Revisiting Rios vs Abril

[CubanGuyNYC]

Are you first or second generation Cuban, if you don't mind my asking?

I'd love to know the attitude in Cuba towards so called 'defectors'. Is it on a case by case basis? I can understand how there could be a certain level of resentment, but the same time, a guy carrying the Cuban flag winning great victories on the global stage can't be a bad thing either.

I was born in Cuba. I can't say for certain, but my experience is that most Cubans on the island support the "defectors". They've fled want and misery for a better life. Most Cubans wish they could have the same opportunity. There's a lot of misinformation about Cuba. The truth is, there isn't this widespread hatred for the U.S. some people assume.

[New England]

Don't like beating a dead horse, but I see that people keep bringing up this fight and implying its a guarantee that Rios would get ripped apart by anyone with skill.

Just to get it out of the way, yes, Abril was robbed badly. No way Rios won that fight. The decision stunk and those judges should have been disciplined.

Back to the fight. Its so obvious that Rios was horribly weight drained. Excuse or not, he was. He was lethargic, slow as hell, his punches had nothing on them and he looked like he was going to collapse out there. He was not himself. I don't understand how anyone can deny that.

Second, I fail to see how Abril "schooled" him. At first he was outboxing Rios a bit, but in the latter rounds he was just standing there letting Rios whack on his arms. Hardly a schooling, more like just winning.

So explain to me how that fight proves anything other than he shouldn't have been fighting at that weight.

agree on most fronts. good post. happy thanksgiving, Goldberg..

rios looked like a zombie. he looked like a zombie against murray. horrible move letting him fight at 135 for that kind of money against that kind of opponent. i don't f#cking get that sh#t.


still, abril used the ring well and did a great job of using his height and remaining the ring general.

when rios was at range abril was winning. he wasn't looking spectacular, or hurting him, but he won basically every round on the work he did at the distance.

when he gets close, abril is able to use his height to pull guys heads down and either start to clinch, or turn the corner and step into the middle of the ring. he keeps his lead hand out there and it's pretty hard to get by it while still being in position to land power. he's a solid fighter, but not a pleasing one on the eyes. i think he'd still be able to do that to some degree. the weight isn't going to make rios any taller.


at 140 rios looks to be very big and strong. he went to war with and broke down alvarado, who isn't huge, but a good sized 140 lber.

at 140 you'd have to favor rios, having the more pleasing style on the eyes of the judges, and not having issues with the weight.


still though, if the odds are good, take abril. he's not a guy to sleep on.

[MJ223]

I think weight played a factor..... How big of one??? That's debatable

[CubanGuyNYC]

Well there are different ways to outbox and school someone, what Abril did was stay close and work Rios inside. Now that was probably a surprise to Rios because he would figure a guy would try to outbox him by moving away, but going inside working inside his power and grappling when he needed defused him completely. Not just anyone could or would be willing to do that because it is counter intuitive to most boxer types to fight that way.

Most boxers want to move and use range, which I think can work on Rios but a guy would need to be very good because Rios would be chasing all night and if a guy isn't up to the task Rios will eventually find them.

Not just any boxer type could beat him, but I do think any excellent boxer would beat him or at least stand a very good chance.

Man, this is spooky. I was going to write something eerily similar to the first paragraph last night, but I got caught up in something else. I was even going to use the same term: "counterintuitive". Anyway, good post.