Brandon Rios will show whether Manny Pacquiao still has a future in boxing when they meet in Macau on Sunday.
Pacquiao, a former champion in eight divisions, has to win the fight for the vacant WBO international welterweight title to prove he is not over the hill. And he has to win well, too.
Live coverage of the fight will be shown on M-Net and SS 6. The undercard action starts at 4am (SA, CAT, GMT+2) on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Pacquiao has a professional record of 54-5-2, including 38 wins inside the distance. But he lost on points to Timothy Bradley in June last year and was knocked stone cold in the sixth round by Juan Manuel Marquez in December.
Rios comes in with a record of 31-1-1, with 23 knockouts. The man from Oxnard in California is a former WBA lightweight champion but suffered his first defeat in March this year when Mike Alvarado beat him on points in a return match. In their first fight he knocked out Alvarado in the seventh round.
There are definite signs that Pacquiao has slowed down. He has not won by a knockout in his last six fights, which brought him four points victories and two defeats.
His combination of power and speed, and the use of angles around the ring have been missing for too long now. The last time he won inside the distance was against Miguel Cotto in November 2009.
To get back on track, Pacquiao has to move as he used to do and to avoid the power shots from Rios.
Rios, 27, who has a slight advantage in height and reach and likes to brawl. But against The Filipino he will have to tighten up his defence.
Rios has not fought at the same level as Pacquiao, who is expected to win a make-or-break fight. Genaro Rodriguez will be the referee and the judges are Lisa Giampa, Michael Pernick and Manfred K?hler.
On the same card Evgeny Gradovich (17-0; 8) from Russia and Billy Dib (36-2; 21) of Australia meet in a return match for the IBF featherweight belt. In March this year Gradovich outpointed the 28-year-old Dib to take the title.
Gradovich, 28, was an outstanding amateur with a reported record of 126-24 record. In their first fight he outworked Dib in most of the rounds. He could do it again.
Also on the bill is a heavyweight bout between Andy Ruiz (20-14) and Tor Hamer (21-2; 10). It is scheduled for ten rounds.
