My heart is with Rios. It would be amazing for him and his dad Manuel if he were to win. Manuel is a close friend and he has put his heart and soul into Brandon's dream to be a pound for pound champion. My gut and boxing knowledge tells me Manny. It all depends if Rios can adjust to a top level south paw and can handle Manny's power, I think the most possible result will be Manny by decision.
I like Rios a lot but in my opinion, he's Pac's "confidence builder" fight. Not that Rios isn't a very good opponent. .....former world champion and tough as they come.....the levels between these two are as wide as the fight between Floyd and Robert. This is boxing and anything can happen but the expected outcome will most likely become reality. Unless Manny is really affected by the KO he suffered at the hands of JMM, I don't see Brandon finishing on his feet.
Both fighters started out at our gym. Rios still comes home and trains at our gym. Victor has pretty much cut all ties to his home town. Rios' father Manuel started training with Robert Gonzales at Bad Boyz Gym about 10 years after the gym started. The gym has been in existence for 26 years now. I have trained side by side with Manuel and Robert for several years.