By Jim Dower: Trailing on the cards going into the 7th round former WBC World lightweight champion Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 23 KO’s) hurt Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KO’s) and took him out tonight in their WBO light welterweight title eliminator at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, USA. Rios was pounding on Alvarado briefly before referee Pat Russell jumped in and halted the fight at 1:57 of the round. I thought it was a little premature because Alvarado might have been able to recover if the fight had been allowed to continue.

Alvarado had looked good up until the 6th, when he was hurt by a hard right hand from Rios in the 2nd half of the round. I don’t think Alvarado ever fully recovered from that because Rios was easily able to hurt him in the 7th to get the stoppage.

With this victory Rios wins the vacant WBO Latino light welterweight title, but importantly he puts himself into position to get a big money fight against fellow Top Rank fighter Manny Pacquiao in April of next year. Their mutual promoter Bob Arum wants to make that fight a reality if Pacquiao can beat Juan Manuel Marquez in their fourth fight coming up on December 8th. Besides that, the only thing that can stop a Pacquiao-Rios fight from taking place is if Floyd Mayweather Jr. suddenly shows interest in fighting Pacquiao, but even then I think Arum wants to make this fight between Pacquiao and Rios right now, so Mayweather might have to wait until Arum has exhausted the possible fights he wants to get done before he’s ready to let Pacquiao fight him.