Danny Garcia enters this fight with a 33-1 record that includes 19 knockouts. Garcia has won five of his last six fights, and he’s coming off a March loss to Keith Thurman. Garcia is coming off a controversial split decision in which he lost the WBC welterweight title, despite landing a higher percentage of his punches. Regardless, Garcia more than held his own against one of the top pound for pound boxers and proved he’s one of the top welterweights currently. Garcia is a 29-year-old who stands at 5’8”, has a 68 inch reach and an orthodox stance. Garcia continues to display a variety of offensive skills that includes a nasty left hook and the ability to counter with extreme quickness. Garcia does a nice job of mixing up his punches and dictating the pace of a fight, which is key, as his pressure often gives him the edge in decisions. It’s going to be interesting to see how Garcia bounces back from his first career loss and spending nearly a full year out of the ring. This will be Garcia’s 11th career fight in Nevada.
Brandon Rios enters this fight with a 34-3-1 record that includes 25 knockouts. Rios has split his last six fights and is coming off a June win over Aaron Herrera. Rios looked good for a boxer who was out of the ring for 19 months, as he produced a seventh round knockout, winning his first bout since the beginning of 2015. Of course, Rios announced his retirement after his 2015 loss to Timothy Bradley, claiming that the demands of the sport were impacting his ability in a negative way. Rios is a 31-year-old who stands at 5’8” with a 68 inch reach and fights out of an orthodox stance. Bam Bam is known for his punching power and 10 of his last 11 victories have come by some sort of stoppage. Rios has a high work rate, straight forward style and a strong chin that allows him to survive a back and forth match. This will be Rios’ ninth career fight in Nevada.
Rios is an entertaining fighter who is willing to take a pounding, and that always makes his bouts interesting. Unfortunately, the wear and tear of his style has caught up to him and he simply isn’t the same fighter he was in the past. Even before his absence, we saw Rios struggle against quality fighters and wear down the lighter the fight went. Garcia should have little trouble getting whatever he wants offensively in this bout and could even knockout Rios if he keeps that pressure on him each round. While he still has great heart and a solid chin, Rios is a shell of himself at this point in his career.
Garcia gets his bounce back victory.
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