Brandon Rios suffered a lopsided loss at the hands of WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. last weekend, prompting him to make an impromptu announcement of retirement.
Rios was badly beat, seeing Bradley dominate the fight from the opening bell. His end came in the ninth round when he got tagged twice before the referee stopped the fight.
During the post-fight interview, it was obvious that Rios was hurting. His frustration showed with tears flowing. He believes that he lost to the best man of the evening but apparently believed that it is time for him to call it a career.
Unfortunately his opponent, Timothy Bradley Jr., begs to differ. He doesn’t agree with the decision of Rios to retire from the sport and believed that it was all made impulsively stemming from the disappointing loss he just suffered.
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“It's sad [that he decided to retire]. I don't know if it's a rational decision because of the disappointment [from the loss]. I really hope that he gives it some time and really thinks about it, because he's still young, he still has a fighting opportunity and he can still come back and rise. He just has to get focused. That's it. It's all about focus. He need to focus and take care of himself,” Bradley said via BoxingScene.com.
At 29, Rios does still have a promising career ahead of him if he gets his mind back in the game. Bradley knows how it feels to lose and looking back, Desert Storm had to endure that claim when he lost to Manny Pacquiao in 2014.
It was an uphill battle for Bradley from there. He drew with Diego Chaves and then came from a controversy-marred win over Jesse Vargas. Bradley finally got the monkey off his back with his recent win over Rios.
Bradley believes that Rios can do the same but focus is key.
Will he stand pat on his retirement claim? Ultimately, the decision rests solely on the American boxer’s hands. But at 29, he can still make a career out of it if he is inclined to get up and rebound from this setback.
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