Judgment Night For Brandon Rios And Miguel Acosta

By Jake Donovan

They’ve both earned the right to fight on this stage. They have both done enough to rank among the best lightweights in the world.

Yet Miguel Acosta and Brandon Rios find themselves not just at the crossroads, but still in need of one more big win to gain the stamp of approval in the court of public opinion.

One of them will receive their just due this weekend, when they square off in a SHOWTIME-televised main event at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The other… will still be in search of respect.

It’s not to say that either fighter is lacking in praise from the general public. However, neither name seems to come up when discussing the best lightweights in the world, when there exists a distinct possibility of either, if not both, warranting at least an honorable mention.

Acosta continues to fight for respect despite the fact that - just as DJ Khaled suggests – all he’s done is win, win, win for the past seven years, having racked up 19 straight since hitting a rough patch in 2003. Much of the streak is comprised of layups, though there were several entries prior to 2009 to suggest that he was deserving of a shot at the best lightweights.

Regardless of how he got there, the Venezuelan certainly made the most of the biggest opportunity of his career, when he was matched up against heavily favored Urbano Antillon in July 2009.

A fabricated title was at stake, but there was nothing phony about Acosta’s performance, riding out several rough patches to surge late and knock out Antillon, timing him perfectly with a right uppercut to end his night and unbeaten run midway through the ninth round.

The win still remains by far the biggest of Acosta’s career to date, though further confirmation of his talent was offered ten months later when he traveled halfway around the world to snatch another ‘0.’ This one came against Paulus Moses, stopping the defending titlist in six rounds in his native Namibia.

If not for a tune-up fight last November, Acosta (28-3-2, 22KO, though more on this later) would have been looking at a similar stretch of inactivity.

Such has been life for the lean boxer-puncher, who became the sport’s latest example of the type of high-risk, low reward talent that not only suffers in the pockets but also in terms of the respect he deserves. All too often, the ones in the sport willing to fight anyone wind up without a big fight to speak of, while forced to watch their peers nibble around the edges.

That is, unless you’re a young, rising fighter hungry enough to want to devour the whole meal, which brings us to Rios.

The 24-year old Texas-born, California-based wunderkind has been highly touted dating back to his amateur days, racking up a record of 230-25 and serving as an alternate on the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing squad.

As a pro, he’s been brought along as well as any fighter in the sport today. In his corner is a dream team of guidance and wisdom – rising young trainer and former super featherweight champ Robert “Grandpa” Garcia, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum and manager Cameron Dunkin, regarding by many as having the best eye in the game for spotting talent.

He remains unbeaten through more than six years as a pro, brought along steadily on non-televised undercards of notable headliners as well as his own showcase appearances on such outlets as Telefutura and Versus.

When it came time to step up, Rios did so in a big way. What was regarded as a step-up fight against Jorge Teron became a one man showcase for Rios, who made a major statement in stopping the fellow prospect in three rounds on Fox Sports Espanol’s “Top Rank Live” series.

The performance was enough to convince his handlers that he was ready for legitimate Top 10 competition, which led to his debut on cable giant HBO.

In a battle of unbeaten lightweights, Rios rose to the occasion as he literally beat the fight out of Anthony Peterson, who was dropped in the fifth and grew frustrated enough to draw several warnings and point deductions for low blows before being tossed in the seventh.

The G-word began to get tossed around when Rios’ name was mentioned, though such accolades were instead replaced with disdain, not for what he did or didn’t do in the ring, but for his actions caught on videotape and circulated throughout cyberspace.

In the video, Rios was found along with troubled stablemate Antonio Margarito mocking famed trainer Freddie Roach. The act was offered in response to Margarito being raked over the coals ahead of the Mexican’s pay-per-view showdown with Roach’s prize pupil, Manny Pacquiao, but taken way too far and not at all favorably with the viewing public.

But as the saying goes in the sport, “Winning cures many things.”

Rios regained some fans and respect after blowing away fringe contender Omri Lowther in the opening bout of the aforementioned pay-per-view event, and also earned points prior to the fight for taking responsibility for his action, even if he claimed to be unaware of Roach suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Three weeks after Rios’ win, fellow lightweights Humberto Soto and Urbano Antillon engaged in what rated as one of the very best fights of 2010. Soto was originally slated to appear on the undercard, in efforts to set up a planned future fight against the winner of the main event. His bout was instead bumped up to the November 13 pay-per-view once a vacancy came up.

Where he fought mattered little to Rios, as long as he was granted what was promised to him – a shot at Soto, which was targeted for this very weekend’s Showtime slot. However, the two-way damage suffered in that fight was enough to convince Top Rank to keep both on ice and once again match them up in May, in the chief support to Pacquiao’s pay-per-view headliner against Shane Mosley.

Disappointed but still anxious to fight, Rios gladly accepted terms to face Acosta in what will serve as his first major title fight - and for both fighters, the latest attempt to prove to the boxing world that the most dangerous lightweight in the world.

A TALE OF TWO “OFFICIAL” RECORDS FOR ACOSTA

There has been much dispute in the past couple of years regarding Acosta’s official ring record.

Widely-used Boxrec.com lists the Venezuelan as 27-3-2 (22KO), while Fight Fax – regarded by the Association of Boxing Commissions as the only official source for records – has him losing five more fights earlier in his career and his record standing at 26-8-2 (21KO).

Some outlets – such as ESPN and The Ring – have opted to side with Fight Fax. Whether it has to do with a belief of authenticity or merely a vendetta against BoxRec is anyone’s guess.

However, the folks at Boxrec raise a great point in defending the 27-3-2 mark – the fact that there are ring records for (at least) two fighters from Venezuela named Miguel Acosta.

Five of the losses that Fight Fax attributes to the lightweight titlist came in a period from 1997-1999 and all listed at the bantamweight limit, which is where the lesser known – and winless – Miguel Acosta campaigned until 2002.

According to Boxrec, the Acosta fighting this weekend turned pro in 1999 and has spent virtually his entire career fighting between 130-135 lb. 

Tough to ignore is a fight posting that has both fighters appearing on the same show in Venezuela on July 6, 2002.

Unless someone can disprove that the show took place (is Leonard Ellerbe available?), Acosta heads into this weekend’s show with a record of 27-3-2 (22KO).

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com