Brandon Rios and Urbano Antillon will go to war on July 9 in a can't-miss fight on Showtime from the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and Top Rank has a quick highlight video of the two come-forward brawlers:
How would you peg the over/under for rounds on this fight? Neither guy often takes a step back, though that's such a truth that of course we have seen them take steps back, because they take so much punishment. Rios (27-0-1, 20 KO) is younger at 25, while the 28-year-old Antillon (28-2, 20 KO) probably has the "advantage" of having been in more truly tough fights, and thus I think we know his resolve a little better. Yes, he's lost fights to good fighters, and Rios is a good fighter, but only Miguel Acosta has really tested Rios. Acosta, of course, did knock out Antillon, so maybe you read a lot into that factor.
I'm certainly not saying that Rios isn't the favorite -- in fact, I think he's a pretty serious favorite. The fighters mirror one another in most ways, but Rios appears younger and a stronger puncher, who hasn't been cracked yet. But I remain tremendously interested not just to see what should be a great fight, but to see what happens with Rios when he's faced with someone like him.