While Brandon Rios is preparing for his November clash with Manny Pacquiao in Macau, China, he has had quite a bit to say about gym-mate Marcos Maidana's upcoming December tilt with Adrien "The Problem" Broner.
Broner has made a lot of noise about topping Maidana in his first opportunity as a pay-per-view headliner, and becoming boxing's next superstar once Floyd Mayweather Jr. retires. Rios says he's thinking too big, though.
There's no comparing him and Mayweather," Rios said. "Mayweather is one of a kind. This guy can act like he's the next Mayweather, but he'll never be the next Mayweather. Wait til' he faces a guy that can give a punch and take a punch and we'll see what happens."
Despite Rios' apprehension, there is no way to avoid the fact that Broner's accomplished a great deal in 27 professional fights. He's won every time out, and knocked out 22 of his 27 opponents. In addition, he's won titles in three weight classes, including skipping junior welterweight to defeat Paulie Malignaggi in his hometown for a strap.
Rios wasn't impressed with Broner's win vs. Brooklyn's "Magic Man" at the Barclays Center. "It was a good fight," Rios said. "I don't know. I would have gave it a draw. It wasn't all that great. It was a really tough fight to score."
"I feel, to be a champ, you've got to really take the belt from the champ," said Rios. "If you're going to beat him, you've got to really beat him. And Broner didn't do that much to really take the belt away from Paulie Malignaggi. I don't know if he has power or not, because he was hitting Paulie with some really great shots and Paulie stood up to those shots."
When asked for a prediction in the Maidana-Broner bout, Rios unsurprisingly chose the former. "I think Maidana knocks him out. I think Broner is easy to hit and Maidana can crack. I think nobody has tested Broner's chin and we're going to see how he feels. Everybody feels that Ponce De Leon beat him, and Maidana's much bigger than this guy."
If Rios is right, and Maidana is able to thump "The Problem," then boxing's dream matchup of pitting the young brash champ against his "big brother" Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be derailed permanently.
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