R-O-N-N-Y Rios, Remember the Name (and the Spelling)

Even his manager, Frank Espinoza, has spelled his fighters name incorrectly. "Well, when they told me his name at the beginning, I thought it was R-O-N-N-I-E. But later I found out it was R-O-N-N-Y. So yes, I did make that mistake. A lot of people always misspell that."

So just how did Ronnie…uhhh…I mean, Ronny get his name?

He explains, "The funny thing is, my dad was going to name me after an alcoholic beverage. So my mom was like, ’No way; that sounds ridiculous.’ His mother, Delia Quezada says, "He wanted to name him ’Rum’ like Bacardi Rum. He wanted to name him like that. But that’s not a name. So I ended up putting R-O-N-N-Y. So we did that one."

Sometimes, it’s mothers who know best.

"First, it was ’Presidente’ and then he wanted to name me after this other alcohol, ’vino’- I don’t know how you say it in English- but my mom was like, ’Nah, let’s just keep it at Ronny. I don’t know why she spelled it with a ’Y’, added Rios.

Well, it’s a good thing his father didn’t have much of an affinity for Zima or Colt 45.

"Yeah, or Budweiser," cracked Rios.

But there may be a time when there will be no confusion on how you spell this kid’s name. Right now, he’s a prospect at 11-0 (5), hoping to climb the boxing ladder.

"I feel like Golden Boy has been doing their jobs; they’ve been matching me up. I gotta admit my last performance wasn’t too good so I gotta make up for that. But, overall, they’re matching me up pretty good," said Rios, who faces Leivi Brea, 18-8-3 (10). His last outing came on the undercard of Rafael Marquez-Israel Vazquez IV at the Staples Center in late May. It ended up being a rather difficult six-rounder versus Guadalupe De Leon. "The first three rounds, I was boxing really good and then, going into the fourth round, I hurt him with a body shot at the end of the third. So, for some reason in my head, I was like, ’Oh, I gotta pursue it now.’ I started to trade more than I should and this guy was better than I expected. I don’t take anything away from him because of his losses and he was a lot stronger than I anticipated. So he was a heckuva veteran and he was giving me a good fight."

It was the first hard professional lesson for Rios which, according to him was, "Always stick to your game plan, unless he’s anticipating your game plan and you have to go to plan B. I didn’t listen to my coach and I got ahead of myself."

Rios is just 20 years old.

"He’s very, very young, so we’re going to take our time," said Eric Gomez, head matchmaker for Golden Boy Promotions. "He’s doing good; every test we’ve put in front of him, he’s been passing them with flying colors. He still needs a lot of work but we’re keeping him busy and we’re stepping him up with some good, solid opponents that are giving him some good rounds. In his last fight, I was very happy with his performance. I put him in with Guadalupe De Leon and he’s a tough guy; he can take a punch. Guadalupe had just beaten Derrick Wilson, actually, a couple of fights earlier.

"So it was a little bit of a test and it got a little tough in there but Ronny started using some of his boxing skills, moving and using angles and he looked good,” Gomez continued. “So it’s a work in progress; he’s very, very young but he’s developing well."

Espinoza says of his fighter’s progress, "I’m very pleased; I think he’s growing. His development is coming along just as we planned and it’s better than I expected. I think he’s right on schedule; he’s even better than I expected." Looking ahead, the manager says, "In a year from now, I see him still undefeated. I believe he’ll be right around the corner from being a world champion. Ronny is so advanced at his young age that I believe he has so much experience, that he has the tools to be a world champion in a year-and-a-half or two."

The key, according to Espinoza, is to keep Rios as active as possible. After turning professional late in 2008, he performed six times in ’09 and this bout on Thursday night will be his fourth outing of the year.

"It’s very important we keep him busy because that’s what fighters need to be," said Espinoza, who also handles the career of Abner Mares, Yonnhy Perez, and Ramos, among others. "They need to be active, get that experience, get that exposure and be a household name where everyone starts to know who he really is. He’s going to be making some waves; just watch what I tell you."

Meanwhile, Rios continues to adjust to the pro game.

"The trick to being a professional is being more patient," he says. "Before, I wanted to throw a hundred punches per round but now I understand that I’m still 20 years old. I’m fighting grown men; they have the strength advantage and if I continue to throw a hundred punches per round, they’re going to wear me down. So I gotta slow down the pace; I gotta think more like a veteran fighter and throw my combinations, don’t waste punches.

"Pretty much it’s all about timing and conserving your energy."

Which pretty much spells it out for Rios.

OROZCO

Also on this card is junior welterweight Antonio Orozco, the newest addition to the Espinoza Boxing Club. This young man out of San Diego comes in with a record of 7-0 (5). On Thursday night, he faces Humberto Tapia.

"I’m excited about Antonio; this is a big test for Antonio. He has some punching power; he’s very strong. He’s developing; he’s still very young, just 22-years-old," said Espinoza, in describing his charge. "I see big things for him down the line. But he has to stay active; he has to stay in the ring, stay in the gym, keep learning. But I see good things in the future."

BUZZKILLS

Both Gary Russell Jr. and Frankie Gomez were slated to be on this show but both were scratched. 

When it came to Russell, Gomez told Maxboxing on Monday night, "He just pulled out, a hairline fracture in his hand and, from what I understand, this is like the third time he’s had hand problems. So he’s going to be in a cast for about six weeks and so we’re going to have to wait. But I’m excited about that kid; he’s exciting."

As for his namesake, the 5-0 Gomez (who has scored five stoppages) felt under the hot Southern California weather.

"He got sick, he took a week off," explained the matchmaker. "So we’re not going to take any chances with him. We’re going to wait. He’s fighting next month anyways. We’ve been keeping him very busy every month, pretty much. He has a month off; it’s not going to hurt him."

ROLAIDS FLURRIES

Gomez mentioned that the night before Mosley-Mora, that the Sept. 17th edition of “Solo Boxeo” on Telefutura will feature an L.A. crossroads bout between Jose Navarro and Nestor Rocha...I was also told by Gomez that the bout between featherweights Daniel Ponce de Leon and Antonio Escalante was “this close” to be finalized for the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora undercard at the Staples Center. I really like this fight; it should be a slugfest. It’s better than any of the undercard fights that took place on July 31st, in my opinion...I don’t believe it but the friendly neighborhood “Swider-Man” was able to secure prime seats for us at the legendary “Horseshoe”- right around the 45-yard line- for the Miami-Ohio St. battle on Sept. 11th...This talk of how Rios was named reminds me of former Hurricane Magic Benton, who was named after his father’s favorite strip club (true story). Good thing it wasn’t the “Spearmint Rhino”...BTW, Benton was one of the great disappointments in UM history...Also, how do you spell relief? (Anyone else remember that commercial?)...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.