Rios looking past Alvarado; wants Marquez

By Boxing News - 03/27/2013 - Comments

rios22By Allan Fox: Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 23 KO’s) is so confident that he’ll beat Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KO’s) again in their rematch that he’s looking past him towards a hoped for fight against 39-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez.

Rios is facing Alvarado this Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The interim WBO light welterweight title will be up for grabs in this fight.

Rios said to RingTV “I’d love to fight Marquez. That’s a guy I’d love to fight.”

I like Rios’ chances in the rematch with Alvarado. That’s definitely a winnable fight for Rios, but I don’t like his chances against Marquez, even though I think Marquez is about 70% of what he once was. He’s not the fighter that fought Pacquiao nine years ago in 2004.

He’s slowed down, and his work rate isn’t what it once was. Marquez is punching harder than he was back then, at least he was for his last fight against Manny Pacquiao. It remains to be seen whether Marquez can keep up his power to the same level he had in that fight.

Rios is someone that is very easy to hit, but he’s got an excellent chin. Marquez would likely have to focus on just trying to out-box Rios rather than knocking him out because it would be pointless for him to lower his work rate further while looking for just one big shot to KO. If Marquez does that then he’s going to be putting himself in the position to where he’ll get beaten by a decision.

Marquez is still trying to make up his mind about who he wants to fight next. He’s deciding between the winner of the Rios-Alvarado, Pacquiao and Tim Bradley. Many boxing fans see Marquez ultimately choosing to fight Pacquiao due to the much bigger payday he could receive in taking that fight.



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