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Shortly after Saturday night’s Brandon Rios-Richard Abril bout inside of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, I caught up with undefeated welterweight hopeful Jessie Vargas and got his take on what we had all just seen.
Boxing is a sport filled with highs and lows and trainer Robert Garcia will be the first to admit that Saturday night was anything but banner for him and his fighter Brandon Rios. Fighting inside of the Mandalay Bay against awkward and lanky Cuban Richard Abril, Rios found himself in the middle of an ugly fight lacking in any action or real drama. Marching forward and attempting to mount some kind of attack against Abril, Rios would win a split-decision nod that wasn’t too popular amongst the press and some fans either in attendance or watching on pay-per-view.
Denver, Colorado’s Mike Alvarado seems to be as straight forward as they come. An unbeaten contender in the junior welterweight class, Alvarado will find himself standing across the ring from the very-capable Mauricio Herrera inside of the Mandalay Bay tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada in a bout that is sure to entertain.
Given the abundance of talent and high-profile fighters constantly around him, trainer Robert Garcia is often going to be seeing his name in the headlines. Based out of Oxnard, California, Garcia is presently in Las Vegas, as he will be guiding his fighter, former lightweight champion Brandon Rios, into battle later tonight as he will be meeting up with brash Cuban Richard Abril at the Mandalay Bay. The bombastic Rios has gotten into a few heated altercations and a well-documented war of words with Abril amidst the lead up to their fight and Garcia has simply sat back and taken everything in with a smile on his face.
For the past year, it seems like Vince Parra, trainer and co-manager to budding lightweight contender Mercito Gesta, has been clamoring for the biggest fights possible for his undefeated charge. To see Gesta (24-0-1, 12 knockouts) lined up with a pay per view undercard appearance at the Mandalay Bay this Saturday night against unknown Oscar Cuero (15-7, 12 knockouts) may be a little underwhelming for Parra, yet he understands Mercito must take what he can get at this point in hopes of landing a big fight later in the year.
Brandon Rios has seen his patience tested over the past month. From watching potential rival Yuriorkis Gamboa pull out of their scheduled April 14th fight to dealing with a barrage of insults from replacement opponent Richard Abril, Rios is simply chomping at the bit to get his hands on somebody come Saturday night when he fights inside of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This weekend, junior welterweight hopeful Mauricio Herrera will find himself in a definite dogfight as he challenges unbeaten Mike Alvarado in a ten-round bout inside of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. The matchup serves as part of a split-site HBO pay per view event and Herrera will likely have his hands full with the all-out style of Alvarado, who hails from Denver, Colorado.
Having a conversation with trainer Roger Mayweather can certainly be a trying experience, as the outspoken former champion has a way of changing the discussion at any moment while also being a little hard to decipher because of his foul dialogue and sometimes-raspy voice.
When I crossed paths with super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell a few weeks back at the Mayweather Boxing Club, he insisted that he was only going to be in Las Vegas for a few days handling some business before heading home to Flint, Michigan.
I don’t think anyone in the sport of boxing would question the ambition of Ireland’s Andy Lee. Having seen his career momentarily set back with his upset loss to Brian Vera in March of 2008, Lee has since proven to be one of the busiest contenders in the sport and is now staring a June 16th date with WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. square in the face.