Alvarado signs for Rios rematch

alvarado23By Dan Ambrose: Light welterweight contender Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KO’s) has signed a contract for a rematch with unbeaten former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 23 KO’s) for a fight that will be taking place on March 30th, according to Steve Kim. Team Alvarado are now waiting for Rios to sign his portion of the contract.

Rios stopped the 32-year-old Alvarado in the 7th round last October in a fight that was competitive until the 6th round. Once Rios got Alvarado hurt, he finished him off. The fight was exciting while it lasted, which gave their mutual promoter Bob Arum the excuse to put them back in the ring together.

Arum probably didn’t need much of an excuse to put them back in together given that Arum doesn’t have a lot of options to put either guy in with. By putting them together, Arum can keep them both busy and presumably happy.

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Brandon Rios wants Danny Garcia or Matthysse after Alvarado rematch in March

rios343By Chris Williams: Top Rank fighter Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 25 KO’s) looks to be heading for an unnecessary rematch against Mike Alvarado in late March. It’s a strange fight that Bob Arum has put together because there’s no real point in this rematch taking place because Rios destroyed Alvarado last October in a 7th round knockout victory, but Arum thinks boxing fans want to see the fight again so he’s going to shove it down their throats instead of putting Rios in with some new blood.

Rios says wants to fight WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia or interim WBC light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse this year.

Rios said to Jenna Jay at doghouseboxing.com “My goal is to fight Danny Garcia for the WBC title belt, because that’s the belt I want. I would love to fight Lucas Matthysse.”

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Ranking Rios-Alvarado fight

Image: Ranking Rios-Alvarado fightBy Duke Pahulu: Kevin Iole of Yahoo proclaimed Brandon Rios – Mike Alvarado as the best fight of this century. Now I know the fight just happen last Saturday night but Iole needs to hold his horses. Jose Luis Castillo – Diego Corrales I is still by far the greatest fight this century.

Rios-Alvarado was a fight between a former lightweight champ and a top ten light welterweight for no title. Castillo-Corrales I was for the lightweight championship of the world. Castillo and Corrales were higher ranking fighters than Rios and Alvarado and are borderline Hall of Famers.

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Rios is no Gatti

Image: Rios is no GattiBy Duke Pahulu: On ESPN.com, Grantland writer Jay Kang wrote an article about the Brandon Rios – Mike Alvarado fight. It was the first story that somehow put a negative spin on a great fight. Kang tried to convey that both fighters were somehow pressured into fulfilling the pre-fight hype. The fact is that both fighters do not know how to fight any other way than what they did last Saturday night.

That’s why the boxing world hype the fight and waited for this match-up since the contracts were signed. Kang was also disturbed by how brawlers tend to get more press than the slick boxer. It’s a fair trade. The brawler get the press for putting his health at risk while the slick boxer gets the win and keep his brain intact. Boxing is a brutal sport. Fans appreciates those that go through the fire for glory.

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Rios should have to prove himself against Garcia, Matthysse and Peterson before getting Pacquiao

Image: Rios should have to prove himself against Garcia, Matthysse and Peterson before getting PacquiaoBy Chris Williams: Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 23 KO’s) probably earned himself a shot against Manny Pacquiao last night in defeated Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KO’s) in their WBO light welterweight eliminator bout. With both Rios and Pacquiao belonging to the same Top Rank stable, it’s now almost a given that their promoter Bob Arum will match Rios up with Pacquiao next April, provided that Pacquiao beats Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8th. If Pacquiao loses, then it’ll likely be Marquez that faces Rios.

By matching Rios up with Pacquiao, Arum continues with the club-like fight matching of his fighters because it’s just another Top Rank in house fight for Arum if he makes this fight. I think Rios is a decent fighter but I’d like to see him actually prove himself worthy of a fight with Pacquiao by beating more established light welterweights like Lucas Matthysse, Danny Garcia, and Lamont Peterson before Rios gets a shot against Pacquiao.

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Rios: I could KO Pacquiao and Marquez just like Alvarado

Image: Rios: I could KO Pacquiao and Marquez just like AlvaradoBy Dan Ambrose: Newly crowned WBO light welterweight Latino champion Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) stopped Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KO’s) tonight in then 7th round in a highly competitive fight on HBO. After the fight, Rios spoke with Max Kellerman of HBO and said that he thinks he can KO Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the same way that he did with the 32-year-old Alvarado.

Rios said “You see what happened to Mike Alvarado? I think I could do the same thing to them [Pacquiao and Marquez], too. Mike Alvarado’s tougher, and Pacquiao’s an in and out guy, but you know what? Like I always do, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. taught me very well. Break the body down and the head will fall down.”

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Rios TKO 7 Alvarado

Image: Rios TKO 7 AlvaradoBy 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.

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Donaire destroys Nishioka; Rios stops Alvarado

Image: Donaire destroys Nishioka; Rios stops AlvaradoBy Jim Dower: In a fight that failed to live up to the high billing that Top Rank had made it to be, IBF/WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (30-1, 19 KO’s) had an incredibly easy time beating Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka (39-5-3, 24 KO’s) in stopping him in the 9th round on HBO on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, USA.

Nishioka, 36, never really got off with his shots, as he averaged around 20 punches thrown per round and it was not a particularly interesting fight to watch from a spectators viewpoint. If you’re a Donaire fan you were probably happy to see him win so easily but it wasn’t a good fight for boxing.

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Weights: Donaire-Nishioka, Rios-Alvarado, More!

Image: Weights: Donaire-Nishioka, Rios-Alvarado, More!(Photo credit: Naoki Fakuda) By Chris Williams: IBF/WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (29-1, 18 KO’s) easily made weight on Friday during his weigh-in for his bout on Saturday night against Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KO’s) in a fight card that will be televised on HBO from the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California. Donaire, looking nervous and not as confident as usual, weighed in at 121.6 pounds. Nishioka, 36, looked much more at ease during the weigh-in, and came in at 121.8.

Donaire has been saying over and over again for anyone that’s interested in hearing him repeat himself that Nishioka is the best fighter in the entire super bantamweight division. If Donaire is actually right and not just talking to make himself look better, then he could be in for a really tough fight on Saturday night against the hard hitting Nishioka.

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Arum wants Rios-Alvarado winner to fight Pacquiao in April

Image: Arum wants Rios-Alvarado winner to fight Pacquiao in April(Photo credit: Chris Farina – Top Rank) By Chris Williams: In a move that’s not all that surprising, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is reportedly interested in putting the winner of this Saturday’s clash between Top Rank stable fighters Mike Alvarado (33-0, 23 KO’s) and Brandon Rios (30-0-1, 22 KO’s) in with his number #1 cash cow fighter Manny Pacquiao next year in April in a Top Rank in house fight.

Arum told the Manila Standard that a fight between Pacquiao and the winner of the Rios-Alvarado fight “Could be unbelievable. The public would go crazy for that fight. Imagine Manny against either of these animals. Manny will have to become an animal himself.”

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