By Osman Rodriguez

Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas - WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (45-0-1, 31KOs) passed the biggest test of his career with a gutsy twelve round unanimous decision win over mandatory challenger Marco Antonio Rubio (53-6-1, 46KOs). The scores were 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113.

A feeling out process in the first round. Chavez established his hooks to the body, while Rubio was more active. In the second, the roles were reversed with Chavez being the more active and more accurate fighter. As third came round, Chavez started to bull his way forward on the inside and outworked Rubio with punches to the body and short combinations to the head. Because Rubio refused to move back and give himself the necessary space to work, he allowed Chavez to work him over on the inside and gave certain rounds away because of that.

The two fighters were slowing down by the ninth round. Chavez was really slowing down in the tenth, while Rubio started outworking him. Chavez made it a slugging match in the eleventh, standing and trading with Rubio in a toe to toe battle to get the crowd on their feet. They gave it their all in the twelfth round with another toe to toe battle until the bell.