Beating Brandon Rios

[Julius Rain]

Put a level A fighter in the ring with him

Not that he's an A level fighter but Mercito Gesta has stated a desire to fight him. I think it's a hollow desire. Cuz I see him getting wrecked if they ever fought

Gesta fights in the undercard, maybe they will fight next. I would love to see it.

[miron_lang]

Brandon Rios brings some real advantages to the ring with him. I think his three biggest are his fighting spirit, his physical strength and his size. He seems to be one of the gifted weight cutters in the sport and often has a significant size advantage on fight night.

I went back and watched the Peterson and Acosta fights looking for ways to overcome those advantages (assuming of course one isn't physically stronger) and here's what I've come up with. (in no order)

1. One must jab Rios HARD. A flicking or rangefinding jab just doesn't discourage him at all. The jab must be thought about as a straight left rather than a jab. This punch can stop the Rios forward, forward, forward mindset that makes him feel like a runaway train. Rios doesn't do nearly as well on the retreat.

2. One must not continually retreat as a tactic-Barney Ross once said he'd retreat no more than two steps before he'd make a stand. Why? Because he thought it gave the foe too much confidence if one was continually retreating. One has to step to the side and counter Rios or worse case stand and trade occasionally. One must slow the Rios momentum. One other way of doing this is to get close, grab and then walk Rios backwards.

3. Go to the body-This takes serious nerve because body punching requires being in range. The idea here is just to keep Rios honest, not to knock him out this way. Hard jab, step inside, go to the body and then clinch.

4. The left hook- Rios doesn't seem to see this punch very well. A hook off the jab could be effective against him.

Where am I wrong, what did I miss and does Antillon actually have the toolbox to do any of this?

Humberto Sotto can do all that.

[marbleheadmaui]

Brandon Rios brings some real advantages to the ring with him. I think his three biggest are his fighting spirit, his physical strength and his size. He seems to be one of the gifted weight cutters in the sport and often has a significant size advantage on fight night.

I went back and watched the Peterson and Acosta fights looking for ways to overcome those advantages (assuming of course one isn't physically stronger) and here's what I've come up with. (in no order)

1. One must jab Rios HARD. A flicking or rangefinding jab just doesn't discourage him at all. The jab must be thought about as a straight left rather than a jab. This punch can stop the Rios forward, forward, forward mindset that makes him feel like a runaway train. Rios doesn't do nearly as well on the retreat.

2. One must not continually retreat as a tactic-Barney Ross once said he'd retreat no more than two steps before he'd make a stand. Why? Because he thought it gave the foe too much confidence if one was continually retreating. One has to step to the side and counter Rios or worse case stand and trade occasionally. One must slow the Rios momentum. One other way of doing this is to get close, grab and then walk Rios backwards.

3. Go to the body-This takes serious nerve because body punching requires being in range. The idea here is just to keep Rios honest, not to knock him out this way. Hard jab, step inside, go to the body and then clinch.

4. The left hook- Rios doesn't seem to see this punch very well. A hook off the jab could be effective against him.

Where am I wrong, what did I miss and does Antillon actually have the toolbox to do any of this?

Humberto Sotto can do all that.

Hmmmm, gotta go watch Soto footage. I can't get him in my mind. Thanks!

[maidana]

Maidana would take care of Rios in 5!

[marbleheadmaui]

Maidana would take care of Rios in 5!

Well yeah but they aren't in the same division. Maidana has the size advantage it takes.

[Pavlik]

Maidana would take care of Rios in 5!

Well yeah but they aren't in the same division. Maidana has the size advantage it takes.

i dunno about size advantage. maidana weighed 149 lbs fight night vs khan, whereas rios consistently is around 156 lbs. fight night.

[marbleheadmaui]

Maidana would take care of Rios in 5!

Well yeah but they aren't in the same division. Maidana has the size advantage it takes.

i dunno about size advantage. maidana weighed 149 lbs fight night vs khan, whereas rios consistently is around 156 lbs. fight night.

Rios came in at 151 against Peterson, but a good point anyway!

[JazMerkin]

Fight night weights don't really tell you who is bigger. Maidana may choose to only put on a certain amount of weight as putting on 15-20lbs makes him feel too bulky & even slower. It also may be that he trains better.

I will say I think Rios is getting very underrated here. He's far more savvy than he's getting credit for. He uses his jab exactly how an inside fighter should, it's a weapon on the way in, not just an irritant to buy time. I think he'd cause trouble for plenty of the 140lbers even if he wouldn't be quite the same force.

[Pavlik]

Maidana would take care of Rios in 5!

Well yeah but they aren't in the same division. Maidana has the size advantage it takes.

i dunno about size advantage. maidana weighed 149 lbs fight night vs khan, whereas rios consistently is around 156 lbs. fight night.

Rios came in at 151 against Peterson, but a good point anyway!

thanks for the correction so I guess he's a good sized junior welter, instead of the good sized welter that drains himself that I thought he is.

[marbleheadmaui]

Fight night weights don't really tell you who is bigger. Maidana may choose to only put on a certain amount of weight as putting on 15-20lbs makes him feel too bulky & even slower. It also may be that he trains better.

I will say I think Rios is getting very underrated here. He's far more savvy than he's getting credit for. He uses his jab exactly how an inside fighter should, it's a weapon on the way in, not just an irritant to buy time. I think he'd cause trouble for plenty of the 140lbers even if he wouldn't be quite the same force.

That's ENTIRELY what determines who is bigger (doesn't it? I mean if not that? What does?)

[JazMerkin]

Fight night weights don't really tell you who is bigger. Maidana may choose to only put on a certain amount of weight as putting on 15-20lbs makes him feel too bulky & even slower. It also may be that he trains better.

I will say I think Rios is getting very underrated here. He's far more savvy than he's getting credit for. He uses his jab exactly how an inside fighter should, it's a weapon on the way in, not just an irritant to buy time. I think he'd cause trouble for plenty of the 140lbers even if he wouldn't be quite the same force.

That's ENTIRELY what determines who is bigger (doesn't it? I mean if not that? What does?)

If you've got both guys in the ring at the same time, then yes you can say one is bigger.

However, a lot of it is guys re-hydrating towards a strategy. Some guys I think over-hydrate such as Rios, so he sacrifices speed for the bit more solidity in his legs & his punches. I don't think Maidana does this. I think he has enough faith in his power that he actually hydrates to the point where he feels he needs to. Obviously that's guesswork on my part with regard to those two fighters, but I know pros and top amateurs who treat re-hydrating as part of the tactical battle. That's of course not factoring in people who are unable to recover from draining or who are over-compensating for it.


I suppose what I should have said was naturally bigger. I think the use of 36 hour weigh ins (because it's NEVER 24) means that accurately defining what someone's natural weight is has become a near impossibility.

[marbleheadmaui]

Fight night weights don't really tell you who is bigger. Maidana may choose to only put on a certain amount of weight as putting on 15-20lbs makes him feel too bulky & even slower. It also may be that he trains better.

I will say I think Rios is getting very underrated here. He's far more savvy than he's getting credit for. He uses his jab exactly how an inside fighter should, it's a weapon on the way in, not just an irritant to buy time. I think he'd cause trouble for plenty of the 140lbers even if he wouldn't be quite the same force.

That's ENTIRELY what determines who is bigger (doesn't it? I mean if not that? What does?)

If you've got both guys in the ring at the same time, then yes you can say one is bigger.

However, a lot of it is guys re-hydrating towards a strategy. Some guys I think over-hydrate such as Rios, so he sacrifices speed for the bit more solidity in his legs & his punches. I don't think Maidana does this. I think he has enough faith in his power that he actually hydrates to the point where he feels he needs to. Obviously that's guesswork on my part with regard to those two fighters, but I know pros and top amateurs who treat re-hydrating as part of the tactical battle. That's of course not factoring in people who are unable to recover from draining or who are over-compensating for it.


I suppose what I should have said was naturally bigger. I think the use of 36 hour weigh ins (because it's NEVER 24) means that accurately defining what someone's natural weight is has become a near impossibility.

I think I agree with just about this entire post. But on fight night, in the ring, when they get to tussling and clinching and leaning and pushing etc doesn't the guy who have the extra pounds on him have the edge? Isn't THAT what we're talking about?

I reserve the right to be entirely wrong about this.

[p4pking]

I think JazzMerkin stole your reservation Marble, maybe they figured you weren't coming I completely agree fight night weight is much more telling than what a fighter can make, in almost all cases. Certain peoples bodies are just much better at shedding waterweight than others, I know when I training a couple of years ago I could weigh 135 lbs in the morning and a full ten pounds heavier by that night. I didn't box competively at all and put no effort into managing my weight one way or another. I'm almost 5'11 and not a really skinny guy but I probably could have made bantamweight and been a Caballero if I really wanted to. To this day I have a couple of friends who look smaller standing beside me, even with a shirt off etc, but are a good 20lbs heavier.

[Diane]

3. Go to the body[/B]-This takes serious nerve because body punching requires being in range. The idea here is just to keep Rios honest, not to knock him out this way. Hard jab, step inside, go to the body and then clinch.

I have to disagree with this part of the comment. I agree that Antillon needs to go to the body, but not to just keep him honest, but to put him down, because the body is where Rios is susceptible. He has a great chin, but he has gone down from body shots. Antillon can throw some killer body shots, as he had shown in his fight against Soto (which btw, was one of my fav fights from last year), so I think it's a huge key for Antillon to win this fight.

This is going to be a great fight. Both guys just keep coming forward, and for as long as it lasts, it's going to be great. I don't see it going the distance. The key for each is Antillon needs to go to the body, and Rios needs to throw uppercuts, because that is where Antillon is susceptible.

Too bad that these guys can't have the paychecks the Wlad and Haye got last week for that snooze fest, because this fight is going to blow that fight away.