Marco Antonio Rubio is finally a world champion(sort of), 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.
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.
