Manny Pacquiao dominated Brandon Rios on Sunday from China in a match that will have a profound impact on the careers of both men.
Pacquiao needed the fight to break a losing skid and reassure the boxing world he was back to form. He did just that in epic fashion as he used 12 rounds to pick apart Rios en route to the unanimous decision. HBO and SportsCenter summarize the bout nicely:
For Rios, things were much simpler. Bam Bam needed to show up and somehow pull off the victory to propel his career to the next level. Not an easy task, but Rios was billed as the man who could get it done.
Here is how the epic fight impacts both men moving forward.
Brandon Rios
It was ugly, but Rios deserves a lot of credit for hanging tough all 12 rounds.
Few thought Rios could win, which was the right call. Pacquiao's camp was smart to pick the overaggressive boxer, and Rios would have been moronic to refuse a shot at history.
Unfortunately, Rios' style was easily avoided by Pacquiao, who brings to the ring a taste of speed Rios has never had to deal with. ESPN perfectly captures just how aggressive Rios was during his matches leading up to the fight:
So that's why it was more than disappointing to see Rios, fight clearly lost, not even make an effort for a major knockout swing in the late rounds. Instead, all we got was a silly smile surrounded by two developing basketballs on the sides of Rios' face.
Rios is far from being in Pacquiao's class at this point. A rubber match with Mike Alvarado makes a lot of sense at this point, as does a bout with Ruslan Provodnikov.
Rios did a lot of talking before the bout, but Pacquiao has ensured Rios sticks around where he was before his big opportunity.
Manny Pacquiao
Pacquiao's back!
Except, he never really left. Two straight losses are a big deal for a fighter of his caliber, but Pacquiao was robbed against Timothy Bradley before walking into a lucky (but perfect) knockout blow in his fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez.
Before the hype train gets rolling, a win over Rios does not equate to a bout with Floyd Mayweather.
We're way past that point. Broadcasting politics and other foolishness have ruined that. Really, the current version of Mayweather would rout Pacquiao anyway.
At this stage of his career and on the decline, Pacquiao should be all about the most money in a winnable fight. That's why dance No. 5 with Manuel makes the most sense. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated concurs:
Bradley recently downed Marquez, but he's simply not a big enough name to be a major draw. Pacquiao and Marquez have yet to fight a dull round, and both appear to be evenly matched at this point.
It's nice to see Pacquiao look dominant as he was against Rios. He'll go on to spar in more highly-entertaining bouts, but not the one everyone truly wants to see.
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