Brandon Rios Update: Three Opponents Considered for Cotto vs Margarito Show

Three opponents are under consideration to face Brandon Rios on December 3, according to Keith Idec. Rios will defend his WBA lightweight title in the main co-feature slot of the Cotto vs Margarito pay-per-view from Madison Square Garden.

The three opponents are:

• John Molina (23-1, 19 KO): Molina has been the leading name so far, but part of that is because Molina himself keeps talking about the fight. The all-action, no-defense fighter from Covina, Calif., is ranked ninth by the WBA and would guarantee a great fight against Rios for however long it lasted.
• Kevin Mitchell (32-1, 24 KO): The UK's Mitchell is coming off of a very good win on July 16 over pressure fighter John Murray. The 26-year-old is currently not in the WBA's top 15, but these things change, and whatever if they do -- he's a better fighter and more legitimate contender than Yuri Romanov or Anthony Mezaache. Mitchell is probably the best fighter of the three here, but we've also seen him bowled over by Michael Katsidis in the recent past, too.
  
• Roman Martinez (24-1-1, 15 KO): Martinez hasn't fought since September 2010, when he lost his super featherweight belt to Ricky Burns. He's returning this Saturday against Mexico's Ramon Maas on the JuanMa Lopez show in Puerto Rico, fighting for a minor WBO belt still at 130 pounds.

If I had to guess from these three, the most likely is Molina, but the one that would fit the show the best is probably Martinez, who is Puerto Rican and would have good backing from what is going to be an electric crowd at MSG.

Bob Arum also says, according to Idec, that a 2012 fight between Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa is possible, but Bob Arum says lots of fights like that will happen "next year." It's a great way to get people talking about both fighters, and if all goes well toward that direction, interested early in the fight.