While much of the focus in the lead-up to this weekend?s bout between Brandon Rios and WBO welterweight titleholder Tim Bradley at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas has focused on Bradley?s new union with trainer Teddy Atlas, it?s been business as usual for Rios and Robert Garcia, who have prepared in relative privacy at Garcia?s new gym in Riverside, Calif.
Basically from the day Rios turned pro after his days as an amateur from Garden City, Kan., they have worked together with very little friction.
Garcia, one of the sport?s leading trainers, was a bit taken aback that the ?Desert Storm? had decided to make a change after such a successful run with ex-trainer Joel Diaz, ?I was surprised that Joel and Tim had split up and it never came to my mind that it would be someone like Atlas, who hadn?t done it in many years and that would?ve never even been my last guess.?
So how much of an effect can a trainer have with an established boxer in just two months, especially a fighter who had been with his previous chief second for over a decade?
?Look,? says Garcia, who has had experience in assuming the responsibilities of well-known fighters, ?I think it is possible. I don?t know if you remember but my first [tenure] with Marcos Maidana, I think everyone seen a little bit of a difference: more jabs than we were used to and a little more in-and-out-type of movement and, as the fights went on, he started looking better and better. I think, yeah, there could be a difference.
?But with Bradley, he?s already a good little boxer that uses his jab and would fight in-and-out if he wants. So what else can Tim bring to the table? I think Tim could have done the same with Teddy, with his dad, with whoever it would be. I don?t think there?s much of a change or a difference in this case.?
Garcia has a point. At his core, Bradley will always be a boxer and Rios, a rugged brawler. You don?t have to be Angelo Dundee to figure out that Bradley will attempt to out-box and out-maneuver Rios with lateral movement. It?s a formula that has worked for Bradley, who has become one of the most accomplished fighters of this past generation, compiling a record of 32-1-1 (12), winning multiple world titles at both 140 and 147 pounds and having been involved in some of the sport?s biggest events.
And with all that, Diaz ? a respected cornerman in his own right ? was thanked with a pink slip by Bradley (and his wife, Monica). Garcia has empathy for his colleague, ?Look, it?s not the first time something like that happens to someone. It?s happened to me. It happens to every trainer. When you have a relationship with a fighter that you?ve been with since his pro debut and then, 10 years later, he makes a move like that ? you have to feel bad and it was very wrong. When you have accomplished so much together ? five world titles, if I?m not mistaken ? and millions of dollars. You have to be thankful to the person who did that for you and got you there.?
But the reality of this job is you are hired to be eventually fired. Every trainer understands this.
?It was bad to hear that and I?m pretty sure it was hard for Joel,? Garcia continued. ?It?s not easy to take that and I was actually looking forward to going in there with Joel, even though we?re friends and, ever since the amateur days, we?ve known each other and I always support him and his team and he supports me. But to have a chance to go in there against him, it?s a bit of a fight and it would?ve been very good, competitive, not only with the fighters but with us also. I was looking forward to it.?
As for his charge, in recent years, Rios had declined as he was no longer the wrecking ball who broke down his foes at 135. Despite not even being 30 years of age, he looked like he had gone well over the other side of the hill. Rios did look rejuvenated this past January as he stopped Mike Alvarado in three rounds in their rubber match but Alvarado was also a shell of himself on that evening. But Garcia believes the ?Bam Bam? the boxing world witnessed from 2010 to 2013 will show up versus Bradley.
?Mentally, Brandon was always that fighter who got in there with all his heart but, for a few fights, when he started making a lot of money, he had become a millionaire where he didn?t do things the way he should?ve,? said Garcia, a world champion himself during his days as a boxer. ?But he realized he was doing wrong and he changed everything around. The last fight with Alvarado, we did training camp. We spent a few weeks in Colorado, did good work; he followed instructions and he?s doing the same thing now. He?s been very close to weight for the last two, three weeks. He?s training hard.?
On this particular Sunday ? usually a day off for most boxers ? Rios is under the watchful eye of Garcia at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy. The trainer explained that, as they get to Las Vegas this week, with all the pre-fight events planned for them, it will be difficult to actually get in a full day?s work at the gym. ?He?s motivated,? insisted Garcia. ?He?s training very hard and people will see that Brandon Rios that fought Alvarado in Denver.?
The question is: Just how much of a mirage was the victory over Alvarado, who most likely should?ve been in rehab rather than a professional prizefight back in January? And just how much wear and tear is on Bradley, who left pieces of himself in the ring during his war with Ruslan Provodnikov in 2013 and was buzzed badly by the light-hitting Jessie Vargas in the closing moments of his last fight in late June?
Still, oddsmakers have installed Bradley as a 5-to-1 favorite coming in.
You get the strong sense that Bradley?s advantage in quickness and athleticism will carry the early stages of the fight. And it will be incumbent upon the heavy-handed Rios to close the gap in the late rounds and turn it into a fight.
Garcia believes, at a certain point, that Bradley will be there to be cornered and hit, ?I think (Bradley?s) going to box and especially with a new trainer. Timmy?s already been a great boxer; he?s not a runner. I?ve followed his career; he?s not a runner. He?s a good boxer; he?s got good skills inside the ring. So yeah, I expect him to box but when you have a fighter like Timmy, who also loves to please the crowd and has a tremendous heart, he?ll eventually fight and even if he tries to box through 12 rounds, he?s not the runner that a (Floyd) Mayweather is, who is very defensive or those type of boxers that are just tremendously fast and tall and hard to catch.
?He?s a lot shorter than Brandon, so he could actually box the way (Anthony) Peterson was doing or a (Miguel) Acosta was doing and Brandon eventually made them fight and dominated with his power and strength. That?s the way I see things going. He?s going to box but he?s never going to be able to box for 12 rounds because he?s not the runner, the defensive fighter like a Mayweather or someone like that. Mayweather could do it for 12 rounds, not Bradley.?
GARCIA
Garcia wouldn?t be surprised if Marcos Maidana never steps into the ring again after his two fights against the aforementioned Mayweather. As for Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Garcia expects him back in the gym sometime in December for a possible February return to the ring.
3KD
OK, because of a BlogTalk glitch, ?The Next Round? with Gabe Montoya and I was canceled this week, we apologize (but hey, this wasn?t our fault!). But ?The 3 Knockdown Rule? with Mario Lopez and me went on and you can listen to it right here?
?or here?
?and you can download it here.
NOVEMBER FLURRIES
OK, anytime Amir Khan says he has landed a big fight, don?t believe him?Looks like Chinese heavyweight Taishan Dong is now working with Freddie Roach. This is now Taishan?s professional trainer. First, Mr. John Bray, then Buddy McGirt?WBC featherweight titlist Gary Russell Jr. has reportedly suffered a cut during training and his Nov. 14 bout versus Oscar Escandon has been scrapped?Is it finally cooling off in Southern California??So what?s with Twitter going with hearts??Is Blaine Gabbert really starting an NFL game again?!?I guess Steph Curry is still kinda good at basketball?For the Lakers to move ahead into the future, they need Kobe Bryant to get injured again. Yeah, I said it?The new ?Thrilla in Manila? line from Roots of Fight is outstanding. I have to say, it looks great on me?I can be reached at [email protected] and I tweet (a lot) at twitter.com/steveucnlive. I also share photos of stuff at instagram.com/steveucnlive and can also be found at tsu.co/steveucnlive.
