Roberto Diaz played a big role in Ronny Rios’ career during his time at Golden Boy Promotions, and now, Rios agrees. Entering the final chapter of his career, Diaz hopes he did the right thing as a consultant.
Rios’ standing will be evaluated when he returns on April 24 on ProBox TV’s Wednesday Night Fight against Nicholas Polanco in a 10-round featherweight contest. It will be held at the ProBox TV Event Center in Plant City, Florida.
Diaz didn’t hesitate to express his displeasure with Rios’ behavior at the time. The former boxer said Rios, who is competing for the world title against Murodjon Akhmedaev, was not very strong. Rios chose to return, but left his old coach Hector Lopez behind and returned with new recruits Jesus Gutierrez and Frank Barajas.
“In that fight, Jordan fought with one arm, I don’t see Ronnie wanting to win the world title,” Diaz told BoxingScene about Rios’ last fight in the year 2022. And he leaves Hector [Lopez], his life coach. and the teacher.
Roberto Diaz Views Ronny Rios’ Return As An Assessment For How Far His Comeback Will Go https://t.co/3N2R4XoDFL
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) April 23, 2024
At first Diaz was hesitant. He didn’t want to get involved, boxers often come out of retirement for the wrong reasons, and the reason is money. But Diaz recalled how Rios had treated him in many previous events, thanking and appreciating him.
“I didn’t want to get into it,” Diaz said of his initial reaction. – I don’t want to be – sure. And I don’t know [the reason]. If he’s coming back for money, he’s coming back for the wrong reasons because it’s really bad if you don’t like the sport.
Diaz then asks Rios to show him that he’s serious, and then Diaz says he’ll bring him back “the right way.” “I mean the right way, don’t tell me to go get the highest price,” Diaz said. – Because you say you do it for money. Let’s start slow, let’s fight and you can [shudder] a little rust and maybe not much money.
Rios’ opponent, Polanco (21 wins, 5 draws, 1 loss, 12 KOs) is an old and tough fighter who is capable of going up against great boxers like Robson Conceicao and Angelo Rio. It hasn’t been an easy walk, but Rios isn’t back in the deep end any time soon. He also competed at featherweight instead of junior featherweight. “I went there with a lot of confidence that I would see that hungry lion cub again,” Diaz said. – When you do it for the love of [the sport], good things happen.
Diaz has known Rios for a long time and has supported him in the latter stages of his career, so Rios can end his boxing journey on a high rather than looking for something impossible. there.
