Rios breaks down after painful loss

MACAU – The pain of losing the biggest fight of his career – in a lopsided manner – turned out to be too much to bear for Brandon Rios.

In a video that appeared on YouTube, Rios couldn’t hold back his tears during an interview with journalist Crystina Poncher at the post-fight presser of his bout with Manny Pacquiao at the Venetian Resort here.

At first, Rios made sure to stress that Pacquiao didn’t hurt him throughout the fight, which ended up in a one-sided decision victory for the Filipino.

The Mexican-American banger tried to explain what transpired in the ring that time.

“Every time I threw (punches), I felt like I was gonna get countered,” Rios, who was then sporting a pair of shades to cover the cut and bruises he sustained, told Poncher.

Then he started breaking down.

“I trained my a** off to win,” he said, eventually turning away from the camera in an effort to compose himself. He then returned to finish the rest of the interview.

“It hurts me bad because I... I've liked, worked my a** off so hard. Five months in the gym, training, training, training. And I think it was the best camp ever. It happens. Then it goes the other way,” explained Rios, who was still trying to hold back his tears.

Through most of the fight, Rios was at the receiving end of flurries from Pacquiao, who in a fine display of footwork and head movement didn’t leave room for his foe to significantly respond. The Oxnard, California-based slugger ended up suffering the worst beating of his career.

At one moment during the interview, Poncher tried to console Rios, pointing out that he lost to a world-class fighter like Pacquiao – something one shouldn’t be ashamed of.

But Rios just couldn’t hide his grief.

“He's very fast, he's very awkward. It hurts really bad. It felt like, I let my team down... because I tried and we worked so hard and we were so confident and everything. That's where it hurts,” he continued.

Being the proud warrior he is, however, Rios vowed to return as much a better fighter.

“I'll bounce back. You learn from your mistake. I'll bounce back,” he ended.