Ronny Rios thankful for second chance at Murodjon Akhmadaliev

Ronny Rios challenges IBF and WBA super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev on Saturday, June 25, in a rare second-chance opportunity. 

Ronny Rios is thankful for second chances. In November, he worked incredibly hard to earn a shot at IBF and WBA super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev, but COVID took that dream bout away.

Luckily for Rios, he’s getting a second chance.

Rios (33-3, 16 KOs) was about a week away from fighting Akhmadaliev in 2021 when he started experiencing chest pains. He knew something was wrong and decided to take a COVID test. Sure enough, his results came back positive.

“So I was working out, and I started getting like slight chest pains,” Rios said to FanSided. “Something’s not normal because I started getting body aches too. So I said, awe, let’s go get tested. So I went to go get tested, and It came back positive.”

Just like that, Rios’s second major world title shot was gone without him having stepped foot in the ring. Jose Velasquez took his spot on Nov. 19, as  Akhmadaliev 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 in his 14-year professional boxing career loomed for quite a bit. Rios didn’t know if he would get another bout against Akhmadaliev.

“Yeah, I was worried,” Rios said. “I was like, man, I might have to start all over again. But I guess when I watched the fight, he said that he was willing to give me another opportunity, and he did right away. So, you know, like I said, my hat goes off to MJ. He’s a man of his word, him and his team.”

It seems like Akhmadaliev was sympathetic to Rios’s situation and stayed true to his word to fight Rios. It probably means more to Rios than most know.

Rios turned professional in 2008 at 18 years old with a good amount of hype. He had a very successful amateur career that saw him win multiple national amateur titles. His amateur success led to a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions.

Rios established an early record of 23-0 before surprisingly losing to Robinson Castellanos by round 5 TKO in 2014. Five fights later, he dropped his first title shot to Rey Vargas by unanimous decision.

Watch Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Ronny Rios on Saturday, June 25, on DAZN at 8 p.m ET

Two fights after that, Azat Hovhannisyan knocked Rios out in round 6. With three losses on his record, Rios’s title hopes could have been dead, but he proved resilient winning his next four bouts, three of them by KO.

Getting victories over respected names like Diego De La Hoya and Oscar Negrete helped Rios earn a crack at Akhmadaliev. Rather than be disappointed that COVID altered his plans, Rios focused on being grateful that he has another chance to become a world champion.

“But I just think everything happens for a reason,” Rios said. “And the final outcome, you know, I’m more than happy with it. So yeah, I’m happy where we’re at right now.”

Being thankful has positively impacted Rios in his second preparation for Akhmadaliev. Any negativity that came in November is erased, and happiness has filled Rios during his training. Rios feels that the joy of getting a second scheduled match with Akhmadaliev has changed his camp for the better.

“It makes a huge difference,” Rios said. “I mean, it’s like if you go to work. If you go to work with a terrible mentality, like I don’t want to be here or, you know, I want to be home, then you’re going to have a terrible time at work. Not that I’ve never done that, but if you go to work happy, messing around, asking questions, you know, whether it’s about boxing, whether it’s not about boxing, you’re going to have a good time.

“I will go to the gym, and I would work out hard. I will work out for three, three and a half hours, and I will look at the time, oh crap, we’re going on four hours of working out like you know, just because we’re messing around having a good time.”

Part of Rios’s levity at camp comes from having his brother, fellow boxer Alexis Rocha with him. Rocha, who Rios affectionately calls Lex, is a 24-year-old welterweight prospect and helps push Rios during training.

“But me Lex and I, we’re competitive,” Rios said. “Everything we do, whether it’s eating, whether it’s running, because we were, we were training together for this fight. So we’re running, distance runs. We’re running a lot. We’re doing all sprints, and everything, me and Lex. We compete at everything. But it’s more like a friendly competition where we mess around.”

The odds are stacked against Rios in his coming matchup with Akhmadaliev. According to Wynnbet.com, Rios is a 5-1 underdog. Akhmadaliev is a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and undefeated for a reason, but Rios remains positive.

“We had a really, really fun camp, and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Rios said. “I’m where I want to be right now.”