Brandon ?Bam Bam? Rios survived a disappointing outing against Cuban native Richard Abril moments ago in Las Vegas when he won a very unpopular and razor thin twelve round split decision victory on the judges cards. It was a bout that many observers thought the Cuban underdog largely dominated. Abril used his height and reach to his advantage from the outset and completely nullified Rios in the early going. ?Bam Bam? did his best to charge in but was tied up at every turn by the slick southpaw Abril who rolled away from Rios?s punches at close range as well as from afar. Rios looked flat, possibly effected by his failure to make the 135 pound limit for the second consecutive fight, and Abril gave him no room for comfort. After cruising down the stretch Abril continued his good work late in the fight dictating the pace and geography of the fight. After twelve rounds were complete the scores were announced as a head-scratching 117-111 and 115-113 for Rios while Abril was ahead 116-112 on the third tally. With the win Rios extends his undefeated record to 30-0 (22 KOs) but with his failure to make weight on Friday the WBA lightweight title was not on the line. The hard luck Abril drops to 17-3-1 (8 KOs). FightFan.com?s Ace Freeman had the bout scored 116-112 for Abril.
