Brandon Bam Bam Rios trained by Robert Garcia will be fighting Ramon Alvarez (Canelo’s older brother) brother on November 17 in Kansas. Win, lose or draw Brandon Rios should retire after the fight. Please keep in mind this is a very difficult article to write, how do you tell a Warrior, a fighter that is still fairly young (32 years old) to retire and stop boxing after he has given us everything he has in the ring, after he has been in so many great wars and never back down, how do you tell a Fighter to retire who knows nothing else but fighting.
Different fighters age differently based on the type of fights they’ve had over there career; Brandon Rios has not aged well. He has fought wars and taken lots of artillery from Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, Danny Garcia and the trilogy with Mike Alvarado. I am very sad to report that he has taken so many blows to the head that it is a concern for his long-term health now.
Boxing is very similar to workers rights from over 100 years ago. Today, there are Worker’s Compensation and employers are liable and governments are responsible for a safe workplace and protecting workers. But back in the day, people that got hurt in factories(on the job) we’re just simply out of luck, they would be let go and they were out of luck as employers just got another horse to do the job. Sad to say because boxers are contracted (Self Employed), that is how the sport works. Promoters basically use boxers up and when you don’t have any value anymore, spit you out. Some boxers are smart/lucky to have earned good money and set themselves up for life, while others blow their money (or don’t get paid what they deserve) and end up living in poverty.
I don’t know where Brandon Rios is financially, but I can tell you I would rather be poor and be healthy then have money and have brain damage. For the love of boxing and the health of Bam Bam, I highly urge his family, handlers and managers to say, “Brandon we love you and care about you and this will be your last fight, win, lose or draw.” “We know you love boxing, but we love you more and care about you more”.
I don’t want to see Brandon Rios become a punching bag, just as bad he’s fighting guys 10 pounds heavier than him which creates more heath issues. Brandon has had an amazing career, A Hall of Fame career, a very respected fighter for never backing down and loving the sport and willing to do anything for the sport. But just like a script from a Movie, sometimes you have to protect the warrior and have him hang up the gloves.
Does Brandon Bam Bam Rios at age 32 still have it? Yes he does (he can still do very well fighting welterweights outside the top 20), but he is already set-up to pay a heavy price in the future, as a human being, we can only ask so much of our body (head) and still be comfortable – Bam Bam is maxed out.
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