By Jake Donovan
The vignette of the greatest moments in the eight-year history of Solo Boxeo that preceded the televised main event was a sad reminder of what boxing fans are losing.
As one door closes, another one opens. As the long running Telefutura series came to a close, it’s just the beginning of the ascension into contention for Mike Alvarado.
The undefeated super lightweight proudly represented the 303, scoring his third straight fourth-round knockout, with the latest assault coming against Miguel Angel Huerta, Friday night at the National Western Sports Complex in Denver, Colorado.
Chants of “303” (the Denver area code) began to fill the arena even if there was minimal action to speak of in the opening round. The fans on hand knew what the evening was about; to celebrate the end of a boxing institution of one of their own.
Alvarado would give them something real to cheer about in the second round. Both fighters got in their licks early in the round, before Alvarado erupted. A series of right uppercuts and body shots had Huerta pinned along the ropes, drawing a rise out of the crowd in anticipation of something dramatic.
Huerta managed to remain upright for the duration of the round, but spent most of it with his back against the ropes and absorbing a tremendous amount of punishment while offering little in return. There wasn’t a punch Alvarado didn’t throw – or land – during what could easily be scored a 10-8 round, despite lacking the presence of a knockdown.
Any fears of the hometown kid punching himself out were alleviated in the third. The two fighters met at center ring, but only one fighter was throwing. Huerta remained in a defensive shell, hoping to ride out the incoming, but instead looking like a man caught in a storm without an umbrella. Things slowed as the round went on, but momentum never changed – Alvarado was merely throwing less frequently than was the case one round prior.
Some semblance of two-way action surfaced in the fourth, with Huerta desperate to shake things up in a fight that was quickly slipping away. The hard-luck Mexican enjoyed modest success, though offered little in the way of keeping Alvarado off of him.
Such was evident with about a minute left in the round, when a left uppercut had him out on his feet. Alvarado kept throwing as Huerta was frozen along the ropes, landing nothing but head shots before referee Stephen Blea was left with no choice but to intervene.
The official time was 2:22 of round four.
It seems like eons ago that Alvarado went ten hard rounds with Jesus “Chuy” Rodriguez, though it was just ten months ago, also on Telefutura. It was the last time any of his opponents have lasted the distance, as Alvarado scores his fourth straight stoppage in improving to 24-0 (17KO).
Hard luck Huerta falls to 27-10-1 (18KO) in a failed super lightweight debut after having spent much of his career at or around the lightweight limit.
Solo Boxeo has been very good to Alvarado through the years, having appeared on the series ten times dating back to March 2006. Two other fights in that span have come on pay-per-view undercards, including a fourth-round knockout of Cesar Bazan in a preliminary appearance beneath Antonio Margarito’s 11th round stoppage of Miguel Cotto this past July.
Of the undercard fighters featured that evening, Alvarado was the only one to be interviewed by HBO’s broadcast team (Max Kellerman, specifically), a precursor to the interest they – along with the rest of the boxing world – have in the Denver-based boxer-puncher.
With the Solo Boxeo doors closing, there’s no better time than the present for Alvarado to graduate to contender status.
UNDERCARD
Undefeated lightweight prospect Brandon Rios capped a busy 2008 campaign with a fifth round stoppage of Carlos Guevera in the televised co-feature.
The bout was never competitive, though more of a testament to Rios’ relentlessness than a lack of effort from Guevera. Rios applied pressure from the outset, looking to literally end 2008 with a bang with every punch thrown.
Guevera began to wilt by the fourth round, though Rios would have to wait one more round to be rewarded with a knockout. A well place left hook to the body had Guevera on all fours, but referee Curtis Thrasher was out of position and erroneously ruled it a low blow, giving the Nicaraguan journeyman plenty of time to recover.
The break merely prolonged the inevitable. Rios finished the round strong and came out with both guns blazing in the fifth. A crescendo of left hooks sent Guevera to the canvas early in the round. He barely beat the count, but would do nothing more than absorb more punishment for the duration of the bout. Fortunately for him, it wasn’t very long; Rios wound end matters moments later, landing a picture perfect left uppercut to put him away for good.
The official; time was 1:11 of round five.
Rios improves to 19-0-1 (13KO); Guevera falls to 12-8-1 (9KO), having now lost three of his last four contests.
The 22-year old Rios is in a peculiar position; while supremely talented, the Oxnard (CA) native still isn’t ready to compete with the best, especially in the loaded lightweight division. With series like Solo Boxeo being pulled from the airwaves, the rest of Rios’ to contender status might be limited to Top Rank PPV appearances or even local shows off camera.
With plenty of time to kill, local pro debaters made their way to the telecast. A whopping 26 seconds into the scheduled four-round welterweight contest. Raul Carrillo was credited with his first win and knockout. It didn’t require much effort; Nicodermus Bajares decided to call it a night after sampling a couple of left hooks, bearing the look of a man who realized that boxing is a lot tougher than it looks on television.
As was the case with the first ever Solo Boxeo telecast eight years ago, the series finale was presented by Top Rank, Inc.
Jake Donovan is a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Comments/questions can be submitted to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
