MONTREAL, CANADA — Marco Antonio Rubio (50-5-1, 43 KOs) weathered an early power-punching storm to shock David Lemiuex (25-1, 24 KOs) and his hometown fans with a come from behind, 7th round TKO.
Lemieux was quiet for the bout’s first two minutes before exploding with a hard right hook. Rubio felled back into the ropes, where he remained for the rest of the round as Lemieux rained down power shots to the head and body. Rubio remained composed and kept his guard up to pick off most of the shots.
The same pattern manifested in the second round. Lemiuex bulled forward to initiate exchanges. Rubio threw occasional punches, but was very wary of getting caught clean with Lemieux’s power. Lemieux moved more in the third, but still dominated the round with hard punching. The lone highlight for Rubio was a sharp 1-2 that momentarily stopped Lemieux’s offense.
Lemieux carried the fourth round by abusing Rubio on the inside with body shots. Both men began some taunting in the fifth, but it was still Lemieux taking rounds behind the power of his shots and the volume.
The fight’s momentum took a sharp turn in the sixth. With Lemiuex finally slowing down, Rubio timed a perfect straight right. Lemieux was hurt and tried to circle away. Rubio came after him with steady pressure and fired off a right hook. Nervous murmurs came from the crowd as a now bloody Lemiuex looked in dire straits at the round’s end.
The roles had now completely switched at the start of the seventh. Rubio was the stalking puncher and Lemiuex the mover. Rubio, the experienced veteran, was much more comfortable in his role, and crumpled Lemieux with an overhand right.
Lemieux fell back slowly, only remaining half-way upright due to a ring post holding him up. He took the eight count and tried to cover up from Rubio’s combinations. Rubio gave his young foe no reprieve, pinning him into the ropes and prompting his corner to throw in the towel before an inevitable outright stoppage.
“I thought Rubio started landing too big…We were yelling at David from the corner to stop loading up with shots,” said Lemieux’s trainer Russ Anber. “With 12 rounds to go there’s no way he was turning that around…Even if he would’ve recovered, I didn’t want Rubio still teeing off on him.”
The upset makes Marco Antonio Rubio the #1 contender for the winner of the upcoming WBC title match between champion Sebastian Zbik and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Adonis “Superman” Stevenson lived up to his nickname with an undercard domination of Derek Edwards. Edwards received a bloody broken nose in the 2nd round when Stevenson scored a knockdown off a counter straight left. Stevenson would score another knockdown in that round with a 1-2 combination. Edward was finished in the 3rd off another jab-straight left combination for the third and final knockdown.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 
Gotta admit I was one of those swept along on the Lemieux bandwagon, bit of a surprise this result.
He’s got time to come again though, and perhaps realise that he can’t just rely on power as he steps up in class. I still think he can become a force on the world scene, if not quite amongst the best, he’d certainly be a decent gatekeeper.