Manny Pacquiao vs Brandon Rios Prediction and Discussion Master Thread

[Sugar Adam Ali]

If manny gets dropped a few times,, he is getting ko'd,,,,

No way rios should be able to drop manny, if manny still manny,,

Rios drops him more than once, you cant pretty much guarantee he is stopping manny by ko or roach throwing in the towel,,,

if manny is still manny-- this should look like a combination of the diaz, clottey, margs fights with manny just schooling rios,,

if he gets dropped more than once, rios will have a huge confidence boost and he will stop manny

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Manny won't stay that close to him and Rios footwork is to slow. I see Many having that classic in and out performance where he will hit him and get out. He will do this all night long and eventually I see Robert Garcia will stop the fight.

[-MAKAVELLI-]

Manny won't stay that close to him and Rios footwork is to slow. I see Many having that classic in and out performance where he will hit him and get out. He will do this all night long and eventually I see Robert Garcia will stop the fight.

Rios is gonna be dizzy from being turned over and over and over again

[The Big Dunn]

Yes, Pacquiao is so superior compared to other men that his year of inactivity and coming off the most brutal KO of the century is not a factor.

Even though other boxers in Pacquiao's position would be considered less a favorite, Manny Pacquiao is such a super human that Rios is nothing more than a "tune up"

As a Pacfan, I am basing my honest opinion on this matter on your claims

No, your feigning ******ity. the people who set ******** lines can't do the same.
Just admit its a blowout.

Rios is a tune up simply because he's not a top fighter. He wasn't anywhere near the best at 140, lost his last fight against another non top guy, and this is his first fight at 147. Say what you will but Manny isn't that far gone that he shouldn't walk through Rios with ease. Manny is expected to dominate this fight as he should be...if he doesn't easily handle Rios he will really have to weigh his options because Rios isn't anywhere near the best at 140 or 147 and there are plenty of fighters better.

[Dr Rumack]

Manny won't stay that close to him and Rios footwork is to slow. I see Many having that classic in and out performance where he will hit him and get out. He will do this all night long and eventually I see Robert Garcia will stop the fight.

Unless Manny's engine is shot then that's by far the most likely scenario

I actually thought Rios looked better than ever in the very early going in Alvarado II. More mobile and more explosive than he had looked before, but he faded so quickly it's hard to imagine that he's likely to improve further in that direction.

It would take both a dramatic deterioration in Pacquiao's physical condition and a dramatic increase in Rios' to make this fight truly competitive. It's not impossible that you see one of those things happen, but it's not that likely either.

[Heru]

Very smart post, enjoyed reading it man. Good observations, good points.

However, I do believe Rios has some of that boxing pedigree in him. His jab looks very sharp and his movement/awareness look pretty decent compared to his usual slow/hunchback stance. I believe they are bringing out some of those skills that Rios has but has shunned away due to his love for caveman-like brawling style. Then again, it is not the fast Pacquiao in front of him in that video.

Should be a very entertaining fight with several exciting moments. I expect Rios to be very aware of Pacquiaos positioning, he'll be very awake through the fight in terms of being on his toes. He knows this is a fight like none other significance/opponent wise, I expect him to give a valiant quality effort.

Thanks G... Glad you enjoyed it...

Rios does have some of that boxing pedigree in him, he just doesn't have enough to deal with Manny Pacquiao. On youtube, I took a look at Rios' fights as a prospect. Those fights reinforced my thoughts of him trying to transition to an outside fighter just before facing his best opponent at the highest weight class because he'd lose rounds and, at times, get dominated on the outside by journeymen. It wasn't until he'd realize that he's a beast on the inside that he'd begin to dominate using his strength, pressure, stamina, and accuracy to turn the tides.

In the long run, it helped him find his identity as a pressure and inside fighter because if he kept on trying to box on the outside, he'd be digging himself a hole to have to get out of every fight... Except now they think that he can adjsut to fighting on the outside against one of the best offensive fighters today...

The main reason why is Rios' overall speed. When Barrera made his transition to an outside fighter, he had good hand speed, reflex quickness, solid defense, and fluidity in his counters. Brandon doesn't have that... His speed and sharpness are going to be easlly timed and countered by Pacquiao. Manny's going to time his jab and send a straight left in return until Rios gets reluctant to throw his.

Depending on how quickly Manny's able to get into his offensive rythym (and it shouldn't take long) is when Rios will realize that he is completely outclassed on the outside (because it'll be one way traffic). After that, the game plan gets tossed out and Rios will go back to what he does best. That's when he'll start to land some shots, problem is Manny's going to have more opportunities to land the counter punches that have hurt all of his opponents in the past...

Your last paragraph is on point, I expect Brandon will put in a valiant, quality effort. He'll try hard to make it a fight and will be very aware (on Rios' scale of awareness), but he'll constantly be one step behind and won't be able to make it competitive before he gets stopped.

[KEY LOW]

lol @ 10:16

wow pacquiao is going to absolutely wreck this dude

[SlySlickSmooth]

Rios' best punches will come from uppercuts he can catch while Manny moves forward.

[MikeRo1972]

Good point. but the line not moving suggests gamblers believe this will be a blowout.

Not really, if the money was going predominantly on Manny to win the line would move up and Rios would become a bigger underdog. If people started betting predominantly on Rios the line would shrink. The line staying at +450 suggests that the betting has been 50/50 for both guys since it reached that number. (Or if that was the set odds by Vegas from day one then The money bet is down the middle 50/50 for both guys.)

But like I said when a Mexican or Pinoy fight their fans bet with their hearts and it skews the line. IMO Manny should be a 8-1 favorite.

[!! Shawn]

Manny won't stay that close to him and Rios footwork is to slow. I see Many having that classic in and out performance where he will hit him and get out. He will do this all night long and eventually I see Robert Garcia will stop the fight.

Thats why Manny is toast. He doesn't have the Pacquiao in and out legs anymore. He is 35 years old...

This fight is Dangerous, Rios is a live dog. Manny can easily outbox Rios, but he will have to make it a boring fight to do so, and that is not what his team want at this point.

They are hoping that Rios is there to walk into Manny, and that Manny can blast him out of there and look like a destroyer again.

The problem is, I don't think Rios is going anywhere, and I feel like if Manny tries to **** it out with Rios, Manny will get the short end of the stick.

Manny doesn't have the legs he use to have, he doesn't have the legs he had with Margarito even.

Granted, Rios has some damn SLOW legs, so it might make Manny looks like his legs are back, but they are gone.