Brandon Rios Not Yet Committed to Showtime Date, Could Still Land on Pacquiao vs Marquez Show

Though Brandon Rios has acknowledged a likely December 10 date on Showtime, David "Los Gatos" Rosenberg reports that the fighter is still weighing his options, and might wind up on the Pacquiao vs Marquez pay-per-view undercard on November 12 after all.

One thing that could have Top Rank or Rios thinking twice is the fact that HBO will be airing a fight between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson that same night, and the eyes on Rios could be cut down pretty harshly if they were to go head-to-head with Khan, who has some good buzz and could by then have even more as a potential 2012 opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr, should Mayweather defeat Victor Ortiz on Saturday night.

The rumored opponent has been John Molina (23-1, 19 KO), a 28-year-old brawler on a five-fight win streak who makes for a potentially exceptional action fight against Rios. I have no doubt that Rios is not "ducking" Molina, since Rios would be heavily favored in that fight. If he is indeed weighing his options, it might simply make more sense for Top Rank to put him on the Pacquiao show than have him headline himself, at least this time.

If Rios (28-0-1, 21 KO) does fight on the Pacquiao vs Marquez show, it's not known if Molina could be his opponent, or if Top Rank would look in-house for a foe. Rios has picked up major buzz this year for a Fight of the Year contender against Miguel Acosta, which netted him the WBA lightweight title, and a three-round war with Urbano Antillon in July. He was previously thought to be a lock for the Pacquiao vs Marquez undercard, but the Showtime date seemed to cancel that out.