Pacquiao-Margarito Undercard: Rios Wins By TKO

Fight: OMRI LOWTHER, Valdosta, GA, 14-2, 10 KOs vs. BRANDON RIOS, Oxnard, CA, 25-0-1, 18 KOs

Division: 10 Rounds – Super Lightweight

Result: Rios Wins by TKO

Detail: An aggressive fighter with a deceptively strong defense, Rios has steadily built a name for himself among hardcore boxing fans. Then came Sept. 11^th. On that day in Las Vegas, Rios introduced himself to the world when he dominated undefeated contender Anthony Peterson. Even those who thought the heavy underdog Rios could win didn’t think he would do so in such an emphatic fashion. But Rios proved them all wrong. He steadily wore Peterson down. Though taller and with a longer reach, Peterson could do nothing to stop Rios’s relentless push forward; and after a frurstated Peterson fired one too many low blows, Rios more or less cruised to a victory by disqualification.

Rios turned in another dominating win over Lowther tonight. Once again, Rios hunted his opponent down, leaving him with little room to maneuver. The left hook turned out to be Rios’s primary weapon in this fight, but it was by no means the only one. He also fired hard right hooks at Lowther’s head; and, in the third round, caught Lowther with a head-snapping left-right combo. More punishment followed. To be sure, Rios got caught on occasion, but the blows had little effect–Rios just smiled them off and answered back with his fists. According to CompuBox, Rios fired 229 power shots to Lowther’s 168. In the fifth, the work paid off for Rios: After Rios wobbled Lowther with a series of punishing punches, Ref Raul Caiz, Jr. rightly called it at 4:04 .