Rios overcomes adversity to stop Alvarez in nine
Brandon Rios returned looking to rejuvenate his career after losing by knockout to Danny Garcia in February. He entered the ring a bit soft and dry. This typically means he had a lackadaisical training camp and he did little to no preparing before entering the ring.
This showed in the first round as Ramon Alvarez landed shot after shot straight down the middle, rocking the former champion several times. It looked as if Rios would be stopped in the first round. However, weathered the storm and survived the round
This would be the only time Rios would not be in control of the fight. He immediately bounced back in the second round as if trainer Robert Garcia gave him a “wake up call”. He landed some hellacious body shots that saw Alvarez’s mouth drop open by the end of the round.
The fight turned out to be a classic war of attrition event. The stamina issues of Alvarez did not allow him to be active for long periods of each round, however, when he let his hands go, he was accurate.
Meanwhile, Rios pressured his fatigued opponent without any lapses. He would unload on the body of Alvarez as he continuously pushed him against the ropes. The older brother of Mexican star Canelo would answer back after some time on the ropes but the work of his opponent kept wearing him down.
In round eight, the former lightweight champion turned the tables. He pounded his fatigued opponent against while he sat on the ropes and came extremely close to earning a stoppage. The sound of the bell was music to Alvarez’s ears as he stumbled back to his corner.
It was apparent Alvarez would not survive the next round. He picked up where he left off and the referee waved the fight off within the first minute.
Rios improves to 35-4-1 with 26 knockouts. He stated he will have his next fight with Eddie Hearn on DAZN soon!
By: EJ Williams
Check out the recap of the Gabriel Rosado vs Luis Arias Fight herealso on the #MillerDinu under-card!
