Boxing Preview: Miguel Acosta vs. Brando Rios For WBA Title

The Palms Casino in Las Vegas, NV sees WBA lightweight titlist Miguel Acosta face challenger Brando Rios this evening in a hotly anticipated 135 pound showdown.

For Colombia’s Acosta, 28-3-2 (22), this is a chance to prove that his only two world level contests, stoppages of Urbano Antillon and Paulus Moses, in which Acosta won the WBA belt last May, were no fluke.

At age 24, California based Rios, 26-0-1 (19), will have the youth advantage over the 33 year old champion but has even less high level experience than Acosta, having defeated Anthony Peterson and Jose Luis Teran in 2010 as the only opponents of note on his resume.

Rios also hasn’t gone past seven rounds since 2008 when he was held to a draw by scrappy Manuel Perez, which Rios amended with a stoppage victory a year later.

Acosta also doesn’t have a lot of late round experience but then again with the punching power possessed by both fighters, this contest won’t likely go the limit anyway.

The undercard tonight sees young undefeated featherweight Robert Marroquin, 18-0 (14), going up against durable Mexican Gilberto Sanchez Leon, 30-7-2 (10), in a scheduled eight rounder.

The towering Leon is just one bout removed from a majority decision loss to Eloy Perez for the NABO super feather title and the campaigner from Mexicali could give Dallas based Marroquin a lot of trouble in this one.