rios blocks punches with his face. it's absurd to say that he's not going to have anymore brain damage than the average fighter. odds are boxers like donaire, marquez, mayweather, martinez, etc. will retire in good shape as they actually bothered to defend themselves. unless brandon has foam padding around his brain, there's no way he's going to end up well. the same goes for chavez jr and any other moron who thinks it's cool to get pounded in the ring.
I'm willing to give Rios the benefit of doubt because of the trouble that he had making weight for his last two fights at 135.Abril was a spoiler,but Murray,on paper,is a guy that he should have absolutely destroyed,but it was obvious that the struggle to lose weight had drained him.
Rios blocks most punches with his gloves. He fights a peek-a-boo styled defense. Just like other boxers he gets caught with most of the shots when he is trying or landing his own shots.