Pavlik Rebounds From First Defeat, Stops Rubio in Nine

By Cliff Rold

28-year old Marco Antonio Rubio worked through nine professional years for the chance to become the first Mexican-born fighter to capture the lineal World Middleweight Championship.  He lasted nine rounds before he elected to end his journey in the corner on Saturday night at the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown, Ohio.  He was game in spots, but Rubio (43-5-1, 37 KO) had no sustained answers for the 26-year old king at 160 lbs, Youngstown, Ohio’s Kelly Pavlik (35-1, 31 KO).

Showing no ill effects from his first career loss to the great Bernard Hopkins last October, Pavlik methodically broke down Rubio to make his second successful defense of the championship honors he wrested from Jermain Taylor in 2007.  Pavlik also retained his WBC and WBO belts to the delight of a packed hometown house.  Pavlik weighed in just shy of the division limit at 159, Rubio spot on at 160.

Rubio glazed Pavlik’s chin with a wide left hook in the first few seconds but quickly was pinned down behind Pavlik’s long left jab.  A right to the body just past the minute mark pushed Rubio into the corner and another ripped in along the ropes past the halfway mark.  A left to the body along the ropes and some lead left hooks upstairs got Rubio’s attention and an echoing right seemed to stun him in the closing seconds.

Pavlik continued to rain down with power shots in the second as Rubio pulled his gloves in and tight, looking to survive.  Pavlik’s left jab snapped Rubio’s head back and the right followed to maintain the swivel throughout the round.  Rubio let loose a left to the body and an attempted right hand late in the round but soon returned to trying not to get knocked out.

Rubio woke up in the early going of the third, firing a left and right and staying with right hand attempts even under a torrent of whipping lefts and rights to the body from Pavlik.  With thirty seconds left, Rubio fired a pair of hooks, the right missing but the left clipping Pavlik in close but he spent the last ten seconds feeding on the Pavlik jab.  Both fighters gave a respectful nod to one another at the bell.  Rubio wouldn’t repeat his offensive outbursts in the fourth, settling into Johnny bench mode and catching for most of three minutes as Pavlik showed off the full range of his punch selection while Rubio covered and retreated.

There was less retreat in the fifth as Rubio fired in spots to keep himself in the fight as Pavli pressured him from corner to corner around the ring.  A right broke through for Rubio in the final minute and forced a step back from Pavlik but the champion shook it off and landed his own right, driving Rubio to the ropes.  Rubio flurried to get off the strands and the crowd signaled its approval.

A right on the ropes jerked Rubio’s head to the side to start the sixth but the Mexican stepped away, finding some chances to throw his own right at mid-ring.  In the center, Rubio continued to find success.  Suddenly discovering multiple jabs, Rubio fired the right hand over and over, Pavlik tasting serious leather for the first time all night.  A closing flurry of blows from Rubio saw Pavlik covering up and the hint of competition was in the air.

Rubio went right back to heart of the Corona sign which adorned the ring canvas to start the seventh and the geography game was on.  Pavlik wanted Rubio moving backwards while the challenger continued to try to press back to the middle.  Pavlik responded with hard jabs, winning the game for position more often than not but Rubio continued to fire with the renewed spirit of the sixth.

The Pavlik right hand kicked off the eighth and the Rubio right missed the mark with his to tell the story of the first two minutes of the frame.  The last minute was a study in guts.  Just inside one minute, a picturesque Pavlik right buckled Rubio but the Mexican refused to fall.  After suffering some more rights and left to the body, Rubio began to flurry off the ropes, visibly biting down on his mouthpiece in attempting to keep his feet.  Pavlik’s assault ran through to the bell and Rubio walked on his own to the stool to prepare for round nine.

Still on weakened legs, Rubio absorbed rights on the arms, gloves, and head before finally landing a serious left hook just past the halfway mark.  Pavlik didn’t seem to notice, blowing by the defense of Rubio with jabs and right hands in a one-sided three minute beating.  Between rounds, Rubio’s corner exhorted him to continue as Rubio looked nearly worn to tears, gesturing to his corner that there was nothing he could do.

His night was over.

Pavlik mentioned multiple names as possibilities for the future when asked what comes next for him.  “Whatever they have out there.  Hopefully we come back to the Youngstown area in the summertime, that’s what we’re hoping to do.  You got (John) Duddy out there; that’s a name.  You got (former WBA Super Middleweight titlist) Anthony Mundine.  You got (IBF titlist) Arthur Abraham and (WBA titlist) Felix Sturm.  It’s just the best fights, whatever ones they can make and for a better situation, we’ll take.”

Serious fight followers would likely say the best fight would come with the undefeated power puncher Abraham (28-0, 23 KO) but if a better situation means the most money for least perceived risk, then someone like Duddy (26-0, 17 KO), victorious earlier Saturday night in New York, is likely to come first.     

The card was televised via pay-per-view and promoted by Top Rank, the second half of a split feed which also featured Miguel Cotto-Michael Jennings for the WBO Welterweight belt. 

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com