Saturday night was supposed to mark the start of a tremendous 10-week stretch for boxing.
Even with the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson rematch, Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Miguel Cotto, the Lamont Peterson-Amir Khan rematch, Lucian Bute versus Carl Froch, Manny Pacquiao versus Timothy Bradley and the Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto rematch on the schedule, many hardcore fight fans were looking forward most to a bout between Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa.
There’s no way the rugged Rios’ aggressive style and the gifted Gamboa’s speed wouldn’t have created a compelling clash, even though Gamboa (21-0, 16 KOs) would’ve moved up from 126 pounds to 135 for that lightweight championship match. Unfortunately, we’ll have to settle for Rios against another Cuban defector and Gamboa’s buddy, Richard Abril.
Gamboa decided he didn’t want the Rios fight ? which he suggested ? and skipped news conferences March 5 in Miami and March 6 in Los Angeles without telling anyone he wouldn’t face Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOs).
“He should’ve just said something sooner,” Rios said. “If he’s scared, he’s scared. You can’t make a coward fight.”
HBO Sports executives weren’t nearly as interested in televising Rios-Abril as they were in broadcasting Gamboa-Rios.
That left promoter Bob Arum with little choice but to salvage Saturday’s show by turning it into a pay-per-view event that’ll cost $44.95. That’s the bad news.
The good news is the split-site doubleheader could lead to another intriguing Rios fight. If the fighter from Onxard, Calif., beats Abril (17-2-1, 8 KOs) and Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs) overcomes Ukraine’s Sergey Fedchenko (30-1, 13 KOs) in a 12-rounder in Mexico City, Arum wants to match Marquez against Rios.
Marquez, 38, ultimately wants a well-deserved fourth fight against Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs), but he has expressed interest in facing Rios while waiting for the Filipino superstar.
“I think that fight would be a great fight for the fans,” Rios, 25, said. “I’ll make [Marquez] fight. He’s a great counter-puncher and everything, but I’ll make him fight. It’ll be a great war.”
And quite an attractive alternative after the Gamboa debacle.
