# Brandon Ríos
**Brandon Ríos** (Brandon Lee González Ríos, born in Garden City, Kansas) is a retired American professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2019, held the WBA lightweight title in 2011, and became known for a relentless, crowd-pleasing pressure style under the nickname "Bam Bam". He finished with a professional record of 35 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw, with 26 wins by knockout.[1](https://fightnights.com/boxers/Brandon-Rios-record-896)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / alias | Brandon Lee González Ríos; "Bam Bam"[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) |
| Born / based | Garden City, Kansas; hometown Oxnard, California[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) |
| Physical | Orthodox stance, 175 cm tall, 173 cm reach[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) |
| Amateur career | Almost 275 amateur bouts; 2004 United States Amateur Featherweight Champion; 2004 Olympic alternate at 125 lbs[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) |
| World title | WBA Lightweight (Regular) Champion, 26 February 2011 to 2 December 2011; stripped after failing to make weight[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) |
| Title-fight record | 2-2-0 in world title fights; 4-5-0 against former or current world champions[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) • [10](https://www.wboboxing.com/official-results/03302013-brandon-rios-vs-mike-alvarado/) |
| Team | Trainer Roberto Garcia, manager Cameron Dunkin, promoter Top Rank[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) |
## Amateur background and early professional career
Ríos reportedly fought in almost 275 amateur bouts, won the 2004 United States Amateur Featherweight Championship, and served as a 2004 United States Olympic alternate at 125 pounds.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) He turned professional in 2004 and fought until 2019, a 16-year career.[1](https://fightnights.com/boxers/Brandon-Rios-record-896) Along the way he collected the NABF lightweight title, the WBO Latino super lightweight title, and the WBO International welterweight title.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios)
## WBA lightweight champion
Ríos won the WBA lightweight (Regular) championship on 26 February 2011, succeeding Miguel Acosta. His reign ended on 2 December 2011, when he was stripped of the belt for failing to make weight; Richar Abril succeeded him.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) Weight problems were a recurring feature of his career; before the 2013 Pacquiao fight his camp restructured his routine around eating four times a day and drinking hourly rather than the self-starvation that had left him emaciated in earlier fight weeks.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/21/brandon-rios-fight-manny-pacquiao-interview)
## The Mike Alvarado trilogy
The defining series of Ríos's career was his three-fight set with Mike Alvarado. Their first meeting, in October 2012, a seventh-round Ríos win, was widely called the Fight of the Year.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/21/brandon-rios-fight-manny-pacquiao-interview) In the rematch on 30 March 2013 in Las Vegas, Ríos, fighting at 140 pounds, lost a unanimous decision over 12 rounds, his first professional defeat, which he attributed in part to taking the fight lightly and emphasizing weight lifting in training.[4](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios_vs._Mike_Alvarado_%282nd_meeting%29) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/21/brandon-rios-fight-manny-pacquiao-interview) In their third fight, on 24 January 2015, Ríos won by third-round technical knockout in a welterweight title bout.[5](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/bouts/897345)
## Fight against Manny Pacquiao
On 24 November 2013 Ríos faced [Manny Pacquiao](https://www.edgepedia.org/manny-pacquiao) at the Cotai Arena in Macau for the WBO International welterweight title, in a bout billed as the biggest fight in history between two fighters coming off losses. Pacquiao won a unanimous decision, controlling the early rounds and opening a cut above Ríos's left eye; Ríos landed his most telling blows in the ninth round but never threatened the outcome.[6](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/boxing-manny-pacquiao-outclasses-brandon-rios-in-macau-8960429.html) Pacquiao dedicated the victory to the victims of [Typhoon Haiyan](https://www.edgepedia.org/typhoon-haiyan) in the Philippines, where survivors in Tacloban celebrated the win.[6](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/boxing-manny-pacquiao-outclasses-brandon-rios-in-macau-8960429.html) Ríos earned a career-high purse of $4 million for the fight, and Pacquiao called him "one of the toughest opponents of my career", adding, "He took a lot of punches but he's still standing."[7](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/24/manny-pacquiao-defeats-brandon-rios) • [6](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/boxing-manny-pacquiao-outclasses-brandon-rios-in-macau-8960429.html)
## Decline, comeback, and retirement
In November 2015 Ríos challenged welterweight champion Timothy Bradley Jr. in Las Vegas and was knocked down twice in the ninth and final round of a technical-knockout loss. Bradley landed 254 punches while absorbing only 81.[5](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/bouts/897345) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-boxing-timothy-bradley-brandon-rios-pacquiao-20151108-story.html) The defeat was his third in five bouts and his first career knockout loss, and he announced his retirement after an 11-year career.[5](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/bouts/897345)
He returned on 11 June 2017 after a 19-month layoff and stopped the Mexican veteran Aaron Herrera in the seventh round with a body shot, his first victory since the January 2015 Alvarado fight.[5](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/bouts/897345) Later losses followed, including a ninth-round knockout defeat to Danny García in February 2018 at welterweight.[9](https://ring-record.com/fighter/brandon-rios) His career ran through 2019, closing at 35-5-1 with 26 knockouts.[1](https://fightnights.com/boxers/Brandon-Rios-record-896)
## Style and record against champions
Ríos fought as a come-forward pressure fighter who wore opponents down with constant aggression and body work, a style that made him, in the words of one profile, one of boxing's most consistently bankable entertainers over the half-decade before the Pacquiao fight.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/21/brandon-rios-fight-manny-pacquiao-interview) Against former or current world champions he went 4-5-0, with wins over Miguel Acosta, Richar Abril, and Mike Alvarado twice, and losses to Alvarado, Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley, Danny García, and Humberto Soto; in world title fights specifically his record was 2-2-0.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios) • [10](https://www.wboboxing.com/official-results/03302013-brandon-rios-vs-mike-alvarado/)
## References
1. [Brandon Rios boxing record 35-5-1 26 KOs, FightNights](https://fightnights.com/boxers/Brandon-Rios-record-896)
2. [Brandon Rios, BoxRec wiki](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios)
3. [Brandon Rios: 'I've got to beat Manny Pacquiao convincingly', The Guardian, 21 November 2013](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/21/brandon-rios-fight-manny-pacquiao-interview)
4. [Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado (2nd meeting), BoxRec wiki](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Brandon_Rios_vs._Mike_Alvarado_%282nd_meeting%29)
5. [Rios vs Herrera, Premier Boxing Champions](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/bouts/897345)
6. [Boxing: Manny Pacquiao outclasses Brandon Rios in Macau, The Independent, 24 November 2013](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/boxing-manny-pacquiao-outclasses-brandon-rios-in-macau-8960429.html)
7. [Manny Pacquiao defeats Brandon Rios to rediscover winning ways, The Guardian, 24 November 2013](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/24/manny-pacquiao-defeats-brandon-rios)
8. [Timothy Bradley ends Brandon Rios' career, restarts Pacquiao talk, Los Angeles Times, 8 November 2015](https://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-boxing-timothy-bradley-brandon-rios-pacquiao-20151108-story.html)
9. [Brandon Rios — The Ring Record](https://ring-record.com/fighter/brandon-rios)
10. [(03/30/2013) Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado - WBO](https://www.wboboxing.com/official-results/03302013-brandon-rios-vs-mike-alvarado/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Boxing › American boxers › Active and recent boxers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license