Chavez Jr retains belt

San Antonio - Julio Cesar Chavez Jr retained the WBC middleweight title on Saturday, earning a unanimous decision over fellow Mexican Marco Antonio Rubio.

The judges scored the bout 118-110, 116-112 115-113 for Chavez, which drew a mixed reaction from the 14 120 in attendance on Saturday at the Alamodome.

Neither fighter went down despite taking continuous heavy blows to the head and body throughout the 12-round bout.

Chavez (45-0-1-1) overcame a gutsy performance by Rubio (53-6-1) despite having some trouble entering the fight.

Chavez, who hails from Culiacan, struggled to make weight for the championship bout and was arrested on drunken driving charges on January 22 in Los Angeles.