Brook-Rios nearly done for 9/12 says Arum

By Boxing News - 07/03/2015 - Comments

rios11By Scott Gilfoid: IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (35-0, 24 KOs) won’t be getting the big fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. that he so badly craves on September 12th, but he is on the verge of getting a fight against former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) on that date in London, UK.

Rios’ promoter Bob Arum says the Brook vs. Rios fight is almost done for September 12th, and will be televised in the U.S in the afternoon on HBO. It won’t bump into the Mayweather fight on the same date, which will be occurring in the evening on September 12th on Showtime pay-per-view.

Brook is hoping that a victory over the 29-year-old Rios will lead to bigger fights against Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather or Amir Khan. I’m not sure that Brook will get any of those fights in 2016. If Brook doesn’t get Mayweather or Pacquiao in 2016, then it’s possible he never will get them.

Mayweather will retire, and possibly Pacquiao too if he can get another big payday fight against Mayweather. I really can’t see Pacquiao sticking around for 2017 if he can scoop up another $150 million against Mayweather.

“Bob Arum tells me he’s very close to getting the @SpecialKBrook Brandon Rios fight done for Sept. 12 in England. Will air in afternoon in US,” LA Times writer Lance Pugmire said on his Twitter.

By no means is victory isn’t a sure thing for Brook against Rios. If you saw how excellent Rios looked in his fight against Mike Alvarado last January, it would be hard to pick against Rios against a guy that’s there to be hit like Brook usually is. Brook doesn’t have great defensive skills, and he doesn’t move well.

Brook’s defense is really his offense. Yeah, Brook can clinch like mad when he’s facing a guy with good offensive skills, as we saw in his clinch-filled victory over Shawn Porter last year, but I don’t think clinching is going to work against Rios. He already knows how to deal with a clincher, as we saw in his fight against Diego Chaves last year, and I suspect that Rios will be even more prepared to handle excessive clinching if Brook chooses to go that route next September.

I would hope for Brook’s sake that he doesn’t opt to hold all night long, because the whole idea of fighting Rios is to showcase his boxing skills and make a case for him deserving a bigger money fight against the likes of Khan, Mayweather and Pacquiao.

If Brook can’t stay in the pocket and beat Rios with his offensive and defensive skills without holding 10+ times per round, then it’s safe to say that he’ll never ever get a fight against one of those bigger names. I mean, why would Khan, Mayweather and Pacquiao want to fight a clincher that grabs each time his opponent gets near enough to throw a punch?

This is a bad match-up for Brook because Rios can really punch, and he puts nonstop pressure on his opponents. The guys that have given Rios problems in the past are fighters that are mobile and can move around the ring quickly.

Brook isn’t one of those types of fighters. He’s got short legs, and he doesn’t move well at all. He’s kind of stiff and he goes forward or he leans backwards while holding. That kind of style won’t work against Rios because he eats up fighters who fight like that, and he always has.

That’s a style that Rios really likes. The thing is Rios will be able to handle Brook’s power shots all night long, but I have serious doubts whether Brook will be able to take Rios’ power for a full 12 round fight. We saw what happened to Brook in his fight against Carson Jones when he was pressured all fight long and had his beak bloodied.

If Rios puts that kind of pressure on Brook, and bloodies his beak, I see Brook quitting in his corner late in the fight when the beating becomes too severe. Brook will opt to fight another day rather than to stay out there and continue to take a severe pounding from Rios. It’ll be another Rios vs. Alvarado 3 bout, except I see it lasting longer with Brook taking an even worse beating than Alvarado did.



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