By Chris Williams: Trainer Naazim Richardson chimed in with his own thoughts on the upcoming November 23rd fight between Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) and Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) by saying that Pacquiao could win a controversial decision over the much younger 27-year-old Rios if Pacquiao has anything left after his recent loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.
In other words, Richardson doesn’t think Pacquiao can outright beat Rios in their fight at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China. Richardson thinks Pacquiao deserved to lose all four fights against Juan Manuel Marquez in the past.
Pacquiao was given two close controversial decisions and a very questionable draw in their first fight in which Marquez dominated Pacquiao in rounds 2 through 12 after being knocked down 3 times in the 1st round.
Richardson said toOn the Ropes Boxing Radio “I never thought he [Pacquiao] beat Marquez. I thought he lost every Marquez fight he ever fought. One was defining but I thought he lost the other ones too…If Pacquiao has anything left I can see him stealing a decision from Rios.”
Richardson may be right about it. Rios is in a bad situation in going to Macao, China to fight a much more popular Pacquiao. We just a fight between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Bryan Vera end in an unpopular decision with the more popular Chavez Jr. getting a 10 round unanimous decision victory in a fight that everyone thought he lost.
That fight was in Carson, California. I see it as very doubtful that Rios can go into Macao and get a decision against Pacquiao. Even if he dominates him the way that Marquez did in his first three fights, I don’t think Rios will get the decision.
Pacquiao is much too popular, and the venue is perfect for him and not Rios. The only way Rios can guarantee himself a victory is to go into this fight the same way Marquez did in his last fight with Pacquiao by thinking knockout all the way.
Marquez didn’t care that he was some rounds against Pacquiao last time around, because his entire focus was to get him into a position to knock him out.
Ultimately that’s exactly what happened with Marquez knocking the Filipino out cold in the 6th round to take the judges out of it altogether. Marquez made sure that the judges would have no part in the final outcome and the only way he could do that was to KO Pacquiao.
Rios’ trainer Robert Garcia seems like an intelligent person, but I just hope he’s smart enough to know that Rios’ may need to knock Pacquiao out cold to ensure that he gets the win in this fight. Garcia should be making that Rios’ goal for this fight.
It would be sad if Rios turns into another Marquez and ends up out-boxing Pacquiao but loses the fight anyway. Marquez was tired of having that happen to him, and that’s why he chose to take matters into his own hands by making spectators out of the judges.
Pacquiao will be turning 35 in December, and that’s ancient for a small fighter. I think he’s well past his prime at his current age, and I suspect that his ability to take a hard shot may have been compromised from his last defeat against Marquez.
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