By Steve Kim
Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, told BoxingScene.com that a third clash between Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios is still on track to happen in ''late January." This bout, that would be broadcast on HBO, will most likely take place on either "January 24th or the 31st."
The plan was to have the rubber match between Rios (32-2-1, 23KOs) and Alvarado (34-3, 23KOs) on December 20th in Denver, Colorado. But with the past legal issues of Alvarado cropping up, the third go-around between the two was pushed back to early 2015.
Rios won their first battle back in October of 2012 in a thrilling back-and-forth war at the StubHub Center with a seventh round stoppage. Alvarado gained revenge six months later in March of 2013 by evening up the score versus 'Bam Bam' Rios at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. After he was shaken early on, Alvarado was able to out-box and out-hustle Rios to win a hard-fought decision in the rematch.
Since that point, both men have hit hard times. Rios, was blanked by Manny Pacquiao in Macao last November (where he failed the post-fight drug test) and struggled versus Diego Chaves this past August in winning via 9th round disqualification. Alvarado post-Rios has been stopped by Ruslan Provodnikov in front of his hometown fans and then was out-pointed decisively by Juan Manuel Marquez this past May.
As for where this battle would take place, Arum made it clear - "we're not wedded to Las Vegas or Denver."
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
