Marco Antonio Rubio fights Matt Vanda for the vacant WBC Latino Middleweight title
He's 31 years old, has lost five fights (three by KO) and was hammered in a world title bout two years ago, but Mexico's Marco Antonio Rubio is now one of the hottest middleweights in the world, the WBC´s no.1 contender, and takes a nine bout winning streak (8 KOs) into his fight against iron jawed Matt Vanda for the vacant WBC Latino Middleweight title on Friday night in the main event at the Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas.
Far from looking like the stereotypical Mexican fighter (dark skin, wide jaw, strong build), Rubio (52-5-1, 45 KOs), with his pencil mustache, pasty physique and surprised expression, looks more like a waiter who has just pulled his shirt off and jumped into the ring than a boxer. But don't let appearances fool you: Rubio is very much a wolf in sheep's clothing, a true ring warrior with the highest KO ratio of any top middleweight.
An eleven year pro veteran, Rubio established himself as a knockout artist early on in his career, but so keen was he to land his KO punches, he was caught cold himself in his seventh pro fight – iced in two rounds by Saul Roman in 2001. He KO'd Roman in a 2003 rematch and by the time he faced Ghana's Kofi Jantuah for the WBC international light middleweight title in September 2004, Rubio's record was 27-1-1 with 24 KOs, twelve in the first round.
Rubio's world came crashing down when he ran into a 'Hail Mary' of a left hook from Jantuah early in the first round. Despite desperately trying to get back on his feet, Rubio was gone and the referee waved the fight off after just 33 seconds of action. It was a devastating setback for the Mexican puncher, but he put it behind him and was soon back in the winning column, stopping fading former three-time world champion Frankie Randall in three rounds in January 2005.
Six more victories, including an eighth round TKO over Russian contender Aslanbek Kodzoev reestablished Rubio as a title threat, but he suffered another setback when he lost a split decision to former IBF light middleweight champion Kassim Ouma in a WBO title eliminator in May 2006. Four months later, Rubio lost a 12 round decision to Zaurbek Baysangurov in the Ukraine which left the Mexican's career in tatters.
It says much for Rubio's resolve and self belief that he set about rebuilding his career yet again, and two months later he was back in the ring, stopping prospect Octavio Castro in two rounds. Rubio kept winning, and in October 2008, won a split decision over countryman Enrique Ornelas in a WBC middleweight title eliminator for the dubious distinction of a shot at the most fearsome fighter in the world at that time – pound-for-pound - Youngstown's murderous punching Kelly Pavlik.
With his battering ram left jab and sledgehammer right cross, Pavlik was laying waste to all those who crossed his path in the middleweight division. Just months before facing Rubio, Pavlik had had his bubble burst when he was handed a boxing lesson and his first defeat as a professional, in a light heavyweight bout against former middleweight champion (and future light heavyweight king) Bernard Hopkins. Now Pavlik was back at 160 pounds, and looking to take out his frustrations at losing for the first time on Rubio.
And that in effect is exactly what happened; Rubio for his part displayed incredible toughness, resilience and determination in surviving nine rounds of Pavlik's bombs before his corner pulled him out. Although he didn't win a round on any of the ringside judges scorecards, Rubio was never off his feet, and went a long way to dispel his reputation of having a glass jaw.
In his nine fights since losing to Pavlik, Rubio has been looking increasingly impressive, none more so than his come from behind seventh round TKO over the previously undefeated Canadian puncher David Lemieux in Quebec. The squat, powerfully built 22 -year-old Lemieux won the first five rounds with his nonstop attack and powerful hooks, but when Rubio opened up with some vicious right hand counters in the seventh round, it was all over.
Like many Mexican boxers, Rubio employs a classic European fighting style – orthodox stance, high defense, a textbook left jab and a telling right cross. He is adept at throwing vicious hooks to the body, and despite his unimpressive physique, generates tremendous power in all of his shots. Although he is the WBC's no.1 contender, neither current WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr nor WBC diamond middleweight champion Sergio Martinez seem to be in any rush to share a ring with him.
Rubio will look to stay active as he awaits another crack at a world title with a fight against the extremely tough American Matt Vanda in Las Vegas on Friday night.
33-year-old Vanda (44-13, 24 KOs) has been in the punch for pay ranks since 1996, and was once a hot prospect, going 31-0 before running into Armando Valardez in August 2004 and getting TKO'd in eight rounds, his only career stoppage loss thus far. Vanda scored a career best win when he outpointed former IBF light middleweight champion Yori Boy Campas in June 2006, but his limitations as a fighter were obvious when he dropped a decision to journeyman Martinus Clay in his very next fight.
Since then, the heavily tattooed Vanda has slipped into the role of quality opponent, though up until 2010, he was winning more fights than he lost. Vanda came within a whisker of pulling off a colossal upset when he held future WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr to a split decision in July 2008, but was well beaten in a rematch four months later. In February 2009 Vanda was outpointed by John Duddy, and after winning three straight against moderate opposition, he was beaten in January 2010 by Peter Manfredo Junior.
Vanda is 2-4 since 2010, and is not getting any better, a fact which was made clear when he dropped a decision in February of this year to a 40-year-old Yori Boy Campas, the man he had beaten for his breakthrough victory six years earlier. Vanda is powerfully built, and fights in a similar style to that of Australian lightweight Michael Katsidis.
Vanda's only hope of scoring an upset is that Rubio enters the ring under-prepared and with his eye on a potential 2012 world title fight. Vanda showed against Manfredo Jr that he is still capable of slipping punches and landing a decent right hand. 24 career KOs proves that the American can hit, and we know that Rubio can be stopped, so a shock result is not an impossibility.
However, the most likely option is that Rubio boxes behind a tight guard and looks to catch the onrushing Vanda with vicious right crosses. The American has a warrior mentality toward ring warfare, and defense has never been his strong-point, making him the perfect opponent for a sharpshooter like Marco Antonio Rubio. Expect some furious exchanges in the early rounds, with the American inevitably coming off second best.
Although Vanda has not been stopped in seven years, I think that streak will end on Friday, and I can see the referee coming to the American's aid by round five.
Rubio by TKO in five.
Big Fight Odds: Marco Antonio Rubio 1/33, Matt Vanda 12/1
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