Co-main event of the ShoBox coming up on Groundhog Day weekend. The vacant International middleweight title of the IBO will be on the line (although, curiously, neither man is ranked in the org's top 100 at MW...) Wade is coming off a nearly three year absence from the ring since he was destroyed by GGG. He was previously 18-0 (12), although his only big name victory was over Sam "King" Soliman, then already deep into his forties (and somehow fighting on still even today ). He was reportedly a head-turner in the amateurs but was unable to string together much consistency, dogged by some outside-the-ring discipline issues, particularly domestic abuse. Ríos is a mere 26 years old (twenty-five months Wade's junior), amazingly, considering his status as fixture on both the Argie domestic and international scenes for the bulk of his professional campaign since debuting in 2012. When he steps up he usually loses but under-prepared gatekeepers & prospects beware - on his night he can spring the odd upset (most notably, kayoing heavily favored countryman Billi Facundo Godoy in 2014). Cagey, tough & heavy-handed. Possibly a cherry-pick gone wrong.
I have a feeling Wade's team just looked at his record and thought Ríos was a "safe" comeback opponent for having been out since April 2016. I can't say I'll be too upset if this blows up in the woman-beater's face.
Ooops. My fault, apologized. Btw, I took Fidel Rios +1900 with 10 Euro. Let's see if he can do this. I think style-wise it should be a good matchup for him as he only looks bad vs. really aggressive coming forward fighters and i wouldn't describe Wade as such a type.
