Quote Originally Posted by greynotsoold View Post
How did Rubio go into this fight an underdog? In his last fight Lemieux beat 37 year old Gates, his biggest win is over Camacho Jr., and he went 10 with Naugler, who had lost 5 of his previous 6 and two more since, and he has less than 55 total rounds of pro experience. Rubio is only 30, has fought against and held his own with a much much higher level of competition, and hasn't lost in a long time. Other than one fight where he got caught cold, and against Pavlik (when he was on his roll), he seems to have a pretty reliable chin; a good solid pro, and methinks the Lemiuex camp bit off too big a bite.
You are 100% right with 20/20 hindsight. But, the winner of the fight got a mandatory title shot against Zbik or Chavez Jr., which would be a major pay day. They probably looked at the Rubio v. Pavlik fight and thought Lemieux could do the same. Truth is, and as you point out, maybe he can, but not yet. In reality, he should have turned pro later.