Well boxing people may perceive it that way, because typically when someone gets knocked out, they take a very average, safe fight immediately after it. Rios isnt average and safe, but Pacquiao is many levels above him. Too much raw power, speed and lateral movement for Rios. There is no real risk, and I expect Pac to completely dominate him en route to a late stoppage.
Rios isn't the kind of fighter that catches you with an unexpected punch. Nor is he going to use Pac's momentum against him with a counter punch. Pacquiao would have to be pretty shot to lose this fight...
Pac could have fought an easier opponent but I think they chose Rios just to show the world that Pac can still take big punches from a powerful fighter like Rios.
This. Rios may have the fresher chin at this point and team PAC is sleeping on his body punching. This fight is going to take a few more years away from PAC regardless of the outcome.
Call me a homer, but as far as I'm concerned Pacquiao beat a top level fighter in Bradley and was en route to stopping Marquez until he got caught. With that being said, we don't know how he will approach Rios since he was KO'd last fight. Maybe he will be very tentative, idk. We shall see. But I agree that Pacquiao should probably retire if he cannot get past Rios.
People are shortsighted. He looked the best he's looked in a long time in JMM 4 and had JMM in trouble before the KO, and he beat Bradley easily in one of his worst performances. He destroys Rios easily unless his chin really is cracked from that punch. I don't think thats the case though, not the first time he has been KO'd.
I think Pacquiao wins pretty easily, but you never know how someone reacts after a big KO like that. I'm sure we were all shocked to see Roy Jones Jr. get bossed around by Glen Johnson after the Tarver KO. Assuming Pac isn't having a RJJ fall from grace I think Rios is more or less made to order for Pacquiao.
Fighting an aggressive guy who can punch after a major KO is always a risk. I guess the guys who say it's not should go inform Bernard Hopkins that B-Hop was wrong when he said the same thing, and explain to that know nothing how boxing really works. :-(
This fight is do or die for the pacman, Rios is there to be hit and all Pac has to do is fight the same way like he did against Margarito.
i bet rios will aim at Pac's body and push him on the ropes.. pac punches is not that powerful when moving backwards.. if pacquiao can do what he did against diaz, odlh & margarito, then i see a late round stoppage
Are we seeing shades of Jones/Johnson? Jones' first fight after his ko loss to Tarver was belt holder Johnson. What worries me about this fight is that Rios might maul Pac on the inside. Pac isn't much of an in-fighter while Rios is. If Pac can't maintain some distance, who knows. But i still think Pac will ko Rios. He's a come forward brawler with little regard to defense. Pac eats those guys up.