CARSON, Calif. — Brandon Rios tipped his blue Royals cap back on his head and beamed at the big cluster of fans waiting for him Saturday night. After traveling a perilous road from Garden City, Kan., to California, he had finally arrived at the forefront of the lightweight division.
His next step is likely to take him up into boxing's most competitive weight class along a path that leads to Manny Pacquiao.
Rios (28-0-1, 21 KOs) battered Urbano Antillon with power and authority at Home Depot Center, finishing off the elite contender with two third-round knockdowns before the bout was stopped with 11 seconds left. Rios' resilience and aggression were no surprise, but his flair is what really draws the boxing world's attention to the 135-pound champion who wears leopard-print trunks in a nod to his nickname: Bam Bam.
"Any champions looking for a fight, I'm right here," said Rios, who survived numerous scrapes with the law back home in Kansas before moving to Southern California. "There's Amir Khan, there's Marcos Maidana, but I want the toughest guys at 140. I want to fight everybody."
And Rios doesn't shy away from the prospect of taking on pound-for-pound champion Pacquiao, who shares Rios' instinctive love for a good brawl. Beyond a high-risk, high-reward style that always makes for compelling fights, Rios also has a huge advantage in landing a bout with Pacquiao: They're both promoted by Top Rank.
It won't happen right away, but every Pacquiao fan should become acquainted with Rios.
"In a year or two, I would put him in with Manny Pacquiao," Top Rank chief Bob Arum said. "I think he's a guy that can match Manny's speed and power. He has the heart. He has the strength. I think it would be very competitive."
Most of Rios' recent fights haven't been as competitive as his opponents hoped. Rios is just too relentless, with trainer Robert Garcia channeling his brawling instincts into game plans that have broken down every challenger.
"He says he's a street fighter, but he's grown up a lot," manager Cameron Dunkin said. "He's now saying to us, `Gosh, I'm pretty good. I didn't know if I was before, but now I know.'"
Rios has stopped nine of his last 10 opponents, with seven knockouts before the sixth round. Only Anthony Peterson avoided being stopped, but he was on his way to a one-sided loss last September when he was disqualified for repeated low blows.
Rios brawled in the first two rounds with Antillon, who landed several shots that would have staggered most opponents. Rios shook them off and kept coming forward — and he finally broke down Antillon with a left hook to the top of his head, resulting in the first knockdown and eventually leaving Antillon woozy on his feet before the bout was halted with 11 seconds left in the third round.
"I knew he's a good puncher, so I thought it was going to be tougher than it was," Rios said. "He's a warrior, but the younger and tougher fighter won."
Rios has remarkable strength for a 135-pounder, and he would be a compelling opponent for two-belt lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. But Rios knows the biggest names and toughest fights are all at 140 pounds: Khan, Maidana, Timothy Bradley, Robert Guerrero, Zab Judah and Devon Alexander.
That's why Dunkin believes they're ready to step up to junior welterweight, possibly for Rios' next bout after the division shakes out over the summer. Khan fights Judah in Las Vegas in two weeks, while Guerrero moves up to 140 pounds to take on Maidana next month in San Jose.
"I think at 140, he's going to be a monster," Dunkin said. "He can do more strength training and really use his body. I think he could be unstoppable, and then we'll see where to go from there."
Rios would provide a welcome change in style for Pacquiao, who has slogged through his most recent fights with little of his usual flair. Pacquiao's last three bouts have ended in plodding decisions over bigger, slower foes, although the Filipino congressman should get a bit more action in November in his third fight against Marquez.
Pacquiao isn't likely to drop too far below welterweight, so Rios knows he'll have to move up past 140 pounds to get the megafight that everybody wants. With more than a year of preparation and maturity, Rios believes he can contend with the world's best fighter.
"If Bob Arum thinks I can fight Pacquiao, well, he knows the business better than anybody," Rios said. "He knows what he's talking about, and I'll be ready. The performances are only going to get better."