Brandon Rios has been named an ambassador for Parents Against Cancer.
A Saturday press conference is in the works for smack-talkers Adrien Broner and Paulie Malignaggi.
Rios offers support to children with cancer
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RING's No. 1-rated lightweight Brandon Rios is scheduled to join stars such as Eva Longoria during a cancer-support related visit to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles on Sunday, the fighter told RingTV.com. As part of the Padres Contra El Cancer (Parents Against Cancer), Rios has been named an ambassador, along with others like Longoria and comedian George Lopez. "Tomorrow I'm going to meet with all of the kids with cancer. I want to talk to them and, hopefully, give them hope again," said Rios. "I feel so great about that. I've been doing that for a while. A lot of people didn't know about that. But now, it's out there. It's going to be great. It's something that I'm very proud of doing." Although Rios has been affiliated with Contra El Cancer for the past year, he was not officially named an ambassador until about a month ago. "Contra El Cancer asked me if I wanted to roll with them because they saw that I've been doing things like this for a while. I have been funding some [programs] and helping kids out. The kids are always so glad to see you," said Rios. "They're always like, 'man, Brandon, thank you very much,' or, 'you're one of a kind. I look up to you,' or, 'I like the way that you are.' That makes me feel like I'm doing something good for somebody else. Something very important that's outside of myself. I love to do this for the community and for the kids." Rios, 25, is scheduled to face THE RING's No. 1-rated unbeaten featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa for the WBA's 135-pound belt on April 14 in an HBO-televised clash from the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. Gamboa (21-0, 16 knockouts) will rise in weight in order to face Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOs), who is coming off December's 11th-round technical knockout of England's John Murray at New York's Madison Square Garden. Rios will pursue his 12th straight win, his 11th knockout during that run and his fifth straight stoppage against Gamboa. Photo by Nancy Rodriguez Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com |