Rios: I want Marquez next

By Boxing News - 04/15/2012 - Comments

Image: Rios: I want Marquez nextBy Dan Ambrose: Having won by a controversial 12 round split decision tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada against Richard Abril, unbeaten Brandon Rios says he’s ready to move on and try to get a fight against interim WBO light welterweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez next on July 14th at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Few boxing fans think Rios won, however, and they’re not satisfied with his ugly, questionable decision.

Rios said to Fightnews.com “I would love that fight with Marquez…I am ready for the next thing.”

I don’t think Rios is ready Marquez judging by how poorly he fought tonight. Rios doesn’t even look ready for a rematch with Abril, not that he wants one. He doesn’t. Rios is satisfied with having won the fight with two judges giving him the decision and one of them seeing Abril winning by the score 117-111. But more importantly, boxing fans don’t see it as a legitimate win, and that puts Rios in a bad light when the fans don’t believe he won.

To move forward off of this win is a negative, because it’s like he doesn’t deserve the scores that he was given and yet he’s going to move on anyway. He might as well fight Abril again, because Marquez is clearly out of his class. In watching Marquez beat Sergiy Fedchenko and then compare it to Rios’ one-paced limited fighting style against Abril, it was like night and day.

Marquez is so much more talented than Rios that it’s not even a good fight. Rios would be better off facing Fedchenko, because that would be a tough match for him and I see that fight as a pick em bout. It’s not surprising that Rios won’t be fighting Abril again, but even if he wanted to, I doubt his promoter Bob Arum would let him.

Abril wasn’t expected to win the fight, which is obviously why he was chosen for Rios. But after he showed that he’s a better fighter than Rios by far, they’re not about to let Rios fight Abril again, and likely they’ll never let Rios fight him again.

Abril is too good, and he can end the gravy train before it even gets started for Rios. Arum has rented out the Cowboys stadium and he wants the Marquez-Rios fight in July, and that’s what it looks like will happen. Marquez wants a Manny Pacquiao rematch, but he’ll probably have to do this favor for Arum in fighting his guy Rios to get the Pacquiao rematch. I think it’s a mistake. Rios will come in weight drained again even though it’s 140 and look terrible in losing to Marquez.



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