Brandon Rios Revealed Return Fight Was “Nerve-Wracking”

Less than a year ago, not many thought former world champion Brandon Rios would come out of retirement, but admitted that coming back to the ring last summer was not smooth sailing.

In a recent press conference to kick off Rios’ upcoming fight against former world champion Danny Garcia, Rios spoke on his return last June and called the experience a “bit nerve-wracking.”

“Being back in the ring was a little bit nerve-wracking but I was happy to get the ring rust off. I did what I had to do and was happy to get through that experience. I’m really thankful to be in this position to fight Danny Garcia,” Rios said.

Rios originally retired in 2015 after many tough fights against Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley and a three-fight series against Mike Alvarado. Rios also said that he feels great and came out of retirement because he feels like he has a lot left in the tank and wants to get back to fighting big fights.

Rios, a former lightweight world champion, has a 3-2 record in welterweight fights since moving up to that weight in 2013. Rios knocked out Aaron Herrera in the seventh round on a Premier Boxing Champions card last June. The former lightweight champion then signed on to fight Garcia with their fight taking place on February 17 on Showtime. The winner of that fight will be the mandatory challenger to Keith Thurman‘s WBC welterweight title after current mandatory challenger Shawn Porter gets his shot at the belt.