We are less than 48 hours away from boxing?s next big event, as former eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao will square off with former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios inside of the Venetian Resort?s Coati Arena in Macau, China on Saturday night.
No stranger to the world-class stage, boxing great Roy Jones Jr. assessed the matchup with me during a recent rapid-fire discussion.
?That?s a good fight,? Jones claimed. ?Pacquiao is clearly the better boxer. Rios is clearly the better brawler. If Pacquiao can make it a boxing match, he wins easily. If Rios can make it a brawl, he can probably can win.?
The left-handed stylist from the Philippines, Pacquiao is a clear favorite heading into his match with the all-action Rios.
The fact that he was knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez this past December has left Pacquiao with a slight aura of uncertainty as he nears his 62nd professional bout.
Still, Jones believes that Pacquiao, who turns 35 next month, has the right kind of focus needed to get the job done.
?Mentally he?s hungry and wants to prove that he can still get back to the top of his sport,? stated Jones of the Filipino icon. ?Any fighter is a competitor who wants to prove that they can always come back and be what they once was. I think Pacquiao?s head is good and if Rios beats him, it won?t be because of the previous knockout. It will be because Rios tricked him into a dog-type fight and beat him.?
