Brandon Rios Defeats Urbano Antillon With Impressive Power Display

Brandon Rios Comes Forward / The Daily Sports Herald

Carson, CA -- Saturday's fight between undefeated Brandon Rios and proven slugger Urbano Antillon was one of those rare bouts that lived up to the hype for once.

Rios had been on a rampage leading up to the fight, receiving more scrutiny for his out of the ring antics as opposed to his in the ring performances.

Antillon, on the other hand, has always carried himself as a quiet killer. Despite having come off a close loss to Humberto Soto, Antillon was able to preserve his status as a top contender entering last night's bout.

Round 1 set the tone for this short-lived barn-burner with dangerous inside fighting. Rios landed some solid uppercuts that could have dropped most guys in the division. Antillon countered with superb left-hooks to the body reminiscent of Julio Cesar Chavez, who happened to be ringside.

Round 2 provided the same script, although the inside fighting became even more intense. Antillon wanted to throw from the chest, being as close to his opponent as possible, while Rios needed a little more space to get off.

Round 3 was the final and most exciting round of the fight. Antillon was dropped early in the round by a Rios right hand. For the remainder of the round Antillon was in survival mode.

Just as Antillon appeared to be on the verge of surviving the round, he went down again from another Rios right hand.  Antillon gamely tried to resume, beating the count and desperately trying to hold onto Rios.

When the referee separated the two from a clinch, Antillon began to stumble on wobbly legs, almost falling into the ropes. As a result, the referee stopped the fight just before the end of the round at the 2:39 mark.

It was a good stoppage as Bam Bam Rios could have easily inflicted unnecessary damage on Antillon.

Other Bouts: Kermit Cintron v. Carlos Molina

Kermit Cintron eats a jab / The Daily Sports Herald

A little over one year has passed since Kermit Cintron flew through the ropes at the Home Depot Center en route to a bizarre technical decision loss to Paul Williams.

On Saturday, Cintron returned to the scene of that strange event, fighting Carlos Molina in the very same ring after a nearly 14-month hiatus from the sport.

Unfortunately for Cintron, he looked every bit the part of a rusty fighter, as he was unable to establish much of a rhythm throughout the bout.

Given his reach advantage, Cintron's best strategy would have been to employ a stiff left jab to set up his powerful right hand.

However, Cintron did not throw nearly enough jabs during the bout, and more importantly, he had trouble connecting on a regular basis with that punch. As a result, he found himself behind in the fight and needing a knockout in the later rounds.

Molina, meanwhile, finally got his breakthrough win over a "name" opponent, wearing down Cintron over ten rounds with relentless pressure, a consistent work rate, and crisp power shots.

Safe to say, Cintron probably has fought his last fight in Carson.

Carlos Molina throws a body shot / The Daily Sports Herald

By Jose Romero
Contributing Writer for TheDailySportsHerald.com

Photographs by Paul Vega
Contributing Photographer for TheDailySportsHerald.com