Rios TKOs Murray In The 11th Round

Match-Up
Performance
Significance
Demand
Commentating

New York, New York (Madison Square Garden)– Brandon “Bam-Bam” Rios (29-0-1, 22KOs) was set to square off against John Murray (31-2-0, 18KOs) with obscure title implications looming.

The undertone of the story was Rios’ inability to make weight. He was overweight and was stripped of his title and had to pay a $20,000 fine. To compound the problems, Brandon Bam-Bam Rios could not rehydrate fully. Murray’s team invoked a rule that prohibited Rios from rehydrate back up to his regular weight because he had to weigh himself again the morning of the fight. Simply put, Brandon Rios has outgrown the lightweight division.

Rios and Murray began in a phone booth fashion. Shoulder to shoulder, glove to glove. Rios got hit low early and shook his leg out twice to ward off the sting. Rios’ output was tremendous

Both fighters traded well. Rios’s uppercut began landing with more frequency. Murray’s punches seamed wider and less accurate as he flurried in spurts.

In round 3 Rios threw 124 punches landing 36. Despite the weight issues, Rios has a high activity rate. At the end of the match, Rios showing his signature smile which is a genuine sign he is enjoying the fight.

A different story in round 4 as Rios’ output went down to only 70+ punches in the round. Rios was showing signs of slowing down. After two iffy rounds, Brandon Rios turned up the pressure in the 6th round landing uppercut after uppercut, and body shot after body shot. By the end of the round, Murray’s was bleeding heavily and had two black eyes.

Nearing the end of the 7th, the referee Earl Brown stopped the action to deduct a point from Murray for a low blow. After the point deduction, the steam was gone from Murray’s punches as Rios showed consistant energy as he displays incredible determination. Rios was throwing uppercuts in combinations of 5-6-7!

Murray has been showing snap in the 9th round and was outpointing Rios who was landing 12 punches to Murray’s 22 nearing the end of the round. Murray’s trainer Gallagher did said “they don’t give away titles around here” in an effort to encourage his fighter to push forward.

At 2:06 of the 11th round, referee Earl Brown stepped in to stop the action as Murray was practically out on his feet. Murray was out matched by Brandon Rios but displayed tremendous heart in his effort to hold off the constant pressure of Bam-Bam.

There hopes of a dream bout with Gamboa at 135. Given Rios’ troubles making weight, a bout with Gamboa is unlikely. Juan Manuel Marquez is the number one man in the lightweight division. Will Rios get a chance to face Marquez?

Big Sarge Green

Murray won me over tonight. He has mad heart and decent skills. Rios was the same ole, same ole. Not bad but I think JMM will easily beat him and the other top guys at 140 as well. And he can forget about Ortiz. Victor has too much power and speed for him to deal with.

http://boxingfury.com Sai-en Gant

Murray won me over too. He’s a great talent with plenty of heart. I’d love to train him myself and teach him how to roll his shoulders more. Before I show him that, I’d have to teach him to STOP squaring up against his opponents. Rios can’t land 3-4-5-6 uppercuts if you’re not squared up to him. This is why I love the Philly shell style that Hopkins, Toney and Mayweather uses. It’s so much more difficult to hit an opponent when you’re facing their shoulder and elbow.

cnunez721

i thought the stoppage was a lil premature but overall murray looked good until he got staggered i dont see much of rios doin much i believe that if he got paired wit juan manuel marquez rios would be on the canvas but he talks a big game why not match him wit ortiz and finally have a personal grudge in the ring rios says he would spank ortiz why not make this fight a reality

http://boxingfury.com Sai-en Gant

Stoppages are difficult to manage. One hand, you want to allow the fighter to work his way out of trouble. On the other hand, you want to make sure you’re not responsible for the fighter suffering irreparable damage because you let the fight go on too far. A fighter may not seem KO’d on his feet, but an accumulation of punches can cause brain damage. Therefore, referees always lean towards caution rather than risk.

I love Rios’ commitment to fighting the best. He’s like a Mexican Glen Johnson. All he wants is the best. But as soon as he fights an opponent with a slick skills, he’s done.