During the first part of my conversation with WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios earlier this week, I touched on the Oxnard, California fighter's upcoming bout with bitter enemy Urbano Antillon as well as his future aspirations. If successful against Antillon this coming July 9th at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, Rios would love a shot at the man regarded as the best at 135 pounds, Juan Manuel Marquez.
 
While Marquez does have business of his own to handle in the form of a November 12th crack at WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas in which he will be moving up two full weight classes, Rios does believe that after the dust has settled that Marquez will be returning to the lightweight division to do business. Win or lose, Marquez would still be a big name by the time a fight with Rios would come off but when I pressed the 25-year old champion further about that matchup he showed some skepticism. 
 
"You know what? After Pacquiao I think he might fight Canelo [Alvarez]. There is still a lot of money in that. I heard him on the radio station. You never know, they might put him with Canelo," Rios stated of the junior middleweight champion from Jalisco, Mexico, one of Golden Boy Promotions' crown jewels at the moment.
 
But just as quick as Rios could utter his thoughts, so too did his trainer Robert Garcia jump into our conversation by pointing out to his fighter that Marquez had actually worked out a contract with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum in order to land the Pacquiao fight and may likely find himself fighting outside of the Golden Boy banner for future showdowns. I then asked Garcia for his take on the whole Golden Boy-Top Rank drama, which has been one of the biggest feuds in the sport these days despite the recent show of decency from both sides in hopes of the two companies one day working with one another again.
 
"This is business and it's a competition," Garcia stated as he wrapped Rios' hands prior to their training session. "Bob Arum, without question, is the best one out there, and if he could do it on his own, put up big fights with his fighters and keep his promotion going, why would he even want to share that piece with somebody else? This is a competition and Arum is still putting the biggest cards out there each year."
 
Garcia has obviously thought about this topic a lot, seeing as though Rios, who could be fighting at 140 pounds in the near future, would have plenty of options when looking at Golden Boy's stacked list of fighters.
 
"So does he need Golden Boy? No, but there are a lot of fights I would love to see. Brandon against the Amir Khans the Guerreros, the Maidanas. I would love to see those but I know Arum also has a good plan for Brandon, nothing to do with those guys, they aren't included in those plans. We've already talked with Bob Arum about his plans and do they really need Golden Boy? I don't think so," Garcia continued.
 
One fighter caught up in the middle of everything is WBC and WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, who in the middle of March signed a lucrative, four-year deal with Golden Boy with the belief that his contract with Top Rank was invalid. Arum took the matter to court and mediator Daniel Weinstein ruled in Top Rank's favor, thus preventing Golden Boy from doing any immediate business with the 28-year old star.

Tags: Robert Garcia , Nonito Donaire , Antonio Margarito , Brandon Rios