Brandon Rios- a better fighter post Manny fight?

I think this is. His glorious win over Mike Alvarado in their rubber match is a testament to how far he has come in such a short space of time.

He had no problem with Alvarado, at all. He caused Chavez to lose his marbles and foul out in their fight.

This is also a case of when previous competition, even in a loss, helps a fighter more than fighting stiffs and bums.

When in the ring, feeling and seeing Manny and watching him move around the ring, bode well for him moving forward and is probably worth more than 1000 round of sparring with average guys.

Brandon Rios now, inherently, is a handful for anyone in the division. He can make fights.

I would love to see him match up with JMM. What about you? I feel this would be a great fight and a tough test for JMM.

He looked very good against Alvarado, but Alvarado was not there.
I'm not knocking Rios or his performance in any way because he did everything right, but it appeared to most of us that he was fighting a shell of what was once a terrific fighter.
Most of the heart, desire, pride, and conditioning that made Alvarado so good was not there. I say most because Alvarado took a serious beating for three rounds, and truthfully, I'm glad he found an excuse to get himself out of the fight.
Yes, Rios looked terrific but against a diminished Alvarado. I hope Alvarado thinks about the way he let his fans, himself, Rios, and boxing down before he gets back in the ring again.

Rios is still very average people getting carried away cause he beat a junkie easy lol

Rios is one of the best lightweights in the world,,,,if he had the desire to be a lightweight. He is a top 10 junior welter or a top 30 welterweight

No, just fighter easier competition that makes out he looks better than he really is.

Bring on Ortiz and rios should call it a day.

He is already punch drunk and he is truly killing himself in that ring.

No, he is not a better fighter post Manny. There is a big difference between a shot and mentally not there Alvarado and arguably the best fighter in the world in Manny Pac. Rios will have a shot against anyone who stands in front of him, but choosing that kind of opponent doesn't make him a better fighter.

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Originally Posted by imp

Bring on Ortiz and rios should call it a day.

He is already punch drunk and he is truly killing himself in that ring.

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I agree with you although in the prefight interviews this time around he seemed more Lucid and intact than I have seen for a time. He didn't even swear. But in the end he is the same fighter, his head may have been more in the game as he had been saying if he lost this fight his career would be over. I think he was overwhelmed by the whole Manny thing but he went twelve rounds which were extremely unhealthy for him. I think Manny turned down the volume so to speak but Rios stood up to a tremendous beating. I have actually been worried since the second Alvarado fight and even before. Definitely seemed punch drunk. This win will definitely help his career but it was not much of a fight. He didn't fight Mike Alvarado, I don't know who the he'll was in that ring but it wasn't Alvarado. I was very sad, and a bit pissed off, to see Alvarado perform the way he did. Whenever those two meet they make it a FOTY candidate and if Mike showed up for the fight it probably would have been as Rios was game. It really pissed me off. Alvarado is one of my favorites and I was looking forward to the fight since it was announced. I even told a few of my friends who aren't into boxing to watch it as I figured sparks would fly. I hope Mike straightened things out, this would be a bad way for a guy who has showed a lot of heart to leave the square circle.

Before it started he did sound and look sharp and in shape. I don't think he is 'better', he's just where he should have been in the first place. Truth though is he was beating up a ghost who accumulated tons of damage. He may do very well vs Ortiz but he is just a one or two beatings away from selling oranges on the corner if he doesn't stay smart and comes in like a fatty.

no, lets see him do that to Provodnikov, and that's not even a guy who can box, IMO Algieri even has a good chance at outboxing Rios, he's not very good and honestly has always been pretty average with a better than average chin, nothing else

Not necessarily. I think he just figured out the right way to fight the fella. I mean how to get through Alvarado's two-armed defense. It was of course the uppercut. He just kept on slipping his uppercuts between the arms of Alvarado and when he did that, Alvarado's defense started to open up and he was done. It was just a matter of style coupled with agressiveness that made his performance impressive that night, imo.

Rios would have had much tougher rounds in sparring than how the fight turned out. I think he gets battered versus any top welterweight but would make any fight competitive. Maybe he gets the Provodnikov-Matthysse winner though. He's got at least one big payday left in him.

Well, @g3org3 may be right with the "junkie bit". Even during the pre fight and the post fight interviews Alvarado sounded like a hyped up junkie looking for a good fix. And as it was mentioned, I did some background on Alvarado and there are several reports of him abusing drugs.

Even during the fight with Rios he got a shot to the nose and the blood started to pour. I said to myself that seems to be a very tender nose...

So, with that being said, let's see Rios vs. Provo/JMM or Brook?

Until he fights a live fighter, hard to tell. Losing to Pac is nothing he should worry about. Pac is in a different class.

I watched a few Rios fights yesterday.

Anyone seen many fights of Miguel Costa? He lost b4 & quite few times since Rios, but he seemed a decent boxer to me (against Rios)
He put puches together pretty good & had some pop to his shots, but Rios pressure was relentless.

I wonder if Rios is one of those guys who needs a certain style to make him look good.
While I liked Anthony Pederson I felt his best game was inside-this worked to Rios advantage when they fought.

The last fight I watched was Rios -Urbano Antillon- quick and brutal war. But again: This was an inside fight.

If a fighter can make Rios extend his arms, stay mobile Rios is a compromised-He doesnt seem to cut the ring off well and ends up following his foe instead.

I think Rios is still a good fighter, but the style of contrasts will ultimately determine how good/bad he looks.

Rios did smash our John Murray and looked good because it was a brawl and he loves a brawl.