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Rios Dethrones Acosta
By Shelley Williams
Las Vegas boxing fans and a Showtime audience witnessed a
boxing match of epic proportion tonight at The Palms when
undefeated Brandon Rios of Oxnard, California (27-0-1 KO:
19) snatched the WBA Lightweight Belt from Miguel Acosta of
Caracas, Venezuela (28-4-2 KO: 22). There was not a
nanosecond when these young warriors paused for a breather.
From pillar to post, they battered one another in pursuit of
the crown. It was reminiscent of the Humberto “Chiquita”
Gonzalez v. Michael Carbajal clash of yesteryear. Most of
the weathered boxing scribes in the media section were on
their feet knowing they had better not blink. We pitied the
poor punch-stat guy who had the daunting task of tallying
punches in this toe-to-toe unrelenting brawl of the ages.
Rios floored Acosta in the sixth with a left hook and again
in round eight. The grand finale came at 1:14 of round ten
when Rios pummeled Acosta with a flurry of bad intentions at
which time veteran Referee Joe Cortez halted the bout
without a count. The game Acosta was undefeated for seven
years and tonight ended a 19 fight winning streak. Rios
exclaimed “My dream has come true. A little guy from Kansas,
who would have ever believed it? Trainer Robert Garcia kept
telling me to get into this guy, and when I went to the
body, I hurt him. He told me if I let this guy box, he’ll
box my ears off.” Garcia further said “Acosta is dangerous
with distance, and you need to tighten it up.” Acosta
lamented “I am very sad and disappointed because I really
felt I was going to win this fight. Rios is very strong, and
I prepared for that, but his power surprised me.” Brandon
Rios has been criticized for taking part in a video that
mocked the ravages of Parkinson’s disease suffered by Manny
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach. While unconscionable, he
has said his “Mea Culpas”, and boxing seems to have forgiven
him for the low blow.
Light Heavyweight sensation Mike Lee (4-0-0 KO: 3) who hails
from the Windy City was in deep water when he was rushed by
Pablo Gomez (1-3-1 KO: 1) in Tysonesque fashion after the
opening bell. The Notre Dame Champion and 2009 graduate
brushed it off and nailed Gomez with perfection sending him
reeling to the canvas with mouthpiece in flight. Lee
finished the job at 2:17 of round one. It looks as though
that sweet right will be the calling card of Lee who appears
to be the next Great White Hope in Top Rank’s stable of
thoroughbreds. Lee personally went to Bangladesh in the
summer of 2008 and has since established a foundation to
help fund the Notre Dame Holy Cross Missions of Bangladesh.
Lee has an excellent chance of winning the coveted crown
down the road with veteran trainer, Ronnie Shields, at the
helm. In my book, he is already a champion for humanity.
On a sad note, there was a 10-count tonight in honor of Lou
Talbot, one of boxing’s finest judges, who lost his battle
with colon cancer at age 87. May he rest in peace.
Undercard Results:
Hiromitsu Miura, 173.5, TKO Ramiro Bueno, 171, at 2:22 of
the first round.
Andy Ruiz, 259, defeated Alvaro Morales, 298, by unanimous
decision in six rounds.
Jesse Magdaleno, 123.5, TKO Jaime Gutierrez, 120, at 2:12 of
the first round.
Anthony Leak, 141.5, TKO Terry Buterbaugh, 140.5, at 2:42 of
the sixth round.
Roberto Marroquin, 126.5, defeated Gilberto Sanchez Leon,
127, by an eight round unanimous decision.
Aaron Garcia, 127, defeated Alejandro Lopez, 126.5, by a
four round majority decision.
*Shelley Williams is the Nevada Correspondent for The Talkin
Boxing with Billy C Radio Show. The show runs LIVE five days
a week and for two hours a day. Go to
www.BillyCBoxing.com or
www.talkinboxing.com for all show info.
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