By Dan Ambrose: Number #2 ranked WBC middleweight contender Marco Antonio Rubio (50-5-1, 43 KO’s) will be facing Ricardo Marcelo Ramallo (11-3-1, 7 KO’s) in a stay busy fight tonight for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Latino middleweight title at the Foro Polanco, in Mexico City, Mexico. The fight is scheduled for 10 rounds, and it should be a fairly easy one for the 30-year-old Rubio to win.

Rubio is coming off an impressive 7th round stoppage win over the highly hyped knockout artist David Lemieux in April. Rubio took Lemieux’s best shots in the first five rounds and then turned the fight around in the 6th when he staggered Lemieux with a huge right hand. In the 7th, Rubio knocked Lemieux down early in the round and was pummeling him against the ropes when Lemieux’s corner motioned for the fight to be stopped. That fight really raised Rubio’s status in a big way in the boxing community.

At number #2 in the WBC, Rubio will get a shot against the WBC champion at some point in the near future. WBC champion Sebastian Zbik is facing number #1 ranked challenger Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. tonight. Chavez is expected to win, and it’s doubtful that he’ll face Rubio in his first defense. However, Rubio should get a shot at the WBC champion at some point in 2012, unless they decide to give Rubio step aside money or else vacate the title.

Rubio has turned his career around since being stopped by WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik in the 9th round in February 2009. Since that loss, the hard hitting Rubio has won seven consecutive fights and has looked really good.