By Dan Ambrose: #1 ranked World Boxing Council middleweight contender Marco Antonio Rubio (53-5-1, 46 KO’s) could ruin Top Rank CEO Bob Arum’s big plans on putting his popular fighter WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31 KO’s) in a series of high profile high paying bouts against the likes of Miguel Cotto and other fighters in the division not named Sergio Martinez.

Rubio, 31, has a big chance of crushing Arum’s grand vision for the 25-year-old Chavez Jr. by knocking him out or outpointing him next month on February 4th when they go at in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas in a fight that will be televised on HBO.

It’s not going to be easy for Rubio because they’re not going to hand him a decision in this fight over a popular money maker like Chavez Jr. This guy is good for boxing because he brings in high ratings from the casual boxing fans due his famous father Julio Cesar Chavez. He doesn’t have to accomplish a 1/10th of what his father did and yet gets the fan support just on being the son of a boxing legend.

Rubio will be going up against all that next month and it’s pretty obvious that he’s going to need to really pound Chavez Jr. to get a decision. My guess is that it may take as many as three knockdowns or more to ensure he gets the nod by a decision and even then, I’m not so sure.

Rubio’s best bet is to jump on Chavez Jr. immediately and try to knock him out as quick as possible. Even if Rubio doesn’t, he’ll be getting rounds in the bank and will be wearing Chavez Jr. down slowly but surely for the later rounds. Chavez Jr. has a high profile trainer in Freddie Roach, but he still wears down and gets hit just as much as he did before he started training with Roach.

Rubio needs to go all out and turn the fight into a brawl and look to smash Chavez Jr. Whatever Rubio does, he can’t let Chavez Jr. fight at his own pace because he does well if he can fight in a slow and controlled manner where he’s the one setting the pace, and initiating the action.

Chavez Jr. likes to get plenty of rest breaks and he does well if he can keep it slow. If Rubio can push the amp to the way up, he’ll get Chavez Jr. fighting out of control and using up his energy at the same time. It’ll work for Rubio either way and he’ll have a great chance of ruining Arum’s big dreams for Chavez Jr.