"My body is not the same no war. I've been in a lot of wars and you know what? I think it's time to hang it up. I had a great performance with Timothy Bradley. My career, I'm done. I think that's it. You know, it was a great run. It is what it is," stated an emotional Brandon Rios, who announced his retirement from boxing moments after he was knocked out in the 9th round by welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. According to Rios, he simply couldn't get his body to react the way he wanted it to due to a lengthy 8-month layoff, which he blames on broken promises made his promoter.
"I'd like to thank the fans for coming out and supporting this, even though I didn't give a great show, but fuck it. It is what it is. I don't want to hurt my body, I don't want to hurt my family, and I don't want to hurt my close friends around me, so, you know, I think it's time for me to hang up the gloves," Rios explained. "After an 8-month layoff, it's fucking bullshit, you know. I was 8 months without training, and come back in January, it's fuck. So yeah, at the end of the day, when I tried to get back in, my body wasn't reacting the same, so it is what it is. I think it's done for me. I'll hang up the gloves and call it a night."
Although it should be noted that, often times, fighters say things that they don't necessarily mean moments after engaging in combat, Rios has repeatedly expressed his frustrations about his career in the past, so he very well could stay true to his retirement talk.
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