Pavlik Returns to Stop Rubio on his Stool

By Gabriel Montoya

Coming into to Saturday night's showdown at the Chevrolet Centre in Youngstown, Ohio between challenger Marco Antonio Rubio (43-5-1, 37 KOs) and Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik (35-1, 31 KOs), the question was what kind of set back, if any, would Pavlik following his one-sided loss to Bernard Hopkins last year. After nine one-sided rounds from a returning to middleweight form Pavlik against a reluctant Rubio, we still don't have the answer. What we got was a better than average opponent for a tune-up fight where Pavlik boxed patiently behind a double, sometimes triple jab that set up his telephone pole of a right hand all night. Rubio for his part, fought back in sporadic spurts, offering little resistance and getting off his firepower rarely.
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