|
Marco Antonio Rubio is finally a
world champion, after failed
attempts at middleweight against
Kelly Pavlik and Julio Cesar
Chavez Jr., as he captured the
vacant World Boxing Federation
World Super Middleweight title
by defeating former world
champion Carlos Manuel Baldomir
on Saturday night (Sept. 8) in
Celaya, Mexico.
Rubio put on an impressive
performance and totally
dominated the cagey Argentinean,
and eventually made Baldomir,
who has beaten the likes of Zab
Judah and Arturo Gatti, and gone
the distance with Floyd
Mayweather Jr., retire on his
stool before the start of the
fifth round.
32-year-old “El Veneno” hurt
Baldomir already in the first
round with a hard right hand,
but the visitor from Santa Fe
quickly recovered. In the second
Rubio started to punch more in
combinations, and Baldomir began
to clinch in order to escape the
Mexicans punishing blows.
In rounds three and four, Rubio
derailed that strategy by using
his longer reach to keep
Baldomir at bay, continuously
connecting with combinations and
it looked like a steep up-hill
battle for the courageous
veteran. As the fourth round
came to an end, Baldomir was
already seriously marked in the
face, and he didn’t come out for
round five.
The new WBF World Champion
improved his professional record
to 55-6-1 (48), while Baldomir’s
ledger dropped to 49-15-6 (15).
This was only the third time
that Baldomir lost inside the
distance, but at 41 years of age
he can no longer stay with
murderous punchers such as
Rubio.
The fight, staged at the Estadio
Miguel Aleman and promoted by HG
Boxing and Promociones Del
Pueblo, was televised live
throughout Mexico on Televisa.
|
