CRUNCH TIME FOR CHAVEZ Jr

World Boxing Council Middleweight Champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr's nickname is: "The legend Continues," but his next opponent is determined to try and bring all that crashing down to earth, with one almighty toxic bump.

Fellow Mexican and fellow northerner Marco Antonio "Poison" Rubio, who's the number one WBC middleweight contender, isn't feeling very neighbourly right now. He's threatening to KO Julio Jr, when they fight on February 4th, at the Alamodome in San Antonio Texas. Rubio wants to take on the formidable Sergio Martinez... after that.

Rubio (54-5, 47 KO's) has won ten straight fights,- nine by TKO's, since he was savaged by Kelly Pavlik, being unable to come out for the tenth round in his February 2009 crack at the WBC Middleweight title.

He's been training at high altitude in the steep mountains looming over the City of Toluca,

and is focused to the extent of conceding, that this is almost certainly his last chance to win the World Title.

Praising WBC Champion Chavez Jr, as fast and significantly improved, Rubio is predicting he KO him sometime around the seventh round or thereafter.

In a speaker enhanced telephone call to WBC Headquarters, Rubio blaringly confirmed that a KO is his best option, because of what he terms Chavez's television support, and also due to his famous surname. He vowed: "I'm going to pressure, pressure and pressure Julio Jr. I'm going to KO him or get KO'd trying.

"After the fight, I have to physically recover, but I'll be fighting Sergio Martinez next. He's a Champion who I have a lot of respect for."

Undefeated Chavez Jr ( 46-0-1, with one no contest and 31 Ko's) has greatly improved due to the training genius of Freddie Roach. This'll be his second defense, following winning the title, by defeating Sebastian Zbik of Germany last June.

Unfancied Rubio weathered a storm unleashed by power puncher David Lemieux in Montreal, Quebec, in April last year, turning the tide, to force a stoppage seven seconds before the seventh round. And he predicted that history would repeat itself suggesting: "I fought back to defeat David Lemieux. I hope to repeat that story with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr."