Sunday 8 November 2015 16:09, UK
Timothy Bradley has staked his claim for a welterweight division title after stopping Brandon Rios in the ninth round in Las Vegas.
The 32-year-old dominated from the opening bell against a sluggish Rios, using his speed and superior boxing skills to win round after round before suddenly dropping Rios with a left hook to the body.
Rios got up at the count of eight but offered no resistance to Bradley when the fight resumed and quickly went down under another flurry of punches at 2:49 of the ninth.
Bradley won every round on all three ringside scorecards but hadn't seemed to seriously hurt Rios before the fight came to a sudden end with a technical knockout.
But Bradley has served notice that he's a name to be reckoned with in the 147-pound division. He might have even been impressive enough to get a third fight against Manny Pacquiao sometime next spring in what would be the latter's final bout.
"I did exactly what Teddy told me to do," Bradley said. "I took a piece of him every round."
Bradley set the pace for the fight right away, landing a series of head shots early in the first round.
Rios, who ballooned up in weight after Friday's weigh-in, plodded forward trying to land a big punch but was never able to land more than one shot at a time.
And the 29-year-old Texan indicated he would probably retire after the loss.
"The better man won. I have no excuses," Rios said. "I think I'm done."
