Ronnie Rios challenges FIFA and WBA super welterweight Morogon Ahmadaliyev, on Saturday, June 25, in a rare second chance.
Ronnie Rios is grateful for the second chances. In November he worked incredibly hard to earn a chance at the IBF and WBA Championships, Murugon Ahmadaliyev, but COVID took that dream away.
Fortunately for Rios, he got a second chance.
Rios (33-3, 16 KOs) was about a week away from battling Ahmedaliev in 2021 when he started experiencing chest pains. He knew something was wrong and decided to get a COVID test. Certainly, the results were positive.
“So I was training, and I started to have a slight chest pain,” Rios told FanSided. “Something is not normal because I started to have body aches too. So I said, Awe, let’s get tested. So I went for the test, and it came back positive.”
Just like that, Rios’ second major shot at the world title disappeared without ever setting foot in the ring. Jose Velasquez took his place on November 19, as Ahmedaliev successfully defended his titles by unanimous decision.
It didn’t take Rios long to recover from COVID, but the sting of losing the biggest contest of his 14-year professional boxing career looms a little bit on the horizon. Rios did not know if he would get another match against Ahmedaliev.
“Yes, I was worried,” said Rios. “I was like, ‘Man, I might have to start over. But I think when I watched the fight, he said he was willing to give me another chance, and he did it right away. So, like I said, my hat goes off to MJ. He’s a guy who sticks to his word, he’ and his team.”
Akhmadaliev appears to have been sympathetic to Ríos’ situation and kept his word to fight Ríos. She probably means more to Rios than most people know.
Rios turned professional in 2008 when he was 18 years old with quite a bit of hype. He had a very successful amateur career which saw him win many amateur national titles. His amateur success led to a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions.
Rios set an early record 23-0 before losing surprisingly to Robinson Castellanos in the Round 5 TKO in 2014. After five fights, he dropped his first title to Rey Vargas by unanimous decision.
Watch Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs.Ronny Rios on Saturday, June 25, on DAZN at 8PM ET
Two fights after that, Izzat Hovhannisyan knocked out Rios in the sixth round. With three losses on his record, Rios’ title hopes could have died, but he proved resilient by winning his next four matches, three of them by KO.
Having wins over respected names like Diego de la Hoya and Oscar Negret Ríos helped earn a rift in Ahmadaliyev. Instead of feeling disappointed that COVID changed his plans, Rios focused on feeling grateful that he had another chance to become a world champion.
“But I think everything happens for a reason,” said Rios. “And the end result is, you know, I’m more than happy with it. So yeah, I’m happy with where we are now.”
Being grateful positively affected Rios in his second preparations for Akhmadaliev. Any negativity that came in November was erased, and happiness filled Rios as he trained. Rios feels that the joy of a second match with Ahmadaliyev has changed his camp for the better.
“It makes a huge difference,” said Rios. “I mean, it’s like going to work. If I go to work with a terrible mindset, like I don’t want to be here or, you know, I want to go home, then you’re going to have a hard time at work. It’s not that I haven’t done that before, But if you go to work happy, messing around, or asking questions, you know, whether it’s boxing, or if it’s not boxing, you’re going to have a good time.
“I’m going to go to the gym, and I’m going to work hard. I’m going to work out for three, three and a half hours, and I’m going to look at the time, crap, we’re four hours working out you know, just because we’re messing about having a good time.”
Part of Rios’ indiscretion in camp comes from having his brother, fellow boxer Alexis Rocha with him. Rocha, whom Rios affectionately calls Lex, is a 24-year-old welterweight and helps push Rios during training.
“But I’m Lex and I, we’re competitive,” said Rios. “Everything we do, whether it’s eating, running, because we were, we’ve been training together for this fight. So we run long distances. We run a lot. We do all the sprints, everything, me and Lex. We compete in Everything. But it’s more like a friendly competition where we roam.”
The odds are stacked against Rios in his next confrontation with Ahmadaliyev. according to Wynnbet.com, Rios is 5-1 underdog. Akhmed Aliyev is the bronze medalist of the 2016 Olympics and for some reason was not defeated, but Rios remains positive.
“We had a really fun camp, and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” said Rios. “I am where I want to be now.”
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