Chávez Jr. had a win against John Duddy, in what many regard as his first serious fight. In December 2010, Alfonso Gómez was signed to match up against the undefeated Chávez Jr. at middleweight (the contracted weight was 157) for Chávez Jr.'s WBC Silver Middleweight belt on the In Harm's Way card as the main event. However, during training for the bout, Alfonso tore some ligaments in his left elbow and had to withdraw from the card and undergo a few months of rehab. For his part, Chávez Jr. was set to fight Paweł Wolak as a replacement bout, but after adjusting the weight limit for said match to 165 lbs, Chávez Jr. had to pull out due to the flu messing up his training and weight loss and then in January he went on to beat title contender Billy Lyell. Chávez Jr. vs. Zbik On 4 June 2011, Chávez defeated WBC Middleweight Champion Sebastian Zbik to win his first world title at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, taking a major step toward establishing his own legacy while his famous father looked on. He was behind early against Zbik, who was the quicker fighter and landed more punches early. But Chávez kept coming forward, countering with hard body shots that seemed to slow his German opponent down. The fight drew 1.5 million viewers on HBO: Boxing After Dark making it the most viewed since 2007 when Paulie Malignaggi fought Lovemore Ndou. Chávez Jr. vs. Manfredo Jr. Chávez Jr. successfully defended his Middleweight title with a fifth-round knockout of Peter Manfredo Jr. in Houston on 19 November 2011. Chávez was marginally outworked, but he landed a higher percentage of punches and more power shots than Manfredo. In the fifth round, Chávez hurt Manfredo with a hard right hand and unloaded a flurry when the challenger wobbled and backed up on the ropes. He didn't answer with any punches and referee Laurence Cole finally stepped in to call it at 1 minutes, 52 seconds. The fight averaged 1.5 million viewers on HBO. Chávez Jr. vs. Rubio On 4 February 2012, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Chávez faced Mexican countryman Marco Antonio Rubio in a 12-round scheduled championship Middleweight bout. Chávez Jr. retained his WBC Middleweight title after beating Rubio by a unanimous decision. Chávez bossed the majority of the exchanges and was awarded the fight 118-110 116-112 115–113