Pac Man Pacquiao Beats Up Brandon Rios For 12 Rounds, Wins WBO International Belt
By Robert Brizel, Head RCM Boxing Correspondent
Macau, China (November 24, 2013)– A considerably more careful welterweight southpaw Manny Pacquiao, an older and wiser fighter one year after losing his fourth match with Juan Manuel Marquez, used lightning fast hand speed and left and right lateral movement to outclass game Brandon Rios over 12 rounds and win the vacant World Boxing Organization International Welterweight title in the main event at Cotai Arena at the Venetian Resort from Macau, China.
The win by Pacquiao, now 55-5-2 with 38 knockouts, General Santos City, Philippines, conceivably set up potential rematches with Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley, and potential future matches with Mike Alvarado, RuslanProvodnikov and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at 147 pounds.
Pacquiao was not careless or wild, as might have been argued in his previous fight with Marquez, when he got knocked out in the sixth round. Instead, Pacquiao jabbed to the head and body with straight rights and right left combinations, and rolled side to side out of harm’s way. Rios, now 31-2-1 with 23 knockouts, Oxnard, California, appeared to have height and reach advantage but got outworked by Pacquiao. Rios also failed miserably to cut off the ring, allowing Pacquiao to escape even the slightest offensive attempt, and whatever else Rios managed to muster Pacquiao blocked or got out of the way of. Manny’s legs were great, and the difference between the 34 year old super fighter Pacquiao and the 27 year old relatively unknown Rios were obvious. Nicknamed ‘Bam Bam’, Rios never got off any combinations which went Bam Bam, and as Pacquiao’s power shots found the facial mark, Rios took a beating. Rios did enough to not get stopped, but not enouh to win a round.
Real Combat Media scored the bout 120-107 for Pacquiao, giving Pacquiao a 10-8 round in round 12 when perhaps this bout could have been stopped. The scorecards, for all intensive purposes, were meaningless in this bout. Pac Man tortured Rios for all 12 rounds and pitched a shutout. The venue of Macau was interesting, and Top Rank and Bob Arum, which put this bout together and promoted it, did a magnificent job of bringing world class boxing with a worldwide show to an international audience from this venue. Arum be sure, the Chinese will be interested in seeing their fighters on Macau casino boxing cards in the future. Top Rank can showcase Chinese fighters from Macau if they continue international telecasts from here. Pacquiao, in the postfight interview with ageless Larry Merchant, expressed a desired to return to Las Vegas for another fight. It might happen if Floyd Mayweather turns down Amir Khan or Carlos Molina in Spring 2014, but it’s a wee bit too early to predict either Floyd of Manny’s next move. RuslanProvodnikov has the WBO World Light Welterweight belt. More than likely Provodnikov would have to come up to 147 pounds to fight Pacquiao in Las Vegas in the coming Spring, if it happens.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach anticipated Rios would be slower than Pacquiao, would essentially stand in front of Pac Man and be unable to trade evenly, and they were right. Rios demonstrated a limited mindset as he was unable to change ring tactics, which allowed the unchallenged Pacquiao to tee off and take target practice of Rios all night.Pacquiao looked at times like he was riding an invisible bicycle, almost like Bernard Hopkins outpointing Kelly Pavlik, putting every round in the bank but not flooring the gas pedal or taking any chances once the game plan unfolded.
Result: Manny Pacquiao Win 12 Brandon Rios, Welterweights
Pacquiao wins the vacant WBO International Welterweight title.
Scoring: 120-108, 119-109, 118-110 for Pacquiao. Referee: Genaro Rodriguez of Chicago
In the undercard, short, pudgy and rising heavyweight Andy ‘Destroyer’ Ruiz Jr. of Mexico rose to 21-0, 15 knockouts, with a rapid destruction of heartless Tor Hamer of New York City, now 21-3, 14 knockouts. Hamer looked impressive for two rounds, outjabbing Ruiz with height and reach advantage and basically having his way.
In the third round, Hamer, a former college football player, stood mostly in front of Ruiz and took a beating from Ruiz’ power shots and did not look all there for most of the round. Hamer made it to his corner, but like his December 2012 bout with VyacheslavGlaszkov, Hamer gave up on his stool as soon as he got substantially hit. Hamer is a likeable athlete and personality, but he lacks the heart to be a world champion. Ruiz, at 258 pounds to Hamer’s 220, certainly was not stronger or faster than Hamer.
Ruiz’ principal asset is his appearance is deceiving. A truly accurate boxer should possess sufficient jabbing skills and footwork to tear the little fat man apart. An all-Mexican bout between Ruiz, 24 years old, and Chris Arreola, 32 years old and 242 pounds, could tell the story. Testing time for Ruiz approaches. Ruiz does not look the part of a macho muscular fighter like a David Haye, but one thing’s for sure, the Mexican can fight, and fight well he does. Ruiz would function better at 240 pounds or less, so the test for Andy will be how far his trainers can bring him down in weight for his next step up bout.
Chinese Olympic Gold Medalist ZouShiming looked sharp in going the six round distance for the first time to outpoint Mexico’s Juan Tozcano in a flyweight bout on the undercard, cutting Tozcano on the right cheek. The cut did not affect the bout. Tozcano, a marathon runner, fought to survive and tried to remain competitive, and Shiming, now 3-0, appeared a far different boxer than his three Olympic medal amateur days. At 32, he has a future and could be a future world champion with a knockout punch if he continues to improve as a polished boxer. This bout was the best pro bout Shiming has ever fought, coming forward with pressure and landing accurate hard combinations. Real Combat Media scored the bout 60-52 for Shiming. Referee Genaro Hernandez, who also refereed Pacquiao-Rios, was kind in not stopping this bout in the sixth and final round with Tozcano in serious trouble.
Undercard Results
EvgenyGradovich TKO 9 Billy Dib, Featherweights
Gradovich retains IBF World Featherweight title. Dib down for flash knockdown in sixth.
Time: 1:10 of the sixth round. Referee: Allan Huggins
Andy Ruiz Win Referee’s Technical Decision 4 Tor Hamer, Heavyweights
Ruiz wins WBO Inter-Continental and Retains NABF Heavyweight titles.
Hamer gives up on his stool. Referee: Laurence Cole
Felix Verdejo Win 6 PetchsamuthrDuanaaymukdahan, Super Lightweights
Thailand’s Duanaaymukdahan name difficult to spell. Verdujo took him on a trip to hell.
Rex Tso TKO 1 SusuSithjadaeng, Super Flyweights. Tso is a Chinese prospect.
Harmontio De La Torre KO 3 Jason Butar, Super Featherweights. 11-0 Torre is age 19.
Zou Shiming Win 6 Juan Tozcano, Flyweights. Shiming won a Bronze Medal at 2004 Olympics in Athens, won the Gold Medal at 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and won the Gold Medal at 2012 Olympics in London. All amateur medals were won at light flyweight.
Ik Yang Win Majority Decision 6 Hero Tito, Lightweights. Yang is a Chinese prospect
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