By J Caldwell: Whenever “elite” fighters take a beating the way Rios did last night in Las Vegas, the big “R-Word” starts to linger. I think it’s time to hang it up. I’m done,” Rios said following a long night of questioning from reporters. As a thoroughly beaten fighter, it’s only natural. Nevertheless, after watching the lackluster fight between Brandon Rios (33-3-1, 24 KOs) and Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) unfold, you get the general impression that there was something fishy going on. Brandon Rios, along with his trainer Robert Garcia, arguably one of the top conditioners in the business, came into the Thomas and Mack center on the night of November 7th with the smell of fish on their hands.
Put simply, Rios looked terrible! Weighing in the night of the fight at a whopping 170lbs, Rios looked the part of sushi-eating Japanese sumo wrestler. Whatever happen to the “Bam Bam” Rios we diehards came to know and love; the same “Bam Bam” Rios that pulled-off a show stopping comeback of Mike Alvarado in the first part of their vicious fight trilogy.
Still yet, a charismatic fighter like Rios (along with his troubled past) has always been a sellable story to the causal fan base, which is why he’s such a likable guy outside of the ring. On the other hand, this is the sport of boxing and inside the ring; namely, in his last two outings with two of boxing’s bigger names, the Oxnard tough guy hasn’t looked the part. Thus, it goes without saying what many diehard boxing fans are starting to think now: Was Rios ever an “elite” fighter to begin with?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfXam1e2HoA]
Surely, the answer to such questioning is based in individual bias; nevertheless, what isn’t predisposed to boxing debate is the fact that Brandon Rios was, indeed, a rising star prior to his November 23, 2013 showdown with Pacquaio in Macau China. To go even further, it could be speculated that the bout with Pacquaio took a lot out the champ. This assertion holds true for one main reason: Whenever a boxer takes a beating for twelve straight rounds, as oppose to being KO’d in 3 or 4 rounds, it tends to affect what’s called a fighter’s psyche. “I was terrified. I was scared.” said Rios in a pre-fight interview with esnewsreporting. Should an “elite” fighter ever reveal such a thing? Certainly, at the elite level of boxing, making such a statement isn’t only taboo, but what it really does is send a message to true diehard fans that a fighter could be damaged goods.
So the question still lingers: Should “Bam Bam” Rios really retire? Perhaps the most honest answer, at least from a true fan’s perspective, is this: it depends. To put it in layman’s term, the future of any good young prizefighter is complicit within his or her particular fan base, a “Bam Bam” Rios fan base, which should be asking a whole slew of concerning questions right now, including whether or not Rios is truly capable of fighting elite fighters; does he still have anything else to prove; and more importantly, is he really taking the sport of boxing very seriously? That alone should be enough to tell the champ it’s time to “hang it up”…no matter what age.
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