By Cliff Rold
Without each other, they would still have had memorable careers. Both men make good fights. Those don’t go unnoticed.
Together, they are something more.
Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado don’t appear to be future Hall of Fame types at this juncture. A lot would have to change for that to be the case. On the eve of their third, and presumably final, showdown, they may be on the verge of one of those gritty rivalries that deserves it’s own wing.
No titles are on the line. Neither man enters with much momentum. Alvarado has lost two straight, to Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez, after splitting the first two in the series with Rios. Rios took a lopsided loss to Manny Pacquiao before getting back to winning in an ugly DQ brawl with Diego Chaves.
This is for pride.
This is for resolution.
This is, for the winner, about a future.
Let’s go the report card.
The Ledgers
Brandon Rios
Age: 28
Title: None
Previous Titles: WBA Lightweight (2011, 1 Defense)
Height: 5’8
Weight: 146.75 lbs.
Hails from: Oxnard, California
Record: 32-2-1, 23 KO
Rankings: Unrated at Welterweight
Record in Major Title Fights: 2-0, 2 KO (2-1, 2 KO including interim title fights)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 4 (Miguel Acosta TKO10; Richar Abril SD12; Mike Alvarado TKO7, L12; Manny Pacquiao L12)
Vs.
Mike Alvarado
Age: 34
Title: None
Previous Titles: WBO Light Welterweight (2013)
Height: 5’9
Weight: 146.75 lbs.
Hails from: Denver, Colorado
Record: 34-3, 23 KO, 2 KOBY
Rankings: Unrated at Welterweight
Record in Major Title Fights: 0-1, 1 KOBY (1-1, 1 KOBY including interim title fights)
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 5 (Carlos Molina MD8; Cesar Bazan KO4; Brandon Rios TKO by 7, UD12; Ruslan Provodnikov RTD10; Juan Manuel Marquez L12)
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Alvarado B-; Rios B-
Pre-Fight: Power – Alvarado B+; Rios B+
Pre-Fight: Defense – Alvarado C; Rios C
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Alvarado B+; Rios B
While neither man is going to make anyone scream “Whitaker-esque” at their talents, it was Alvarado showing more versatility to tie the series up in 2013. Surviving a shaky second, Alvarado hurt Rios in the third and both men endured a hellacious eighth. Alvarado’s ability to use his feet to create space for the right hand told the tale.
He boxed.
He’ll need to box again.
Inside for too long, and the fight will lean to Rios. Rios only fights one way. He comes straight ahead, picks off and slips what he can, and attacks. Manny Pacquiao, stepping around him all night, showed how vulnerable he is to a moving target. Alvarado has nothing like the footwork, or speed, of Pacquiao. Even when using movement, Alvarado will be paying a price.
Defensively, both men seem to have gotten worse in their last few fights. Is that a product of better competition? Is it the dulling of reflexes long, violent fights inevitably brings about? The answer probably lies between. They couldn’t get out of each other’s way much the first two times. After the fights since, one wonders if Alvarado will be able to execute the rematch strategy again.
The fights with Provodnikov and Marquez were nasty. Provodnikov appeared to break his will as much as break him down. He showed with a late knockdown of the aging legend in the latter that his heart is still intact. He still took mounds of punishment through twelve rounds.
Will fighting in front of his hometown fans give Alvarado the extra push he needs? A third loss in a row, at 34, would be crippling and the end of the line as a marquee fighter. Rios can’t afford a loss much more but he’s still young enough to recover. In terms of intangibles, while both have shown whiskers and guts, they have also been exposed for their lack of dimensions and adaptability.
Against each other, does that really matter?
The Pick
If they had fought again right after their second fight, the choice would likely have been Alvarado. His outboxing of Rios was impressive after some early struggles. Both men have fought twice since. Alvarado has put far more wear on his tires. The battles with Provodnikov were exacting and brutal. Rios took plenty from Pacquiao and Chaves but it wasn’t like those fights. That makes the younger man also the fresher one. Couple that with some documented recent outside the ring issues for Alvarado. Even on his turf in Denver, it’s hard to favor Alvarado here. The pick is for the younger man to finish the series as it started, winning by stoppage after another worthy chapter is their personal story.
Report Card Picks 2015: 1-0
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
