{"id":293221,"date":"2011-02-27T06:48:00","date_gmt":"2011-02-27T06:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/02\/27\/rios-rallies-knocks-out-acosta-yahoo-sports\/"},"modified":"2011-02-27T06:48:00","modified_gmt":"2011-02-27T06:48:00","slug":"rios-rallies-knocks-out-acosta-yahoo-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/27\/rios-rallies-knocks-out-acosta-yahoo-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Rios rallies, knocks out Acosta (Yahoo! Sports)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LAS VEGAS \u2013 Brandon Rios lost the first four rounds on two of the three judges\u2019 scorecards and dropped three of the first four on the other. He was hurt badly by a body shot from World Boxing Association lightweight champion Miguel Acosta in the third round and was allowing Acosta to circle and pop his jab without much difficulty.<\/p>\n

But Rios isn\u2019t the kind to give up. He didn\u2019t quit when he was run over by a truck that mangled his right leg when he was five years old. He didn\u2019t give up when he failed to make the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and he didn\u2019t give up on Saturday in the Pearl at the Palms when he fell behind badly early in his first bid for a world championship.<\/p>\n

At the urging of his trainer, Robert Garcia, Rios got on top of the champion from Venezuela and fought the fight at close quarters. That turned the fight around and carried Rios to a 10th-round stoppage in a sensational fight. All three judges had Rios ahead 86-83 at the time of the stoppage. Yahoo! Sports had it 87-82 for Rios.<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

Brandon Rios celebrates his WBA lightweight title win over Miguel Acosta on Saturday night.
Chris Farina photo<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Rios\u2019 nickname is \u201cBam Bam\u201d and he\u2019s rarely in anything but a Pier Six brawl. But he showed plenty of smarts on Saturday by making an adjustment that turned the tide of the bout and brought the lightweight championship home with him to Oxnard, Calif.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got hurt early with body shots, and I was hurt real bad, but I never quit,\u201d Rios said. \u201cI stuck in there. Coach told me to get close to him. When he had distance, he was dangerous. He\u2019s a very powerful fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, too, is Rios, who scored knockdowns in the sixth, the eighth and the 10th. After a knockdown following a combination in Acosta\u2019s corner, Acosta\u2019s trainer, Manny Siaca, climbed the ropes and hugged Acosta to protect him from more damage. Referee Joe Cortez waved it off and it seemed like half of Oxnard poured into the ring to celebrate with Rios.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe amazes me, because each time he gets into the ring, he gets better,\u201d Top Rank president Todd DuBoef said. \u201cHis performance (in September) against Anthony Peterson shocked me. Peterson, I thought, had a far better pedigree. But the kid keeps coming and coming and he\u2019s very tough. He\u2019s maturing every fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still a baby. This is a fresh face for boxing. He reminds me of (former world champion) Johnny Tapia (in appearance), but he fights like (ex-champion) Arturo Gatti.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the 24-year-old Rios, now 27-0-1, has a career half as long and half as successful as those two, he\u2019ll make a lot of money and win a lot of fights.<\/p>\n

And more than that, he\u2019ll thrill a lot of fans. Rios has a can\u2019t-miss style that left the crowd on its feet roaring throughout and had Top Rank chairman Bob Arum giddy after the fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really think he had much chance after the third round, to be honest with you,\u201d Arum said. \u201cBut the kid has a huge heart and he comes to fight. You heard how these people were going crazy in here? They like people who get in there and fight and that\u2019s what this kid does.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t just fight when he was ahead, which was a big difference in the fight. He hung in there and tried to pressure Acosta even when the fight was going Acosta\u2019s way. Acosta was landing straight rights and powerful uppercuts with regularity in the early rounds as Rios trudged forward.<\/p>\n

After the second round, trainer Robert Garcia gave Rios an ultimatum: Close the distance or forget about winning the bout.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcosta landed some good body shots, but I told Brandon to cut the ring, stay close to him and throw three, four punches at a time,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cAcosta was hurting him with body shots when he had the space, but once Brandon got on him, it was a different kind of fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a lot of good opponents for Rios on the horizon. Top Rank is going to offer the first shot to veteran Marco Antonio Barrera, who used to employ Rios as a sparring partner. If Barrera wants the fight \u2013 and if he watched closely on Saturday, he\u2019d be wise to think about it carefully \u2013 Arum will make that match.<\/p>\n

If not, there are opponents such as World Boxing Council lightweight champion Humberto Soto or World Boxing Organization champion Juan Manuel Marquez who would make sense for him.<\/p>\n

Rios, though, was thinking big. Really big.<\/p>\n

And in the euphoria of his win, he was talking about going after some of the top super lightweights or welterweights.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, I\u2019ll fight anyone,\u201d Rios said, beaming. \u201cI don\u2019t care. I will fight them all. If I can\u2019t get the fights I want (at lightweight), I\u2019m a big guy, too, and I will go fight those big guys, no problem. I\u2019ll fight anyone. I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had few concerns on Saturday after the performance of his lifetime. He was perceived by many as little more than a high-quality club fighter for the early part of his career. But he opened many eyes with his performance in wins over Peterson, Jorge Teron and Omri Lowther.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the prettiest fighter and he\u2019s not the slickest, but he comes to fight. The style may not win over those who prefer the sweet science to a gritty, tough, hard-nosed brawl, but it was difficult to find many people in the Palms on Saturday who weren\u2019t eager to see him again.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a tough kid but he wants to be great so badly,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cHe works and puts everything he has into it and that\u2019s why he won this. He wanted it so much and he wasn\u2019t going to quit. He just had to find out the right plan. When he got it, it was his fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Read the original:
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LAS VEGAS \u2013 Brandon Rios lost the first four rounds on two of the three judges\u2019 scorecards and dropped three of the first four on the other. He was hurt badly by a body shot from World Boxing Association lightweight champion Miguel Acosta in the third round and was allowing Acosta to circle and pop his jab without much difficulty. But Rios isn\u2019t the kind to give up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-293221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nRios rallies, knocks out Acosta (Yahoo! 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