Chavez Jr. vs. Rubio: Why a Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Win Is Good for Boxing

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. defeating Marco Antonio Rubio in defense of his WBC middleweight title this Saturday night in San Antonio, Texas is the best result for boxing. 

Chavez Jr. is the son of legendary Mexican fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and won 107 fights during his career, 89 via knockout.

Chavez Jr. enters the bout with a flawless 44-0-1 record at the young age of 25. However, the knock on the famous fighting son is that he has yet to face the competition necessary to make him worthy of his title.

That will not be the case for long, though, now that a veteran boxer in Rubio stands in the way of Chavez's unblemished career record. Rubio is 53-5-1 over his career, and is six years older than Chavez Jr.

Rubio has reeled off 10-straight wins, however—nine via technical knockout—proving he would be the toughest opponent Chavez Jr. has ever faced and effectively securing Chavez Jr. as the middleweight's best.

And quite simply, that's good for boxing.

Chavez Jr. is so young, he's been a pro since he was just 17. He has years ahead of him and likely has yet to reach his fighting prime. A win on Saturday night would build upon his growing mystique and set him up to become a force in the sport for another decade.

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He was unformed. He was around boxing, of course, his whole life. But he hadn't had much experience. Now, today, he is truly an experienced veteran fighter and a world champion, and believe you me, he has demonstrated in his last few fights he deserves the accolade of world champion. - Boxing promoter Bob Arum on Chavez Jr, via ESPN.com

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Chavez Jr. simply has more to lose and more to gain by fighting Saturday night in the Alamodome. His reputation can be bolstered, but his undefeated mark could be scarred.

Like Floyd Mayweather Jr, he has defeated everyone who has tried to beat him, and that's good for boxing. If there is a dominant name that fans and viewers can get behind every now and then, the public doesn't seem so detached from the sport.

A Rubio win would simply go unnoticed. The storyline of the veteran Mexican putting the famous son in his place would last for about a day, whereas the one featuring the famous son silencing the doubters to remain undefeated keeps the hype turned up heading into the next Chavez Jr. fight.

The time is now for Chavez and for boxing.