3 replies to this topic

[George J]

By Marcus Richardson (eastsideboxing.com):

On October 13th, former WBA World lightweight champion Brandon Rios (30-0-1, 22 KO’s) will be facing unbeaten light welterweight contender Mike Alvarado (33-0, 23 KO’s) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, according to the 26-year-old Rios. The Alvarado-Rios fight will be taking place on the same card as Nonito Donaire against possibly Toshiaki Nishioka.

Rios commented on his twitter yesterday “Spoke to my manager and it’s official. I’m fighting Mike Alvarado 10/13 at HDC in Carson, CA. Same card as @ Filipoflash. See you there.”
A fight between Alvarado and Rios will be an in house Top Rank promoted fight, as both guys are with Bob Arum’s Top Rank stable. It’s a good fight for Rios, and a risky one for Alvarado, because Rios just won a fight over Cuban Richard Abril by a 12 round split decision last April and he didn’t look like he deserved the win. Top Rank has a lot of hopes for Rios, and they were almost dashed by that performance.

Alvarado isn’t as well known as Rios and he may find it hard to win a decision against him unless he really gives Rios a beating. I thought Rios fought well enough against Abril to lose by a 10 rounds to 2 score. I still can’t see what the judges saw in Rios’ performance against Abril to give him the fight, because he was dominated the entire fight and looked to be clueless. The win for Rios didn’t keep him from taking huge amounts of criticism. He might as well have lost the fight because he looked so bad. By getting the decision it just made Rios look like a fighter that was given a hometown decision.
This is a very hard fight for Rios for his first bout at light welterweight and I don’t know how well he’s going to do in this fight. Rios’ main advantage at lightweight was that he was bigger than everyone he fought weight-wise. But at light welterweight, Rios won’t be bigger than his opponents and that could be a problem for him. He was a decent puncher at lightweight, but at light welterweight he’s nothing special. He could get exposed immediately by Alvarado, and be left wondering what he’ll do with his career. My guess is if Rios takes enough losses at 140, he’ll find a way somehow to get back down to 135 and make weight.

I like Alvarado in this fight because he’s stronger guy with a bigger frame a busy style. He’s going to give Rios a real pounding.
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WOW this writer must be in Alvarado's camp...I love Rios vs Alvarado, it has FOY written all over it. Anyone that has seen Alvarado's fight against Prescott knows he is a tough SOB. He will give Rios all he can handle but I think Rios has enough pop to stop him. To be honest this fight is even and I can see either guy getting the KO. What a fight! I don't know why nobody is talking about this fight here...

Nonito vs Nishioka? This could be good as well...I think Donaire will struggle against the Japanese and could very well lose this fight. I am sure Plow will be putting some money on the Japanese.

[Rudyo]

This card looks REALLY good, which probably means one fight will end up disappointing. I don't see how Rios vs Alvarado could be boring, so it will probably end up being Nonito vs Nishioka.

I think Rios will be stronger at 140, Abril beat him but I think that was an off night. I think he comes back with a big night against Alvarado, KO 5. Nonito will beat Nishioka, but he will have some struggles early if he comes out trying to land just big bombs, and or/ that jumping dragon punch he was trying to land. Nishioka is smart, and won't leave himself exposed to hayemakers. I don't know if he has the firepower to keep Nonito honest, but I think he will at least put up a challenge and survive to the distance.

[kiaba360]

I don't think the weight will make much of a difference in Rios' case, he'll probably still be weight-drained. This fight will be fought in a phone-booth, so regardless of his weight issues, Rios still stands a good chance of winning. By the end of the fight, I think I'll have Alvarado winning with Rios getting the decision.

Just watched Nishi/Marquez today, and I like what I saw. However, a year of inactivity might affect NIshi's performance. I got Donaire by decision, but it's a fight he could easily lose if he gets careless. He needs to come in with a game-plan to neutralize Nishi's left. If he can't do that, the fight will be much much closer and Donaire's face at the end probably won't look too pretty.

[Londoner]

I love both of these fights. Rios vs Alvarado is a tricky fight to predict now after how well Abril did against Rios and Donaire vs Nishioka is an amazing fight. Not sure who i pick in that one just yet.