Super bantamweight contender Ronny Rios 33-3 (16) says he has nothing to lose and everything to gain when he challengers WBA and IBF champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev 9-0 (7) at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire on November 19.
The 31-year-old Californian is on a four fight win streak that includes a 10-round virtual shutout over highly regarded Oscar Negrete 19-3-2 (7) in his last bout in February.
Rios will enter the Akhmadaliev fight as a sizeable underdog but says all the pressure will be on the champion.
“I go into every fight with nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Rios said. “I don’t care about the hype or the negativity. I am just going in there to get the job done and I am having fun with it.
“I took a break, stopped coming to the gym for six months, but deep down inside I missed it. I spoke to my wife and I told her ‘I feel like I can still do it. I feel like the passion is still there.’
“Obviously, I have the experience. I have been doing this for such a long time. I am going to go out there, execute it, and whatever people have to say, let them say it. It doesn’t affect me.
“I am in full ‘camp life’ mode. [Brother] Alexis and I are working out together, resting together, we are completely focused.”
Akhmadaliev was an accomplished amateur before truning pro in 2018. The 26-year-old Uzbek southpaw won bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and claimed silver at the 2015 World Championships.
He was moved quickly in the punch-for-pay ranks, facing WBA and IBF 122-pound champion Danny Roman 29-3-1 (10) in just his eighth bout. Akhmadaliev won that fight by split decision in Miami, Florida in January last year.
Akhmadaliev returned to action in April when he he defeated former IBF super bantamweight champion Ryosuke Iwasa 27-4 (17). The Japanese southpaw succumbed by fifth-round knockout in Akhmadaliev’s homecoming bout in Tanshkent, Uzbekistan after fighting all of his previous bouts in the United States.
The bookmakers have installed Akhmadaliev as a short-priced favourite at -625. Rios backers can get +380 on their man.
It seems a steep hill to climb, but Rios says he isn’t worried about how the market is framed.
“You can’t over think these fights anymore,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know and fighters don’t talk about what goes on behind closed doors. The mental battles we face with doubt and nerves, all that stuff can start to creep up. Now, for me, it’s whatever. I have nothing to lose, this next fight I have everything to gain.
“The game plan is to win. That is all that matters.”
The fight will be promoted by Matchroom Boxing and will be broadcast on DAZN.
