By Manuel Perez: Undefeated light welterweight prospect Mike Alvarado (21-0, 14 KOs) stopped Michel Rosales (16-2, 14 KOs) in the 7th round of a scheduled 10-round bout at the Isleta Casino & Resort, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday night. Alvarado, 27, considered one of the top prospects coming up in the light welterweight division, staggered Rosales, 25, with a big right hand at the end of the 6th round. Knowing that Rosales probably hadn’t recovered from the shot, Alvarado went right after Rosales in the 7th round and took him out with a flurry of big combinations, causing referee Rocky Burke to step in and halt the fight while Rosales was still standing at 1:28 of the 7th round.
Early on Alvarado looked mostly boring, somewhat like a smaller version of Winky Wright, except that Alvarado’s defense what rather porous to say the least. Though Rosales rarely threw any punches in the first round, he scored virtually every time he let his hands go. Alvarado, however, let his offense work as his defense as he continuously threw a steady rain of jabs over and over again. Occasionally, he’d throw a decent right hand, but mostly he’d miss with his power shots. Indeed, Alvarado’s accuracy was downright terrible despite the fact that Rosales wasn’t using any head movement or attempting to duck any of the shots.