By Ryan Burton
All indications point to WBA interm-lightweight champin Richard Abril getting the nod to face former lightweight champion Brandon Rios on April 14th. Featherweight king Yuriorkis Gamboa was scheduled to make the jump up to the lightweight division to face Rios but had a change of heart and decided to walk away from the fight.
In the co-featured fight, junior welterweight contender Mike Alvarado (32-0) will look to keep his perfect record intact when he faces the once beaten Mauricio Herrera (18-1). Alvarado said that he would have had no problem facing Rios if the unbeaten Oxnard, California resident wanted to move up to 140 after learning that the Gamboa fight fell apart.
"If they offered it to me I would step up and fight Rios if he wants to come to 140. I know that they have a new opponent for him but I would have done it. I would have loved that fight. I am working towards getting a title. I want to get a title shot," Alvarado told Boxingscene.com.
Gamboa was reportedly going to make $1.2 million for the fight and Top Rank upped the ante by adding a $100,000 bonus for the winner of the fight in the hopes of enticing the Olympic gold medalist to stick with the fight. Alvarado feels that Gamboa made a mistake by not accepting the fight and said that if he was in the Cuban's shoes he would have taken it in a heartbeat.
"He should take it. I know he's coming up in weight but he's the best in his weight class. He is on his A game. For that money I would have taken it. I don't know why he turned it down. If they offered it to me I would have stepped up but obviously they went a different way with another opponent," said Alvarado.
Send questions or comments to
Follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter and tune in to The Boxing Lab, Boxingscene's official audio on Tuesdays. The show is hosted by Ernie Gabion, Luis Sandoval and Ryan Burton
