Rios vs Abril: Abril Speaks Out Against The Robbery

After an absolutely horrendous decision, Richard Abril has finally decided to speak out on the decision. He sat down with ESPN Deportes to discuss the results of the fight and his reaction. Here are a couple of excerpts from the interview.

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How did you feel when Brandon Rios was named the winner of your April 14 bout?
I was so focused for that fight, and I felt that the bout was mine because I was executing my game plan and I was frustrating him. When I saw the first judge's decision, I said, "Oh, all right" with the point differential he [gave me]. But then when the other voted against me, I was like, "Uh, this smells bad," and then I lost. They took a win away that was rightfully mine. I felt very bad with myself, but at the same time, I was very satisfied because of all that I did.

How did you handle it after the fight?
Well, I got to my locker room and saw all the fans who supported me with their comments, and that cheered me up a little. But you feel bad because of all the sacrifices you made to get where you are, and when you make it and they take the fight away from you, you realize that boxing is almost done because of that. People are complaining because of the unfair decisions, like what happened to [Erislandy] Lara, who ... fought against Paul Williams and had something similar happen to him, and many others.

So you had a strong reaction to the backlash after the fight?
I raised my head and said "Wow, not only are my fans supporting me, but Brandon Rios' fans, too." Mexican people sent me Facebook messages saying I was the real winner. I mean, that's Rios' country right there. Rios wasn't born there, but he does have Mexican blood in him. Everybody was supporting me. Then I saw the fight on YouTube and couldn't believe it. He didn't do anything; all he had was body shots. My punches were more effective and precise.

I watched the fight more than 10 times to analyze the mistakes I made, whether it was a close fight, but no. I saw the fight, and in my opinion, he could have won three rounds, tops. I saw him taking the second round, yeah, but he didn't do enough to take two more.