Brandon Rios Won't Make Career-Altering Statement vs. Manny Pacquiao

When American boxing star Brandon Rios (31-1-1) steps into the ring against Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2) on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Venetian Macao Hotel in Macau, China, the 27-year-old will have the chance to become one of the biggest stars in the sport.

Rios will fail to make this career-altering statement and lose the fight decisively.

As huge as this opportunity is for Rios, he is coming off the first loss of his career against Mike Alvarado. The American fighter beat Alvarado via TKO in the duo’s first fight, but was defeated via decision in the rematch. Those thoughts will weigh heavily on the fighter.

Instead of trying for the rubber match with Alvarado, Rios set his sights on Pacquiao and the payday that comes with a megafight. Rios has never been on the same level as a bona fide legend like Pac-Man, and the lack of focus caused by all of the activities outside the ring leading up to this matchup will be the ultimate downfall for the challenger.

Pacquiao has been through this big-fight experience dozens of times and knows exactly what to expect. Instead of getting caught up in the hype of this fight, the veteran will be looking to avenge his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez and the previous defeat at the hands of Timothy Bradley.

A newly refocused Pac-Man is bad news for Rios, and if the American is distracted even slightly by the bright lights of a pay-per-view main event, Pacquiao will hand his opponent a decisive TKO loss in the early stages of this fight.

There is little doubt that Rios will come out swinging—his aggressive style and willingness to stand toe-to-toe with anyone has led him to this point—but he is squaring off against a left-handed fighter with just as much speed in his attack.

Boxing fans can never count out a victory for Rios after the way Marquez stunned the world in Pac-Man’s last fight, but the American fighter doesn’t have the in-ring I.Q. and counterpunching ability of JMM.

Rios has the power to knock Pacquiao out, but he must be moving forward to land his heaviest shots. With Pac-Man likely pushing the pace of this fight as he has all of his previous bouts and keeping Rios on his heels, the power won’t be a factor.

This is unquestionably the biggest chance Rios has ever earned in his career, but his opportunity to insert himself into the history books will fall flat when his game plan doesn’t work Saturday and he loses to Pacquiao.

Predicted Outcome: Pacquiao via 10th-round TKO.

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