Quickness Pacquiao’s best punch, says foe

MACAU—Brandon Rios knows Manny Pacquiao is fast. But he didn’t expect Pacquiao to be too fast to make him look like a punching bag.

“His quickness was his best punch,” Rios said during the postfight press conference at the main ballroom of Venetian Macao Sunday.

Putting up a brave front, Rios, who showed up with shades to hide the cut on his left eyebrow and the lump near his right eye, claimed Pacquiao never hurt him despite absorbing a barrage of body blows and head shots throughout the one-sided 12-round welterweight encounter.

“His body shots never stunned me. I was never hurt. It was just the speed. He was quicker than I expected.”

Of course, a review of the fight tape would show that Pacquiao almost toppled him with a three-punch combination in the sixth round and had him retreating with punches that came in bunches.

Rios said Pacquiao’s awkward fighting style also bothered him, adding he had not fought a southpaw for a long time.

Noticeably, Pacquiao’s left straights and sneaky jabs were also instrumental in turning the fight into a virtual workout.

“He’s one of the best fighters I’ve ever fought. I tipped my hat to him,” said Rios, who boasted that Pacquiao got tired “and hugged me during clinches.”

Rios said he tried really hard to catch Pacquiao, but he was very fast. “The (expletive) is fast.”

It was actually the desperate Rios, who initiated the clinches during which he unloaded some shots.

Despite absorbing a thorough beating, more lopsided than the one dealt him by Mike Alvarado in the middle of the year, Rios promised to return in the 147-pound decision.

“I’ll be back,’ said Rios, “but I’ll never return to 140.”

Rios earned $4 million, the biggest of his career, after virtually serving as a training partner for Pacquiao.