“Mile High” might still have a few miles on the clock yet. Certainly former WBO … read more
As fans know, superstar Manny Pacquiao, last seen dropping a controversial 12-round decision to big underdog Jeff Horn, is set to return to action soon: on the April 14 card topped by (or sharing co-headline with) Horn against Terence Crawford; Manny going up against a still-game but generally faded Mike Alvarado.
In a showcase fight, unbeaten the NABF and NABO light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (14-0, 12 KOs) defeated the capable Craig Baker (17-2, 13 KOs) by a 6th round knockout on the undercard of the Terence Crawford vs. Julius Indongo card on Saturday night at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Gvozdyk vs. Baker fight was televised on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Gvozdyk, 30, put Baker down on the canvas with a right hand in round 6. The fight was stopped after Baker got back to his feet and took some punishing blows from Gvozdyk.
Thought former interim WBO 140-pound champ Mike Alvarado was all finished? Most people wrote the gutsy warrior off after his corner retirement of a loss to Brandon Rios in January of 2015. Alvarado was never in the rubber-match, being easily beaten and this loss came after punishing defeats at the hands of Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez. Plenty of people instinctively wrote Alvarado off, after all, suffering three back to back losses is no joke.
Last night in Houston, Texas, two popular and exciting fighters proved they still have something to offer the sport. Former unified lightweight king Juan Diaz, having his first fight in 17-months, went to war with Mexico’s tough and game Fernando Garcia, winning a fan-friendly affair by 9th-round TKO. While former top dog at 140-pounds, Mike Alvarado, also returning from a long layoff, beat Saul Corral via 3rd-round KO.
Warrior Mike Alvarado makes a return to the ring this Saturday night, when he will face Saul Corral, 19-6, in Houston, Texas. 35-year-old Alvarado, 34-4(23) has been in a number of punishing wars – see his epics with Brandon Rios, Breidis Prescott and Ruslan Provodnikov – and it is unclear how much he has left.
Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) came into last night’s fight against Mike Alvarado (34-4, 23 KOs) with his career essentially on the brink of collapse after losses to Manny Pacquiao, Alvarado and question wins over Richard Abril and Diego Chaves. But with his 3rd round stoppage win over a near-frozen Alvarado, Rios’ career has been rejuvenated, at least temporarily.
Rios’ promoter Bob Arum is so excited about his win last night that he’s talking about the 28-year-old Rios getting nothing but big fights from here on out.
A capacity crowd gathered inside the 1stBank Center just outside Denver, Colorado to watch the rubber match between “Mile High” Mike Alvarado and Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios. Oxnard, California’s Rios entered the ring first; drawing boos from the pro-Alvarado crowd. The hometown fighter followed, making his way to the ring among chants of “3-0-3” (Denver’s area code) from the fans. The atmosphere was electric and the stage was set for an epic finale to one of boxing’s finest trilogies in recent years.
The opening round started with Rios stalking and Alvarado looking to stay defensive. Rios controlled the action and buzzed his opponent late in the round, dominating over the final 30 seconds. In the 2nd round Alvarado was already bleeding from the nose and taking a ton of punishment. He tried to buy a minute by nailing Rios with a low blow halfway through the round, but the writing was on the wall.
The definition of “bam” is (a word) used to imitate the sound of a hard blow. No need for special sound effects tonight in the ring at 1st Bank Center, Broomfield, CO. The stuff heard was no died in the wool imitation. It was the real article! Genuine, double-rectified bust head! (John Wayne, True Grit). Mike “Mile High” Alvarado looked like a bobble head doll. He let Rios get in close, and Bam Bam went to work. He literally hit him with every punch in the book, and Mike’s face took on a bruised and battered look before the end of the first round.
Alvarado’s corner scolded him for not moving and punching more. Everyone knew that’s why Mike was victorious in the second fight of this trilogy. However, even in that fight, it took him approximately half of the rounds before the light bulb came on. Once he started lateral movement, it opened up punching opportunities, and he was able to out throw and out land Rios. There was a lot less bam bam in the second half of that fight.
In what was supposed to be an exciting trilogy fight on HBO on Saturday night turned out to be a real stinker with #4 WBO welterweight contender Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) annihilating what appeared to be a poorly prepared Mike Alvarado (34-3, 23 KOs) in three rounds in front of his own fans at the 1st Bank Center, Broomfield, Colorado.
Alvarado decided he’d had enough after three rounds so he quit on his stool after the third, saying he couldn’t see out of his right eye. The crowd booed loudly at the stoppage, and continued to boo the 34-year-old Alvarado when he was being interviewed after the fight.