By Reynaldo Sanchez

Miami, Fla - Cuban lightweight contender Richard "The Tiger" Abril 17-2-1 (8 KO's) is very confident about his ability to defeat "Bam Bam" Brandon Rios 29-0-1 (22 KO's) on April 14th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The fight will be a Top Rank pay-per-view event and distributed by HBO. And the vacant WBA title is on the line.

Abril is putting in a lot of work in the gym with his trainer Osmiri "El Moro Jr" Fernández.

“I trust my skills. We are training to fight for twelve rounds. I won't be looking to get a knockout, that is something that's going to come during the course of the fight. I have better boxing ability than Rios and our common opponent, Venezuelan Miguel Acosta, showed that I’m a better boxer than Brandon,” said Abril.

“Brandon Rios doesn’t know what's waiting for him on the night of the fight. I’m going to show him that I’m better than him and that Cuban boxing is very superior to the boxing of other countries. I’m better than Brandon. To the fans and the team of Rios - I will give them a surprise on April 14th in Las Vegas."

“Brandon's style is not a problem for me. I like these kind of fighters because I know how to neutralize them. He will try to put pressure on me and we will work to neutralize his attacks."

Abril's trainer said - “We are training for a hard fight. “Bam Bam” is strong and we know that he is a big puncher, but Richard has better boxing ability and technical skills. We will come to Las Vegas in the best condition possible for this fight and we will return with the title to Miami.”