Donaire, one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, vacated his two bantamweight belts and is moving up in weight to face former junior featherweight titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. for the now-vacant 122-pound belt Vazquez used to hold.
A news conference to announce the card is scheduled for Tuesday in San Antonio.
Chavez claimed a middleweight belt in June via majority decision against Sebastian Zbik and made his first defense on Nov. 19, a fifth-round TKO of Peter Manfredo Jr.
“The new year promises to be even bigger for Julio, but first he is in a difficult challenge against No. 1-ranked challenger Marco Antonio Rubio,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. “This should be a real battle.”
Whether Chavez’s belt will be at stake is unclear because the WBC earlier this month ordered him to defend against lineal champion Sergio Martinez, who very badly wants to fight Chavez. The WBC’s order left open the possibility of the mandatory fight being put off if the Chavez and Martinez camps can come to an alternative agreement.
Arum, however, has no interest in making a fight in which Chavez would be a massive underdog. Martinez is pressing the WBC to strip Chavez, so the status of the belt is up in the air.
“We know Chavez is fighting Rubio on Feb. 4 in San Antonio, but some things need to be cleaned up,” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. “There needs to be more clarity with regard to the WBC situation. But it’s been known for a while that Chavez is fighting on Feb. 4 and that Sergio Martinez is going to fight in March.
