PBC on FS1 Quick Picks

Rios eating a power shot from Timothy Bradley

Brandon Rios vs. Aaron Herrera: The last time Brandon Rios (33-3-1, 24 KO) was in the ring he was knocked out by Timothy Bradley.  That came back in November of 2015 and Rios hasn't fought since.  Well that all changes on Sunday when Rios makes his ring return against Aaron Herrera (32-6-1, 21 KO) in the main event of a PBC card on Fox Sports 1.  The fight is scheduled to go 10 rounds from the welterweight division and Rios hopes to look good in his return.  Rios is an all action slugger who works out of the orthodox stance.  Perhaps more than any other fighter in the sport Rios loves to brawl and he does some of his best work on the inside.  Don't expect many jabs from Rios who instead relies on a strong left hook along with stiff right hand to do damage.  He will also throw a lot of uppercuts from the pocket and they may be his best punches.  The problem for Rios has been his defense because he doesn't worry about it much.  He is the type of fighter who doesn't mind eating three punches to land one and throughout his career he has shown one of the toughest chins in all of boxing.  The big question in this fight is how rusty will Rios be and how much does he have left after being in so many wars over the years.  Herrera has also been in a lot of tough fights during his career and in his last six bouts he has gone 3-3, first losing three in a row and two via the knockout and then winning three in a row, all by knockout and all against weak opposition.  Herrera has never shown a good chin which won't help him if Rios can make this a phone booth fight.  Herrera is an orthodox fighter with a pretty good jab although he does have a wild style.  While his punches can do damage they aren't very accurate and his power punches come in the form of a wide left hook and wild right hand.  This fight should be a fun one for the fans because both Rios and Herrera usually bring the action but Rios will have enough left to stop Herrera in the eighth round.

Barrios dropping an opponent 

Mario Barrios vs. Jose Luis Rodriguez: In the co-feature of Sunday's PBC on FS1 card the undefeated Mario Barrios (18-0, 10 KO) will take on Jose Luis Rodriguez (21-9, 12 KO).  The two are scheduled to go 10 rounds from the junior welterweight division where Barrios will be looking to keep his perfect record intact.  While Barrios is a 22-year-old rising prospect Rodriguez is a 30-year-old gatekeeper.  Recently he took on Felix Verdejo, another undefeated prospect and lost a wide unanimous decision.  Barrios is an orthodox fighter and at 6-feet tall is very large for the division.  He works behind a busy jab and also has a good left hook that can catch opponents coming in.  Along with his jab and left hook he also throws a winging right hand that can do a lot of damage if it lands clean.  Rodriguez is also an orthodox fighter but he lacks the power or size of Barrios.  Rodriguez isn't the most skilled fighter and he usually likes to work from the pocket where he can throw wild right hands and hard left hooks.  He has been knocked out three times in his nine career losses but the last of those came back in 2012.  Rodriguez is a tough fighter who is being brought in as the opponent for Barrios who can give him some hard rounds.  While he won't win the fight Rodriguez will give a solid account of himself but that won't be nearly enough as Barrios wins this fight with a clear unanimous decision.