Article published by Hans Olson, ringside
It appears David Lemieux is human after all.
In an early candidate for ‘Upset of the Year,’ Marco Antonio Rubio, the hardened Mexican brawler shocked the 4,650 fans in attendance in what was supposed to be hometown hero David Lemieux’s night to shine.
For the first few rounds, it appeared it would be.
Lemieux exploded early in the fight in an attempt to hurt Rubio with his crisp power shots, but Rubio weathered the storm. Rubio covered up, didn’t succumb to the pressure, and took most of the punches better than expected.
In the 6th round, Rubio started to land significant shots on Lemieux, who was by then bleeding and losing momentum.
In the 7th round, Rubio put down Lemieux with a hard shot. Lemieux got up, but Rubio took advantage of his opportunity and jumped in for the kill. Referee Marlon Wright called a halt to the action at 2:36 after trainer Russ Anber threw in the towel.
“I feel really good, and I’m just ready to go for the championship title now,” said Rubio, overjoyed moments after victory. “We know young boxers like that are accustomed to knocking guys out in the 1st, 2nd rounds; we knew he was coming for that, but I’ve got some experience under my belt. I just let him get loose a little. Throw the big ones…didn’t affect me. I knew that in the later rounds it was going to be my time.”
It seemed Marco Antonio Rubio was just too much, too soon for the young Lemieux.
As Marco points out, experience isn’t something that can be easily taught.
“I think my good experiences, and my bad experiences in boxing have taught me to be able to understand, see, and continue patiently through a fight.”
The win is one of the best in Marco Antonio Rubio’s career, and it puts him in line to face the winner of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sebastian Zbik, who will square off on June 4th in Los Angeles.
“I think I would like to fight Chavez Jr…I think it would be an interesting fight. I think it would be a great opportunity for there to be a Mexican Champion in the Middleweight division.”
In the evening’s co-feature, Adonis “Superman” Stevenson scored a sensational 2nd round knockout victory over Derek Edwards. Out of action for nearly a year, Stevenson (14-1) made his return to Quebec an emphatic one, drilling Edwards (25-2) time and time again with straight lefts. After a fairly close opening round, Stevenson dropped Edwards twice in the second, only the bell saving Edwards from the impending doom. In the 3rd, Stevenson again connected with the left, this time putting down Edwards for good earning Stevenson the NABA Super Middleweight Title.
In other action, 6-time Canadian Amateur Champion Didier Bence made his professional debut a quick one, dismantling Leonard Coller in a round; Elieder Alvarez knocked out Ernesto Zamora in the 3rd; Ahmad Cheiko TKO’d Attila Molnar in the 2nd; Arash Usamee took home a rough-and-tumble 8-round unanimous decision over Aldo Valtierra; and Heavyweight Oscar Rivas dominated Willy Leal for much of the first 5 rounds before stopping him in the 6th.
