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De La Hoya upset by Rios

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De La Hoya upset by Rios

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

De La Hoya upset by Rios

In one of the upsets over the weekend,  Ronny Rios (31-3, 15 KOs) defeated Diego De La Hoya (21-1, 10 KOs)  in the sixth-round by technical knockout at Dignity Sports Health Complex (fka StubHub Center) in Carson, California Saturday Night.

Rios, who captured the NABF and WBA gold super bantamweight titles in the process, won the fight at of 1:17 of the sixth round landing a combination that took De La Hoya down. He had gotten up to beat the ten count but the match was waived over by the referee.

“I feel great. It is an unbelievable feeling,” said Ronny Rios after the fight. “Especially winning in front of my friends and family who came out here to support me – I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. I did this for me, but I dedicate this victory to you guys.”

“To be honest with you, I think a lot of fighters tend not to focus too much on the mental side. I think this time, I felt very hungry and mentally focused. With other fights, I think I would overthink it and let it get to my head.”

“I was in a dark place. It was very hard to come back but thanks to my team, especially Hector Lopez who pushed me. He got me mad, he got me irritated at times. But man, he inspired me to come back and not for anyone else, but for myself. I am proof to fighters all around the world: no matter how many times you lose, you can still come back as long as you believe in yourself. No matter what – boxing, your career – just go for it man. I am not done. I still have a lot more years left. This was a hard camp, I pushed them. They told me to ease up. I would tell them that my opponent was outworking us and I kept pushing.”

“I saw a lot of tape and noticed that [De La Hoya] has a really high guard. It leaves him open to the body. We were working on that in the gym a lot. Honestly, it was shock. I didn’t know he was going down. I know Diego, he is a warrior and he’s never been down.”

De La Hoya told the referee he was unable to continue, which prompted the stoppage and the end of the fight.

“I told the referee that I didn’t feel good,” said Diego De La Hoya. “I don’t know what it was. I was hurt in my head. I didn’t feel well. I didn’t feel right. I did my best camp possible and I didn’t do that in the ring. You have to accept the losses just like you accept the wins.”

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Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.

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