Chavez Jr. vs. Rubio: Preview, Start Time, Live Streaming and TV Schedule

In a middleweight title fight for the ages, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will defend the WBC Middleweight Championship against Marco Antonio Rubio this Saturday night. 

Chavez Jr. is putting his title and unbeaten record on the line in this fight. He will be making his second defense of the belt since winning it from Sebastian Zbik last June. 

Rubio is trying to keep his incredible roll going and win the WBC Middleweight title for the first time in his career. He won five fights in 2011 alone, and nine since the start of 2010, albeit against weak, inferior competition. 

Where: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas

When: Saturday, Feb. 4 at 10:00 p.m. EDT 

Watch: HBO

Live Streaming: HBO.com

Main Card

Middleweight Championship: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (c) vs. Marco Antonio Rubio

Super Bantamweight Championship: Nonito Donaire (c) vs. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. 

Chavez Jr.'s Keys To Victory

The biggest reason that Chavez is in the position that he is in is because of the competition that he has faced. To say that he has been given cupcakes would be an insult to cupcakes, but he has defeated everyone put in front of him with his frenetic style on offense. 

He is not going to win a technical battle, because he is not the most efficient fighter, but he does boast enough power in his punches to keep the older, slower Rubio off balance. He needs to keep up the attack in the early rounds before trying to finish it late. 

Rubio's Keys To Victory

Improve cardio while finding a way to land punches early and often. 

Rubio is more of a brawler than a fighter, though he does not possess enough power in his punches to actually be effective against better competition like that. He needs to use his right hand and jab to make sure that Chavez respects his striking. 

He will have to stun the champion early to keep his confidence high and prove that he deserves to be taken seriously. If he can do that, he will have a great chance to walk away with the title. 

What They Are Saying

Chavez has been linked to a fight with Sergio Martinez in the past, but nothing has come about yet because his camp is afraid of him losing his first fight. He addressed the situation in an interview with Diego Morilla of ESPN.com.

"

The truth is that there haven't been any negotiations or anything. Simply, as everyone has seen, he has been talking about me, mouthing off and making statements. I expect to win on [Saturday] and then I want to make that fight. If there is a deal to be made, I would love to fight Sergio Martinez.

"

Prediction

Top Rank put this fight together with the sole purpose of making Chavez look good against an inferior fighter in the twilight of his career. He will make the promoters look smart with a dominant decision victory. 

Chavez retains the WBC Middleweight Title via unanimous decision