By Miguel Rivera

The WBC has rejected Marco Antonio Rubio's demand to replace Saturday's referee, Lupe Garcia of Mexico. Rubio (53-5-1, 46KOs) challenges WMC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (44-0-1, 31KOs) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Rubio put in a request to replace Garcia, because he's not comfortable with a Mexican referee being involved in the fight. He wants a non-Mexican referee. Rubio is paranoid that Garcia will be influenced by outside pressure because the champion is the son of Julio Cesar Chavez.

Jose Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, confirmed that a letter was received from Rubion's promoters, Oswald and Reginald Kuchle, requesting the removal of Garcia. The organization has their full confidence in Garcia, says Sulaiman.

"The appointment of Lupe follows an agreement that we had with Dick Cole, director of the Texas Commission. They agreed that from now on referees from other countries are able to work WBC title fights in Texas. This is a great opportunity. That is why, in agreement with Cole, we carefully chose Lupe. The truth is, this is the first time that someone rejected a referee with international experience in world championship fights," Sulaiman said.

"We hope that Rubio and his team will have confidence in Lupe Garcia. This is not a dirty fight, but a match between two guys who go about their business. Both of them are excellent fighters, clean, and have an advantage because the referee speaks Spanish. There could be a problem if you appoint someone who does not speak our language. The WBC gives a vote of confidence to Lupe. Will be someone there to witness what happens. We are confident that everything will be fine."