Marquez Sizzles and Pops in Win over Alvarado

05/18/201405/18/2014 Paul Strauss

Forty year old Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez’ (JMM) combinations were sharp and fast. His punches hissed through the air and then crackled when they reached their target. To Mike “Mile High” Alvarado, they must have sounded like the ear popping you hear and feel with a change of altitude.

Early on both men seemed overly cautious, as though they were determined not to provide counter punch opportunities. JMM was first to explore things. He poked and prodded a bit, and when there was no retaliation, he cranked things up a bit. Mike remained in the cautious stage. The problem with that strategy was he was losing rounds, because JMM is not only a great counter puncher, he’s also pretty damn good at leading too. As soon as JMM realized Mike wasn’t going to return his shots, he naturally picked up the pace. Mike kept his gloves up tight in defensive mode, but that wasn’t enough. Mike found out the hard way that there’s too much area to cover when JMM is throwing.

Boxing Returns to the LA Forum in Style

09/15/201605/18/2014 Michael Montero

Juan Manuel Marquez built his career at The Forum in Inglewood, California. From 1995 to 1999 he went 12-0 at the famed venue, making a name for himself among fight fans in the LA area. A decade and a half later “Dinamita” returned as an international star to face the bigger, younger “Mile High” Mike Alvarado. A pro Marquez crowd showed up and nearly blew the roof off The Forum with deafening roars during the fighter introductions. It was an amazing atmosphere for fight fans.

Marquez defeats Alvarado; Postol stops Aydin

05/18/201405/17/2014 Jeff Sorby

Mike Alvarado (34-3, 23 KO’s) did a brilliant job of showing how not to fight Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KO’s) in losing a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision at the Forum, in Inglewood, California, USA. Alvarado, 33, decided to box Marquez for 12 rounds instead of using his superior size to try and score a knockout, and it cost Alvarado with him losing by the lopsided scores of 117-109, 117-109 and 119-109.

Alvarado was knocked down by a scorching right hand from Marquez in the 8th. It was the identical shot that Marquez used to knock Manny Pacquiao out cold in the 6th round of their fight in 2012. The different here is that Marquez didn’t have the muscles that he had then.

Marquez – Alvarado Weigh in Coverage

09/15/201605/16/2014 Michael Montero

After well over a decade, boxing returns to the historic Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California. This afternoon Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1) and American Mike Alvarado (34-2-0) stepped onto the scales for their last formality before Saturday’s crossroads bout. This wasn’t your typical weigh in full of trash talk and posturing, but rather respect and compliments. There was a procedural and professional demeanor from the fighters, seemingly focused on the must win situation that lie ahead.

Another View of Marquez-Alvarado: It’s Magnificent, But It Isn’t War

05/17/201405/16/2014 Andrew Huntley

“C’est magnifique mais c’est pas la guerre.” (It’s magnificent, but it isn’t war).

~Marshal Pierre Bosquet in 1854, as he watched English cavalry charge toward their doom in a brave but ill-advised attack upon a deeply entrenched Russian artillery battery during the Battle of Balaclava.~

Although Tennyson’s poem remains the most famous piece of writing about the Charge of the Light Brigade, Bosquet’s quote may well be the most succinct, and appropriate description of what took place that day. You really can’t hope to do much better in terms of trying to express the mixture of admiration and incredulity that one would feel when watching an event like this take place before your eyes. And, that’s the reason why this author has decided to begin the article with these words; because he has a feeling that they’ll be uttered by more than one boxing fan as they watch an entirely different sort of battle take place at the Inglewood Forum this Saturday.

Marquez vs. Alvarado: Can “Dinamita” keep his unbeaten streak alive at the reincarnated Forum?

05/16/2014 Chris Carlson

The fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California is ready to add to its already rich history after being refurnished in time for this Saturday, May 17th on HBO. Juan Manuel Marquez and Mike Alvarado are both attempting to reboot their careers after suffering losses in their last outing.

The biggest unknown heading into Saturday nights tilt is how much has the great Mexican boxer declined since his epic knockout of Manny Pacquaio in December 2012. From the sounds of it, Mike Alvarado is in a good mental state after a lackluster training camp in preparation for his war with Ruslan Provodnikov that resulted in him quitting on the stool in front of a ruckus hometown crowd in Denver last fall.

The Forum famously housed the 1980’s Showtime Lakers. It also became a hot spot for boxing diehards with monthly shows that drew legions of fans and legendary fighters. The Forums next chapter should start out with a bang when these two combatants faceoff. The proverbial dangling carrot for the winner is a fight with Manny Pacquiao later this year.

Juan Manuel Marquez is determined to become Mexico’s first five-division world champion

05/15/201405/15/2014 BoxNation

Boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez is determined to become Mexico’s first five-division world champion by setting up an historic showdown with Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.

The 40-year-old great goes head-to-head with the all-action Mike Alvarado this weekend, live and exclusive on BoxNation, knowing that victory on Saturday night will propel him into a fifth meeting with his famed nemesis Pacquiao and a shot at his WBO welterweight crown.

The chance to seize yet another world title, this time at 147 pounds, offers Marquez the unique opportunity to become Mexico’s only five-division world champion, with the veteran currently alongside Mexican icons Erik Morales and Jorge Arce as a four-weight champion.

Márquez & Alvarado Conf Call Transcript

05/15/201405/14/2014 Top Rank

We are just a few days away from boxing’s return to the “Fabulous” Forum. The Inaugural Brawl will be headlined by an exciting fight between two top contenders – Four division world champion and Méxican icon Juan Manuel Márquez, who is undefeated in this storied building, and former junior welterweight champion Mike Alvarado. The winner will be declared mandatory challenger to WBO Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao, who recently regained the belt with his rematch victory over Timothy Bradley.

BOB ARUM: Well, all of you who are participating in this conference call know the obvious, this is one hell of a fight. Juan Manuel Márquez, future boxing hall-of-fame entrant faces off against the Denver Mile High man Mike Alvarado. The card is fabulous from top to bottom, with fighters from all over the world. Turkish fighters, Russian fighters, and African-American fighters, Méxican, Méxican-Americans – everybody is going to be represented on this card. And it’s so wonderful, for me personally, to have Top Rank open up one of the landmarks — the “Fabulous” Forum. Today we will hear from Juan Manuel Márquez and Mike Alvarado.

Mike Alvarado wants to retire Juan Manuel Marquez on May 17th

03/27/201403/26/2014 Jeff Sorby

Former WBO light welterweight champion Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23 KO’s) wants to not only beat 40-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KO’s) in their fight on May 17th, but also send Marquez into retirement. For Alvarado, it’s about redeeming himself from his recent 10th round stoppage loss at the hands of Ruslan Provodnikov and also doing it in a fashion where he sends Marquez into a permanent retirement. I guess it’s one of those two for the price of one deals.

“Redeeming myself and retiring the legend is even better,” Alvarado said to Radio Raheem. “I’m destined to be great. I’m good but I’m not better than good.”

Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Mike Alvarado a done deal for May 17th

03/23/201403/22/2014 Rob Smith

The WBO welterweight eliminator bout between former four division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KO’s) and former WBO light welterweight champion Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23 KO’s) is a done deal for May 17th in a Top Rank promoted fight that will be televised by HBO from the Forum, in Inglewood, California, USA.

It’s kind of an unusual eliminator bout in that both fighters are coming off of losses. Normally, eliminator bouts involved two fighters who are coming into the fights with winning streaks and are fighting at a high level, but not in this case.

Marquez was beaten in his last fight by Bradley last October by a 12 round split decision, whereas Alvarado was stopped in the 10th round by Mike Alvarado last October.

Alvarado has lost 2 out of his last 3 fights. With that many losses in his last three fights, Alvarado really shouldn’t be considered for the fight.