LANCASTER, CA. - Former world champion Brandon Rios (34-3-1, 24 KOs) returned to the ring with a seventh round TKO of Mexico's Aaron Herrera (23-7-1, 14 KOs) in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes Sunday night from The Pioneer Event Center in Lancaster, California. Photos by Nabeel Ahmad/Premier Boxing Champions.
"I had that good nervous feeling tonight, like before my pro debut," said Rios. "I was a little jittery but it felt good in there."
In his first fight in 19 months, Rios showed off his signature exciting style in breaking down the very game Herrera before stopping him late in their welterweight contest. Rios controlled the action from the outset as he showed off his strong inside game while tagging Herrera with hooks and uppercuts.
Herrera received a fair deal of punishment across the early rounds but remained competitive in consistently throwing back against the aggressive Rios, who was able to parry some of Herrera's shots with effective head movement. Herrera had his best round in the fourth when he changed the tides momentarily by being more active than Rios.
"I'm always ready for whoever they put in front of me," said Rios. "He was tough and he was swinging hard. I had to be careful and couldn't go in there crazy. He caught me sometimes but that's part of the sport."
The shift did not last long as Rios ramped the pressure back up and began to slow Herrera down with increased body work. Herrera kept fighting back but was clearly tiring late in the sixth round as Rios teed off on him against the ropes with big power punches.
"Next time I get in there I'll be better," said Rios. "You'll see more progress each time I get out there. I still have my same style but I'm adding some more athleticism and head movement to it. I felt like I did well in there."
The attack continued in the seventh round as Rios stalked Herrera towards the ropes before eventually delivering the pinpoint right hook to the body that put Herrera on the mat. Herrera was unable to beat the count and Rios returned to the win column with a stoppage victory 2:11 into the round.
"This is a new beginning and a new chapter in the book that I'm writing," said Rios. "We're ready to move forward from here. I'm ready for the next challenge."
