Robert Garcia says Rios adapted healthier lifestyle heading into Chaves bout

Robert Garcia on Rios-ChavesAfter suffering two-straight losses and failing a post-fight drug test, Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios has plenty to prove Saturday, Aug. 2, against Diego Chaves.

Rios’ trainer Robert Garcia said the 28-year-old boxer has taken up a healthier lifestyle outside of the ring, which has in turn sharpened his game inside the ropes.

Time and time again we’ve seen fighters that have the rock ‘em sock ‘em style of Bam Bam fade out quicker than the average boxer due to the increased punishment they take while throwing caution to the wind.

All eyes will be on Rios and how he responds to hit two consecutive losses— which were the first losses of his 34-figh career— coming on the heels of his fight of the year in his first bout with Mike Alvarado in 2012.

With a rumored bout with Ruslan Provodnikov on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao versus Chris Algieri card in November waiting in the wings, there is a lot riding in this fight for Rios.

With Chaves dealing with his share of drama this week leading up to one of the biggest bouts of his career, it will be interesting to see if the roller coaster of emotions the Argentine faced this week affects his performance against Rios.

With both Rios and Chaves liking to push the action and put defense to the back burner, the bout should be as exciting of a fight as we have seen all year and will give the world an insight to just how much Bam Bam has left in the tank.

The 10-round welterweight bout that will be held at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and will be part of a two-site HBO Boxing After Dark tripleheader. The card will also feature junior welterweight champ Jessie Vargas in his first title defense against Anton Novikov  in addition to knockout artist Sergey Kovalev defending his WBO light heavyweight belt versus Blake Caparello in Atlantic City.

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