Photos/Weights: Rubio vs. Miranda, Chavez vs. Tsumani

By Jake Donovan

House favorite Marco Antonio Rubio and Colombia’s Dionisio Miranda both made weight for what now serves as a pivotal middleweight matchup Saturday in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Rubio came in at 159¾ lb in a fight where a win will potentially line up a vacant title fight fight rematch with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Miranda came in slightly lighter at 159¼ lb.

The fight is the latest in what has become a productive year for Rubio (57-6-1, 49KO), who was reinserted as the mandatory challenger to Sergio Martinez earlier this year. The move came about as a result of an agreement reached between his team and the WBC, over the mishandling of promised drug testing for last year’s points loss to Chavez Jr. in Texas.

Rubio has won four straight since that fight, all of which have taken place in that Mexico. His most recent victory came earlier this year in a unanimous decision over Marcus Upshaw.

Miranda (22-8-2, 19KO) also last fought in March, scoring a 4th round injury stoppage over Oleg Liseev on the road in Russia. The feat ended a two-fight skid, with his last previous win coming in an upset over Lajuan Simon in Dec. ’10.

In the evening’s co-feature, wildly popular Jessica Chavez welcomes visiting Tenkai Tsumani of Japan in a 10-round bout. Chavez (18-3-2, 4KO) came in at 113 lb; Tsunami (18-7, 7KO) was significantly lighter at 111½ lb.

Both bouts will air live on Mexico Televisa and will also stream live on WBC’s website.

A bout that may or may not make its way to the telecast carries significance for Marcos Reyes, who attempts to avenge the lone loss of his career. The fringe middleweight contender gets his chance in a rematch with Amilcar Edgardo Funes.

Reyes (27-1, 22KO) weighed 159¾ lb, while Argentina’s Funes (22-12, 17KO) was nearly a full division lighter at 154¾ lb. The fight was clearly an upset when it happened, further proven in their in-ring results since that night; Reyes has won 14 straight while Funes hasn’t won since, heading into this weekend having lost four straight.

Rounding out the undercard is the latest step in the pro career of Oscar Molina. A member of the 2012 Mexico Olympic boxing squad, Molina (6-0, 5KO) turned pro earlier this year and has hit the ground running. The unbeaten super welterweight prospect weighed 152¾ lb. for his scheduled six-round bout with Ruben Juarez, who came in at 154¾ lb.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox