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By Thomas Gerbasi - Ronny Rios has jokes. Even on fight week. Usually that’s the worst time to catch a fighter for a few words about an upcoming bout, but the Santa Ana native was loose and at ease before tonight’s Fox Sports 1 headliner against Robinson Castellanos at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio.
It’s the unbeaten featherweight prospect’s fourth appearance in the venue, so why not ask if fighting in the same place a few times removes one level of anxiety because you know the lay of the land, so to speak. Rios agrees that it does.
“It takes a lot of pressure off fight night because you already know the restaurants and which ones to go to, so that helps,” he deadpans. “And when I go to these restaurants, I already know what to order. That’s something good. And the dressing rooms are really nice too, so I really like it there.”
He laughs, but admits that talking about restaurants and eating a few days before a fight isn’t a sign of a fighter struggling to make weight.
“No, I’m fine,” Rios, who clocked in at 128 pounds to Castellanos’ 127 for the junior lightweight matchup. “You just crave certain things after a weigh-in or when you’re in training camp.”
Sushi and shaved ice with ice cream (not together, mind you) are on his current crave list, but they will have to wait for Friday night, as he’s got business to tend to first with Castellanos, a sturdy Mexican fighter with a deceptive 19-10 record that doesn’t come with a disclaimer that the Guanajuato native started out 5-8 as a pro. Rios knows what he’s in for with the vet.
“He’s a veteran,” Rios said. “He’s an older guy so he’s going to have a lot of experience, and he has a solid win over (former world champion) Celestino Caballero, so I don’t see a guy with ten losses. I see somebody that can beat you if you let him. Obviously anybody can do that. If you go in with the mentality that this guy has a loss or this guy doesn’t have punching power, that’s the one that gets you.” [Click Here To Read More]
It’s the unbeaten featherweight prospect’s fourth appearance in the venue, so why not ask if fighting in the same place a few times removes one level of anxiety because you know the lay of the land, so to speak. Rios agrees that it does.
“It takes a lot of pressure off fight night because you already know the restaurants and which ones to go to, so that helps,” he deadpans. “And when I go to these restaurants, I already know what to order. That’s something good. And the dressing rooms are really nice too, so I really like it there.”
He laughs, but admits that talking about restaurants and eating a few days before a fight isn’t a sign of a fighter struggling to make weight.
“No, I’m fine,” Rios, who clocked in at 128 pounds to Castellanos’ 127 for the junior lightweight matchup. “You just crave certain things after a weigh-in or when you’re in training camp.”
Sushi and shaved ice with ice cream (not together, mind you) are on his current crave list, but they will have to wait for Friday night, as he’s got business to tend to first with Castellanos, a sturdy Mexican fighter with a deceptive 19-10 record that doesn’t come with a disclaimer that the Guanajuato native started out 5-8 as a pro. Rios knows what he’s in for with the vet.
“He’s a veteran,” Rios said. “He’s an older guy so he’s going to have a lot of experience, and he has a solid win over (former world champion) Celestino Caballero, so I don’t see a guy with ten losses. I see somebody that can beat you if you let him. Obviously anybody can do that. If you go in with the mentality that this guy has a loss or this guy doesn’t have punching power, that’s the one that gets you.” [Click Here To Read More]