Should Rios move up to welterweight division right now?

He should stick around 140 as long as he can and look to focus on his nutrition in between fights.

 

In TR he might as well,in GB the big welterweights would embarrass him if he let Thurman or Maidana hit him in the head

 

He is a bum the only advantage he has is size

 

Nah man he's just got to focus a bit more on his wt. Everyone was saying how having Haredia in camp was such a good thing but frankly other then top guys moving up in weight when have you heard of a strength and conditioning coach being brought in when the fighter wasn't having weight problems? Pretty much never.

 

The guy was a national Jr champion and an Olympic alternate. He's got far more skill then that.

 

His stamina seemed fine until Alvarado cracked him with that huge right hand that nearly dropped him.... and every subsequent punch that landed after that wore him down gradually throughout the fight.

 

Mike Alvarado just outboxed him what do you think a real boxer does to him? Abril made him look,like a dumb bull. If he was in Golden Boy Lopez would be above him, we all knew how to beat Rios we just said Alvarado problably can't do it

 

He's never going to be a guy who stays at a trim weight between fights. I'm no genie so I don't know for sure, but I am quite confident in this.

Being that he is exactly what he is and I doubt he will or even can ever change that, I say go up to WW where at least he might have more energy from not cutting and draining massive weight (all fighters do, but Rios seems to struggle much more than most) and where the potential bigger money is at. Especially at Top Rank, where 140 is a desolate wasteland (spare for Kabib)... Obviously, he's got to take Alvarado III at 140 if it's on the table. Win or lose, move up afterward I say. One of the rare cases where I support a fighter moving up.

 

Wouldn't a JMM fight be at 140? Bradley, Alvarado, Pacquiao, Ruslan and Marquez are his potential fights so I almost feel like it doesn't matter cause they aren't big 147 pound guys

 

Just a guess, but I think JMM never fights at 140 again. Why would he after the results of his last two fights at welter?

Rios vs. Provodnikov appeals to me every bit as much as a third Rios/Alvarado fight. The first was great. The second may have been better. I'm probably wrong, but I feel a third might be a let down.

I kind of feel for whatever reason that a third fight won't happen now. I think Arum will split Rios and Alvarado and feed them to Pac, JMM, or Bradley, with the odd man out of that getting to fight Provodnikov. Then, a year down the line, Rios/Alvarado III is always going to sell. I see Arum taking this route to maximize his profits with low risk.

 

You know I don't see anyway Rios goes near Ruslan before Alvarado, he could deal with a Pacquiao or JMM loss but for him to risk back to back losses, i don't think Arum does that I wouldn't be surprised to see Alvarado-Rios in Denver later this year, I feel like Rios will win than get destroyed by Pacquiao.

 

Rios shouldnt move to welter, he should stay at 140 for a little bit

 

Hmm, he did seem less effective as the fight went on. But was that because of his stamina, or because of Alvarado's tactics of running and keeping him in the centre of the ring; rarely allowing him the chance to keep him in one spot to plant his feet and to rip away. Or maybe a combination of both.

It's worth noting that Rios, naturally, seems one of those fat kids forcing himself to remain in a trim body. He's always been soft and I bet even if he tried behaving in between fights -- which he actually does, as he's always in the gym working -- I still reckon he's the type that puts weight on easily.

But yeah, going up to 147 would certainly make his preparations that bit easier. But off just that one performance, I don't think we should definitely label him as struggling with the weight and having stamina issues. I'd remain at 140 for one more fight to see how it goes - unless he's being offered Bradley, JMM or Pacquiao at 147. Those are smaller guys than him anyway.

 

No still some good fights that could be made at 140.