By Jake Donovan
With the interim title he held, Marco Antonio Rubio could have milked the clock in waiting out a mandatory shot at World middleweight king Miguel Cotto. Such a fight easily would have been the biggest payday around, if not the biggest of his career.
At age 34 and already having come up short in two previous tries at a middleweight title, nobody would have thought twice about Rubio taking a stay busy fight or two, or even sitting on the sidelines.
Instead, the veteran contender opted to sprint towards the sound of gun fire, opting for a challenge that few else were anxious to pursue. Most middleweights accept a fight with Gennady Golovkin simply because they’re out of other options. Rubio took the fight because, well he wants a big fight right now.
“Since Miguel Cotto didn’t want to fight me, we’re fighting Gennady Golovkin,” Rubio boldly stated in August when accepting the fight, which takes place on October 18 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, with HBO to televise. “I never back down from anyone.”
Rubio (59-6-1, 52KOs) is in this position because he and his team had the courage to stand up to the World Boxing Council (WBC) when they felt they were severely wronged. The troubles stemmed from the aftermath of his failed mandatory title bid versus then-unbeaten titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in February 2012. Rubio came up short in the ring in dropping a unanimous decision, but the WBC and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation dropped the ball altogether in failing to ensure that necessary drug testing was performed and supervised.
Because the WBC failed to live up to the terms as outlined in the fight contract, Rubio was returned to the mandatory title position. That turned out to be the easy part. The hard part was getting his due title shot.
For years, he waited for a showdown with long-reigning middleweight king Sergio Martinez to materialize. Part of the delay was due to Martinez sitting out most of 2013 to allow an assortment of injuries to heal, including a bum knee that still remains an issue. The bigger part, however, was Martinez angling for one final big score in the twilight of his career, an opportunity that just wasn’t going to come with a mandatory title defense versus Rubio.
Instead, Rubio was persuaded to step aside and allow for the Argentine southpaw to defend versus Cotto, who was moving up in weight for his middleweight debut. For his troubles, Rubio was granted an interim title shot versus Domenico Spada, whom he iced in ten rounds to secure his place for next in line at the World title up for grabs in the June headliner at Madison Square Garden.
Martinez received the big payday he sought, but it was all he got out of the fight with Cotto. He wouldn’t leave the ring with his championship status still intact, conceding the crown after nine humbling rounds that disallowed him to hobble out for the start of round ten.
Rubio spent the next three months waiting in line for his number to be called. When he and his team knew it wasn’t going to happen, the next logical step – as they saw it – was to show the world they weren’t simply chasing a big score, but a big win.
“We knew that in order to get a fight versus Cotto, we would have to wait until the WBC convention in December to have the fight [mandated],” Rubio explains in the decision to not wait around. “So, it’s better for me to take this fight, which doesn’t faze me at all.”
There has never been any shortage of confidence with Rubio, but more so after changing his training habits. The two-time middleweight title challenger – whose other bid resulted in a 9th round knockout versus then-lineal champ Kelly Pavlik in Feb. ’09 – has spent the better part of the past two years training with renowned cornerman Robert Garcia, surrounded by top boxing talent every day at his Boxing Academy in Oxnard, California.
“I’m always in shape and always training, but it’s different when you’re in the gym (at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy) with so many great champions,” Rubio acknowledges, training in the presence of such fighters as Marcos Maidana, Brandon Rios and Robert’s younger brother, unbeaten 130 lb. titlist Mikey Garcia. “You get motivated the moment you arrive.”
The change has only helped him improve during a current six-fight win streak, with all but one ending in knockout. The first five wins among that stretch came in the span of just 13 months before waiting out the murky title picture. Between Martinez’ extended hiatus and his being asked to step aside, just one fight has come of Rubio’s 2014 campaign thus far, the aforementioned knockout of Spada.
The 6½-month period of inactivity comes after having sat out for more than eight months prior to facing Spada. Just one fight in nearly 15 months isn’t the best means of staying ready for a stud talent like Golovkin, but then neither is waiting even longer for an opportunity that wasn’t necessarily guaranteed to ever come his way.
Had a fight with Cotto never materialized, Rubio’s best-case scenario was obtaining an upgrade in status from interim to full titlist – and that’s if the WBC forced the Puerto Rican superstar to vacate.
Instead, he opts for the sure thing – a title shot that is, as a win over Golovkin is anything but guaranteed. Just ask the 30 opponents he’s soundly beaten in as many pro fights. The thrill-a-minute rising star from Kazakhstan enters the upcoming fight as a favorite among the HBO brass, a heavy betting favorite among the oddsmakers and riding a 17-fight knockout streak.
His penchant for digging in and giving the crowd a thrill with every punch has prompted event handlers to dub this fight ‘Mexican Style.’ The title is in tribute, in part, to Rubio’s proud heritage, but also lending the suggestion that Golovkin has fought his way to a reputation as an honorary Mexican among the boxing public.
Interestingly enough, the unbeaten rising star earned such honors, without ever having actually faced a Mexican fighter in the ring, at least in the pro ranks.
That changes next Saturday.
“I will show Golovkin a real ‘Mexican Style’ on October 18,” Rubio vows. “The only word that crosses my mind is ‘victory’.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
