Rios claims he was never hurt

MACAU – Brandon Rios has never been knocked down or out and his consolation after losing a one-sided decision to Manny Pacquiao here Sunday morning is the record is intact. Pacquiao landed 281 punches on Rios over a 12-round distance but couldn’t floor the durable BamBam.

It appeared that Pacquiao decked Rios briefly in the first round. He connected with a shot to the head and Rios fell, stumbling off-balance. Rios was up quickly and referee Geno Rodriguez ruled it a slip. That set the tone for Rodriguez’ bumbling performance the rest of the way. Rodriguez was unsure of himself throughout the bout, not knowing whether or not to break up the fighters in a clinch or to penalize Rios for repeated infractions.

Rios finished the fight with his face transformed into a grotesque mask. His eye sockets were swollen, causing an ugly disfigurement. Blood trickled down his nose. The corners of both eyes showed cuts. He walked into the media center of the Venetian Resort Hotel for a post-fight press conference wearing shades to conceal his bulging lumps. Despite the evidence written all over his face, Rios insisted he was never hurt by Pacquiao. It was difficult to believe.

“I never expected Manny to be that fast,” said Rios. “That’s why I lost. Manny was just too quick. I was never in trouble. I fought back. I made a fight of it.” Garcia agreed. “Manny’s speed made the difference,” he said. Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said Garcia went up to him after the fight, shook his hand and said congratulations. They were at odds in the days leading to the fight and the tension escalated during a confrontation about sharing time in the gym where conditioning coach Alex Ariza kicked Roach. While Roach said Garcia made an effort to patch up, Ariza didn’t say a word.

Rios bulked up to 164 pounds after scaling 146 1/2 at the weigh-in the morning before the bout. It was the heaviest he has ever weighed. Twice before, Rios failed to make weight as a lightweight. In his previous two fights, he scaled 140. Even as he moved up to the welterweight division, Rios continued to find it difficult to hit the limit. The speculation is Garcia doesn’t enforce discipline in training camp because some of the other fighters he has handled, including Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire Jr., also struggled at the scales.

In contrast, Pacquiao gained six pounds from the weigh-in to the fight, a far cry from Rios’ 17-pound increase. Roach’s chief training assistant Marvin Somodio said Pacquiao entered the ring weighing 151. He was 145 at the weigh-in, his lightest since 2011. Pacquiao tipped the scales at 147 in losing to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez last year. He scaled 145 against Sugar Shane Mosley, 144 1/2 against Antonio Margarito and 144 against Oscar de la Hoya.   

Rios had not fought a southpaw since halting Joel Ortega in 2006 or 24 fights ago. But it wasn’t Pacquiao’s left-handed stance that bothered him, it was the Filipino’s blinding speed, both hand and foot. Rios couldn’t pin down Pacquiao and had no standing target. He tried to push against the ropes and roughhouse but Pacquiao proved too slick and smart to be outmaneuvered. Rios blasted the side of Pacquiao’s body while clinching and hit at the break. Once, he even lifted Pacquiao off his feet when their arms locked up. Rios was exasperated that he couldn’t wallop Pacquiao. He didn’t want to be described in media as a punching bag so he kept pressuring Pacquiao to engage.

When the final bell rang, Garcia knew there was no way Rios could win on points. He was thoroughly outclassed, outsmarted and outfought. Pacquiao complimented him for his durability. A lesser man would’ve gone down from Pacquiao’s barrage of blows. Rios said he’ll stay either as a welterweight or jump to the lightmiddleweight or superwelterweight class. If Rios lets himself go, he could wind up a heavyweight someday.

Rios, 27, was a juvenile troublemaker and once spent four months in jail for breaking someone’s jaw. The original sentence was for seven years. He grew up in a tough neighborhood and his father Manuel worked in the slaughterhouse of a meat packing company in Kansas. After compiling an amateur record of 235-35, Rios turned pro and hooked up with Garcia when he was 18. Garcia has been a major influence in his life and was Rios’ best man at his wedding to professional therapist Victoria Lopez who is nine years older. Rios has four children, Laila, Marco, Mia and Brandon Jr.

Garcia once said he doesn’t want Rios to fight for too long. “I don’t want him to have a long career,” said Garcia, a former IBF superfeatherweight champion who retired from boxing at the age of 26.

“If he does good in the next two or three years, where he’s pretty much secure for the rest of his life, I’ll even tell him.” But for Rios, money isn’t what he’s after. “You hear a lot about warriors but I’m really one,” he said. “I don’t care whom I fight, just so long as I get to fight. It’s really not about the money. I don’t do it to get paid. I do it ‘cause I really love it.”