Brandon Rios vs Diego Chaves Preview August 2
Brandon Rios of Lubbock, Texas steps back into the ring this Saturday, August 2 when he takes on Diego Chaves of Argentina in a 10-round welterweight bout at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Rios enters the fight on a two-bout losing skid and needs a W on his record to get his career back in gear. His last outing was a unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao back in November, and to make matters worse he was suspended after failing his post-fight drug test. His previous loss was to Mike Alvarado in their rematch. North American fans can check out all the action on HBO while British fans can tune into BoxNation.
Rios is a former world lightweight champion while Chaves used to be an interim WBA welterweight titleholder. They both like to brawl and have good power so this could be one of the year’s more exciting fights. The 28-year-old Rios will be entering the ring with a record of 31-2-1 along with 23 Kos while the 28-year-old Chaves is 23-1 with 19 Kos to his name. They’re both approximately 5-feet-8-inches tall while Rios has a 1.5 inch reach advantage. The only major difference between the two of them is the fact Rios has fought 184 rounds as a pro while Chaves has gone just 94.
Chaves last bout came in June when he stopped Juan Alberto Godoy in three rounds. He’s got better-than-average power and isn’t easy to back up. Rios fights the same way, so we shouldn’t expect a chess match here. These guys will be out to impose their will on each other and it could get a little ugly, but it will be exciting. Chaves lone loss came to Keith Thurman last year. Thurman gave him trouble because of is superior boxing skills, but this should be more of a slugfest, which will give the Argentine a better chance.
Rios and Chaves do possess some boxing skills. It’s just that they prefer to push them to the wayside while they slug things out. They’re both relatively easy to hit and don’t mind taking a few shots to land one of their own. This is possible to do since they both have fantastic chins. If they can both handle each other’s power this could turn into a classic. Chaves might have the edge in hand speed here and that could prove to be a big factor.
But while Chaves has power and speed, his toughest opponent has been Thurman, and when he stepped up in class he was stopped late in the fight. Rios has faced the better opposition by far and perhaps Chaves has yet to have his chin tested as consistently as Rios has. Basically, this fight is going to come down to who has the better power and chin. We could see a couple of knockdowns along the way and it’s possible their ability to absorb punches could extend the fight to the distance.
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Prediction
There’s not really any point in trying to overanalyze this contest. We’re going to see two power punchers slug it out. The winner is going to be the one who can land the harder shots and also has the better chin. It could go either way and it could also be a first-round stoppage or go the full 10 rounds. Whenever you get two sluggers in the ring with each other it can be very unpredictable. But let’s say Rios has the edge here in experience and also possesses the better chin, so we’ll go with him.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights with a Rios win being listed at -170 and a Chaves victory at +130. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done.
Brandon Rios betting • Diego Chaves betting