Chavez Jr. looks like a huge light heavyweight in training photos for Rubio fight

By Boxing News - 01/26/2012 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: In looking at WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s training photos at fightnews.com, I don’t know how he’s going to be able to drain down to make the 160 pound weight limit for his February 4th fight against Marco Antonio Rubio (53-5-1, 46 KO’s).

Chavez Jr. looks like a massive light heavyweight right now. Actually, Chavez Jr. looks like he’s a shade less than 190lbs in the photos and there’s only nine more days before his fight against Rubio at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

My guess Chavez Jr. is right around 185lbs to 188lbs. That kind of weight won’t come off in nine days and I just don’t know what kind of water ridding strategies Chavez Jr., his trainer Freddie Roach and strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza will be using to get Chavez Jr. down to 160 for the weigh-in the day before the fight on February 3rd.

To be sure, I’m sure they’ll have Chavez Jr. right on 160 lbs by the time the weigh-in happens, but I just don’t know how well Chavez Jr. will be feeling the next day after he re-hydrates. I think he’ll be no less than 180 when he fights Rubio on February 4th, and that’s going to give Chavez Jr. a huge weight advantage in the fight because Rubio comes into his fights just a little over 160.

He’s a natural middleweight and not a light heavyweight or a cruiserweight that drains down to 160 to make the class. Rubio will be like David against Goliath in this fight because he’s going to be so much lighter and shorter.

I think Chavez Jr. won’t be able to fight too much longer at middleweight looking as big as he is right now without him being weakened by the dehydration process he has to do to get to 160. Rubio might be too bad off in this fight because Chavez Jr. doesn’t punch his weight.

For a huge guy like him, Chavez Jr. is more like a junior middleweight in terms of power. Rubio is clearly the bigger puncher in this fight, but he’s just to find a way to deal with someone that is a lot taller and a lot heavier than him. It’s not going to be easy.



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