By James Slater: Unbeaten lightweight sensation Brandon Rios cut a very, very confident figure when speaking with the web site of Ring Magazine recently. Ahead of his scheduled Dec. 3rd clash with British warrior John Murray, the reigning WBA 135-pound champ told of his big plans – plans for the immediate and near future.
“Bam Bam” told Ringtv.com how he told his trainer, Robert Garcia, that he feels he will KO Murray early. After he does so, the 25-year-old aims to aim, well, high!
“After that (KO’ing Murray), we should shoot for [Yuriorkis] Gamboa maybe in January or February as soon as possible,” Rios said to Garcia. “After we fight Gamboa, I want to go to 140 and fight Marcos Maidana.”
The thought of this all-action fighter trading leather with such great fighters as Gamboa and (great puncher) Maidana is enough to end a shiver down the spine. Imagine the raw excitement! Gamboa, though, has yet to move up from featherweight and prove he belongs at 135, while Rios may not retain his speed and power up at 140. So, the two big fights the 28-0-1(21) star wants may not happen as easily as he feels they will. But as fight fans we can sure hope they come to fruition.
And Rios does have the small matter of taking care of 26-year-old Murray first. Is Rios making the mistake of overlooking the Manchester hard man? Sure, Murray, 31-1(18) is coming off a stoppage loss and will enter the ring against Rios as a big underdog, but the former European king is a hugely strong lightweight who can bang some. Rios sounds up for the fight, telling Ringtv.com that he expects a brawl/slugfest on Dec. 3rd.
I think Rios will get his war, with him perhaps having to dig a little deeper than he is anticipating. I think Rios will have to eat some shots early, before he eventually busts up and wears down his ultra-game challenger. I like Rios in around six or even rounds. If we’re really lucky, we might be treated to a FOTY candidate. Murray, I’m positive, will be ready to give his all in this one.
If Rios can keep his belt and unbeaten record, those hugely exciting dates with Gamboa and Maidana may be on the cards.
“I want a war and I think that Maidana’s the guy that would give me a war,” Rios stated.
I’m damn sure “El Chino” thinks so too.