In a new show, HBO follows a fighter for the two days leading up to the fight. For the first show, which hopefully becomes a series, HBO follows Brandon ‘Bam Bam' Rios before his fight with John Murray on the December 3rd undercard of Cotto-Margarito. This video focuses on the troubles that Brandon had in trying to make the lightweight limit of 135. Before this fight Rios was stripped of the WBA title because he failed to make weight. Many people, myself included, thought that Rios was not taking his challenger seriously, and didn't train too hard. While that might still be the case, this video goes on to document the struggle that Brandon went through to make the weight.
Brandon's appearance in the video and then talking about the days is drastically different. He looks terrible as he is getting ready to walk onto the scales, with almost no color in his face. His deathly pallor is a result of not eating for five days. FIVE DAYS. That is insane. I have done fasts for a 24-hour period, and by the end of that I'm getting weak and woozy. I cannot imagine the physical and mental toll that fasting for five days would take on the body. The mental toll becomes evident when Brandon has trouble remembering what Max Kellerman asked him in the pre-fight meeting.
One of the more interesting episodes that occurs in this video is the fact that between the second and third weigh-in attempts, Brandon actually gains a pound. Both Robert Garcia and Brandon Rios swear that Brandon didn't eat or drink anything, so how could he gain the weight? Apparently the scale got moved and lost calibration. He was told that they could have another attempt but he was already pounding down water after the supposed failure.
After the failure, both fighters agree to have Brandon weigh-in again the next day to make sure that he has not gained too much weight. Robert Garcia then shares that Rios usually gains 20 lbs. between the weigh-in and the fight. Not even Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. gains that much weight between the weigh-in and the fight. It seems that Rios tends to break down opponents, and the big difference in weight might be the reason for that.
Finally, the video focuses on the fight itself. I feel like HBO has taken some cues from the popularity of the Fight Camp 360 series in having both Garcia and Rios comment on the actual fight. Overall, this is an extremely well-done video that really gives us an inside look at Brandon Rios during this difficult period. I am certainly looking forward to more of these videos. Who do you think should be featured in the next video?