Tonight at 9:45 p.m. ET on HBO, fans will be treated to a triple-header of action, headlined by Brandon Rios vs. Diego Chaves from Las Vegas Nevada that can be live streamed by clicking this link. The other fights featured on this card will be Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev vs. Blake Caparello, and Jessie Vargas vs. Anton Novikov.
Rios vs. Chaves is an exciting matchup for hardcore fans, and one that may create new followers out of casual fans. Rios has lost his last two fights, to Mike Alvarado and Manny Pacquiao, but will continue to get big fights because of his action style. Chaves is a big puncher, whose only loss came at the hands of knockout artist Keith "One Time" Thurman.
"When you are on top of the world, there are people who always want to be with you. I didn't really know some of them, but they wanted to be close to me. But when you are at the lowest point in [your] career, no one comes around. No one seems to care," Rios said.
"This is why my fight against Diego Chaves is do-or-die for me. And I want to make it a 'do' and not the 'die' part."
Chaves is one of the hardest punchers Rios will see in his career; he comes into the fight with a 23-1-0 record including 19 knockouts. Visa issues almost derailed this fight and may have been a big distraction, but Chaves appears focused on the war aspect of this matchup.
""I know Rios very well. I watched his last two fights, against [Mike] Alvarado and [Manny] Pacquiao," Chaves said. "He's big and strong. I need to get into a rhythm to get this win. He's a warrior -- a great one -- but warriors can be beat. This will be war in the center of the ring." Prediction: Brandon Rios by TKO in Round 11
When Sergey Kovalev steps in the ring vs. Blake Caparello, he will be a big favorite. He will also have an increased amount of pressure on him to avoid an upset, as it's been announced he's in line to face Bernard Hopkins if he emerges victorious.
"The fight got made in 30 hours, from the start of negotiations on Thursday to the signing of the contract [Friday] afternoon," Kathy Duva of Main Events said. "It didn't take very long. When you don't have obstructionists in the middle of a deal, it's not that hard to do. I felt like it was the old days. HBO did their part, we did our part and Golden Boy did their part."
Kovalev is 24-0-1 with 22 knockouts, but Caparello's people are advising he not be taken lightly. "There is a great advantage to fighting Kovalev; [if] you manage to hang in there with him, you are going to earn the respect of fans," said Lou DiBella, Caparello's promoter. "There are a lot of guys who are afraid of Kovalev, but Blake isn't. Blake is going to go out there and do his best to win. I expect a great performance whether he wins or loses.
"I knew Blake was a natural. His instincts are excellent. He does a lot of things right. This is the fight he always wanted. I lobbied for the fight and told Main Events we wouldn't price ourselves out of the fight." Prediction: Kovalev by TKO in Round 6
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