Saturday 30 March 2013

Mike Alvarado v Brandon Rios II

Many say that rematches are rarely as good as the original bout though Mike "Mile High" Alvarado (34-1, 23) and Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23) proved that rematches can be just as good as the the first bout as they re-ran one of 2012's fights of the year, this time with a distinctly different outcome as Mike Alvarado claimed the interim WBO Light Welterweight title.

The fight started well for Rios who appeared to claim the first 2 rounds with aggression and the fact that he managed to get Alvarado to trade in the early rounds. The most telling moment of the opening rounds was Rios staggering Alvarado with a jab though Rios couldn't put Alvarado down as he followed up his attack.

In round 3 we saw Alvarado coming back at his rival as he starting to box well and even appeared to hurt Rios with an amazing flurry late in the round that Rios did well to take and not go over. Alvarado continued to grow in to the bout following his success in round 3 and he seemed to level off the scores as he took round 4 to move to 38-38.

Round 5 was one of the bouts closest rounds though the key moment was a low blow by Rios who had been tagged hard just moments earlier. The low blow seemed to effect Alvarado early the following round as his pace and movement stopped and Rios appeared to take the round despite both men having their moments.

Alvarado reclaimed the initiative in round 7 as he used his movement and quicker hands to land flurries on Rios and move away as Rios seemed to start to slow down a little bit. Although again both men traded it just appeared that Rios' shots lacked the power they had earlier in the bout and even in the first bout between the two men. In all honesty if either man had the power to hurt the other it appeared that it was Alvarado who stunned Rios in round 8 as Rios again showed off his amazing chin.

By round 9 it seemed that Rios was slowing notably and certainly wasn't having the success he had had earlier in the bout. Rios' slowed tempo and extra movement by Alvarado allowed "Mile High" to claim another round as Rios' corner started to become a little worried at their man who was hurt again late in the round. Although he wasn't being beaten from pillar to post Rios was certainly struggling to enforce himself in the bout.

Alvarado continued to have continued success in round 10 as he looked to be pulling away from Rios but then in round 11 Rios fought back and appeared to rock Alvarado who's face was becoming a real mess. Alvarado's face only got worse the following round as his left eye became a mess as well as his right eye (which had been bleeding from the second round) despite this he managed to see out the final and in fact seemed to stun Rios twice late in the round despite the fact that Rios was the one needing the KO.

Although Alvarado's face was a bloody mess he had done enough to claim a decision and when the cards were read out (115-113-twice and 114-113-some how). After the score cards both men seemed to indicate that they were willing to engage in Alvarado v Rios III a bout that could be just as good as this one!

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