will be taking on either Peter Manfredo Jr. (37-6, 20 KO’s) or Darren Barker (23-0, 14 Ko’s) on September 24th. Number #1 ranked World Boxing Council contender Marco Antonio Rubio is reportedly out of the running for a fight against Chavez Jr. and it’s not hard to see why.

Rubio can really punch and Chavez Jr. is incredibly easy to hit. If his trainer Freddie Roach can’t fix this problem Chavez Jr’s time as a champion will be brutally short. Instead of taking on the dangerous Rubio, Chavez Jr. is being steered towards the lighter hitting Mandredo and Barker.

Manfredo, ranked #6 by the WBC, has won his last six fights over 2nd tier opposition after being blown out by Sakio Bika in a 3rd round stoppage in November 2008. Manfredo was also beaten by Jeff Lacy by a 10 round decision in December 2007, and was destroyed by Joe Calzaghe by a 3rd round TKO in April 2007. Like Chavez Jr., Manfredo does a good job against B and C level opponents but struggles against top guys.

Chavez Jr. barely beat Sebastian Zbik, a fighter that isn’t considered to be anywhere near the same class as former WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. Chavez Jr. was hit a lot in that fight and seemed to win it on size alone, as he came into the fight weighing an incredible 180 pounds against the 165 pound Zbik after both fighters had rehydraded.

Barker, 29, is ranked number #3 by the WBC but has faced mostly domestic and European level opposition during his seven year pro career. Barker has only faced on contender during all those years and that was fringe contender Domenico Spada, who Barker barely beat in his last fight by a close 12 round decision in April.

It’s doubtful that Barker will get a shot at Chavez Jr. because I rate him higher than Manfredo Jr. Barker can box a little and would give Chavez Jr. some problems. I think Chavez Jr. would beat him if he comes into the fight weighing 180 again but it would still be a very tough fight for the young Chavez Jr. I see Manfredo Jr. getting the call for Chavez because Manfredo Jr. is slow of hand and is vulnerable early in his fights if he’s attacked with quick and hard shots thrown in flurries.