Brandon Rios Comes Home To Kansas to Prove He Still Has Something Left

November 15th, 2018

Bad Brad

By Rich “Lite It Up” Lopez

Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios is back in action this weekend and coming back to his hometown of Kansas. Everyone knows Rios as a true warrior in the ring and a fighter that likes to bring it. He has never been in a bad fight and always pleases the fans. Rios is also very blunt and tells it like it is. This is why Rios is a fan favorite.

The last time Rios fought in Kansas was back in 2009 when he stopped Lorenzo Estrada in the 1st round. At that time, Rios was a top contender in the Lightweight division. He was undefeated with most of his wins by stoppage. In 2010, Rios beat the undefeated Anthony Peterson in a WBA Lightweight Title Eliminator in a 7th round disqualification. Make no mistake about it, Rios was ahead on the scorecards and had dropped Peterson in the 5th round.

The big year for Rios was the following year in 2011. He won the WBA World Lightweight Title by stopping Miguel Acosta in the 10th round. He then followed that up by stopping Urbano Antillon in the 3rd round. Rios finished the year by stopping John Murray in the 11th round.

Even though Rios had a great year, it would also be the start of the many ups and downs of his career. Rios had weight issues in the Murray fight and was stripped of the title. In the following year in 2012, once again, Rios was overweight when he fought Richard Abril. Rios escaped with a split decision win but most observers felt Abril was robbed. Later that year, Rios decided to move up to the Super Lightweight division and challenged Mike Alvarado. Rios won the fight by stopping Alvarado in the7th round but lost the rematch to Alvarado by decision in 2013. Since the first loss of his career, Rios has gone 3-3 in his last six fights in a five year span. Due to inactivity, weight issues, and losing to Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, JR., and most recently Danny Garcia, it seemed the career of Rios was over. Like a true warrior, there is no quit in Rios.

Rios is back and is looking to get back on track again. He has signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom USA to a multi-fight deal. His first fight will be against Ramon Alvarez and it will be streamed on DAZN. Alvarez is the older brother of Canelo Alvarez. The good news for Rios is that Alvarez is not as good like his brother. However, Alvarez is a come forward fighter and likes to brawl, which should make for an entertaining fight. Rios should win this fight and it remains to be seen if can win another big fight. Regardless, Rios has provided action fights and it would be no different this Saturday.