Auditorio Centenario, Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico– Torreon’s own, Marco Antonio Rubio (54-6-1, 47 KOs) scored a big win in his first bout since losing a bid for the WBC middleweight title against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last February. The hometown fighter would stalk and eventually stop a game, undefeated Jorge Cota (12-1, 11 KOs), from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in seven rounds, but not before putting on a solid show with his younger opponent.
Rubio, 32, immediately established himself as the aggressor against the 24-year-old Cota, who seemed happy to assume the role of backtracking counter puncher for much of the bout.
When engaging, Cota kept the contest close with some solid right hands that frequently managed to split the guard of Rubio’s high-glove defense. But the younger fighter was too raw for his more experienced rival and frequently wound up being lured into unfavorable positions and countered expertly by the two-time world title challenger.
In an exciting back and forth third round, a punch from Rubio opened a cut over Cota’s right eye, clearly bothering the young fighter, but urging him on to fight back with more urgency.
From the fourth round on, though, Cota adopted a more defensive mindset, trying to use movement to set the pace and offset his opponent’s offensive surges. Fortunately for Rubio, Cota is not a mover by nature and, as a result, was never really effective in full retreat mode.
Rubio pressed on, winning rounds five and six on pure aggression. In the seventh round, he landed a straight right hand that put Cota in bad shape. Once hurt, the younger fighter had no way to hold on and was dropped by a hard-charging Rubio. Cota would beat the count, but was in no shape to continue.
With the win, Rubio claims the vacant IBF international middleweight title.
On the undercard, 26-year-old junior welterweight prospect, Roberto “Massa” Ortiz (25-0-1, 21 KOs) scored an impressive fifth round knockout in front of his hometown fans over journeyman, Abraham Gomez (18-6-1, 9 KOs).
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