By Jake Donovan

By now, many fans have grown accustomed to the familiar faces on the Telefutura Solo Boxeo Tecate circuit. Until they advance to championship or top contender status, the same core group seems to appear every 2-3 months or so in showcase fights as their careers progress.

What's rare is when two recurring characters square off against one another.

Such is the scenario we are blessed with tonight, when undefeated Mike Alvarado (20-0, 13KO) accepts the toughest assignment of his young, promising career when he faces Michel Rosales (16-1, 14KO) in the main event.

The bout headlines a card that will be aired live from Albuquerque, N.M. (Friday, 8PM ET/PT).

Both fighters make their second Telefutura-televised appearance of 2008, with Rosales already fighting for the third time overall in 2008, coming off of a 4th round knockout win just a month ago. In fact, it is already his fifth fight in nine months after having suffered the first loss of his career in 2006, against fellow Solo Boxeo alum Jesus Soto-Karass.

Rosales showed his mental toughness in his first fight after the loss, outlasting potential spoiler Gilbert Venegas over their eight-round bout. The following bout, just two months later, was a much easier night's work, blitzing once-noted puncher Americo Santos in just 94 seconds. His bout Dario Esales helped launch the 2008 season of Solo Boxeo, though Rosales wasn't in the mood for prolonged celebrations, dropping the normally durable veteran twice before forcing a stoppage in less than two rounds.

What's most admirable about Rosales' four-fight win streak is that he returned from the loss facing the same level of competition rather than settling for the type of spoon-fed confidence builders most fighters seek when on the comeback trail. The experience should greatly benefit Rosales tonight, as Alvarado is as good as they get in regards to Generation Next.

Televised fights on the prospect level are far too often littered with predictability. Tonight's bout is the second time in as many fights where Alvarado enters without the outcome bordering on pre-determined. Some fights in recent past were referred to as step-up, but there was little to no concern that someone of Alvarado's caliber would emerge victorious.

The true leap in competition level began last December, when the Colorado native was slated to fight former Contender contestant Michael Clark, which also took place in Albuquerque. It appeared to be the proper progression fight for Alvarado, whose promoter Top Rank was already eyeing a possible title shot in 2008.

The only thing that went wrong was Clark's inability to fight back, suffering an injury with he first punch thrown in a fight that didn't even last 90 seconds.

Alvarado didn't think much of it, as he never doubted that he'd win the fight, just that the outcome was a bit different than he envisioned.

In need of a stiffer challenge, his handlers dispatched the services of Jesus "Chuy" Rodriguez for his most recent fight this past February. Rodriguez did exactly what was expected of him; fall short, but push the young prospect-turned-contender to the brink and back.

Rodriguez remained aggressive throughout the ten-round affair, which affected Alvarado's performance to where he didn't breeze through the night as far too often had been the case on the way up. It was proof that a confidence booster can come in the form of a stern challenge, where the contender on the rise confirms he possesses the intestinal fortitude, rather than learning the hard way whether or not exists – all too often at the top level, after being protected on the way up.

The measuring stick for Alvarado comes with Rosales' lone loss, the aforementioned 10th round stoppage in an all-out war against Soto-Karass. It was proof that the Mexican can get got, but that you'll be taken through hell and back before reaching that point.

It's not imperative for Alvarado to score a stoppage; just to recognize what it takes to win against a determined slugger like Rosales, perhaps the biggest puncher he'll have faced to date. Rosales needn't get too confident in his punching power; while his strength is his… well, strength, it's not necessarily an advantage over the boxer-puncher in the other corner.

The bottom line is that both fighters need to be resourceful in their efforts to outlast the other. There's no guarantee that Rosales' big punch bails him out of trouble. There's no guarantee that Alvarado's perceived superior skill set is enough to get the job done.

For fans, there's no guarantee who wins this fight, which makes for great anticipation. It's all that can be asked for a televised fight – other than for it to live up to its high expectations.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.