Why Mike Alvarado's Arrest Won't Make Bout With Brandon Rios Any Less Exciting
It’d be easy to dismiss Mike Alvarado’s chances against his great rival, Brandon Rios, when the two square off against each other for the third time in less than three years on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.
After all, according to The Denver Post’s Nick Groke and Jesse Paul, Alvarado was arrested in Denver early Saturday morning on a felony warrant and suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Still, per Boxing Scene’s Steve Kim, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and company are still moving forward with the promotion and do not expect the bout to be affected. So you shouldn’t either.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
You might shutter at the thought of such a thing. Alvarado appears to be in some really hot water.
While he’s posted the $41,500 bond and is back training for the fight, the last thing a professional prizefighter needs hanging over his head before heading into the ring on fight night against an evenly matched (and quite dangerous) opponent like Rios is a legal problem that could possibly result in him being incarcerated for a prolonged period of time.
Normally, that’d be just about the worst situation a fighter could find himself in on the precipice of such an important bout.
But here’s the thing about Alvarado: Dude isn’t normal.
That’s not a bad thing. To his credit, being different has always suited Alvarado. It’s part of what makes him fit to be one-half of boxing’s most recent installment of excellent fight series, Rios-Alvarado.
In fact, neither of these guys could be classified as normal, the type you’d expect distractions to hinder or hurt.
Nope. These guys thrive on them.
The two have split the soon-to-be trilogy so far, and the third should be a barn-burner as well.
Rios defeated Alvarado by Round 7 technical knockout in October 2012. Alvarado won the rematch five months later via unanimous decision. Both were thrilling spectacles of just how suitably savage the sweet science can be when two fighters come together who share defensive limitations as well as an affinity for savagery.
You like boxing rough and ruthless? Then you like Alvarado vs. Rios.
As for Alvarado, in particular, the Colorado native is a fighter who has always endured outside-the-ring distractions swirling around him during his fighting career. It’s who he is.
As noted by Groke and Paul, Alvarado came to the weigh-in for the second Rios bout with notable red scars on his face and neck. He also nearly missed the 140-pound limit for his bout against Ruslan Provodnikov in 2014.
Alvarado’s ring life has been littered with shenanigans.
Longtime manager Henry Delgado told the Associated Press (h/t MySanAntonio.com) that the world has never truly seen a fully committed version of his fighter:
"I've never seen him put 100 percent into his career. It's what you do in between the fights that defines you. It's how you're living, how you're taking care of yourself. Nobody has seen what he could've been. He wouldn't have any losses if he was committed 100 percent."
What fans have seen of Alvarado, though, is something they like.
Alvarado is a marauder. When the bell rings, he fights hard no matter what else is going on in his life. It’s the chief attribute that has defined his boxing career to this point and will likely continue to the very end of it.
If you think Alvarado is shot, look at how he gave Juan Manuel Marquez a good tussle in his 12-round loss to the all-time great just last year.
Despite being thoroughly outclassed, Alvarado managed to hurt and drop Marquez in Round 9 after being floored himself in Round 8.
Alvarado is resilient, and being the loser of his last two bouts, by decision to Marquez and Round 10 knockout to Provodnikov, he’ll need every bit of that versus Rios.
No matter what happens in forthcoming court proceedings, Alvarado’s boxing career is on the line. He’s smart enough to know that.
Let’s face it. He might not beat Rios. The two are evenly matched and even in arguably the best effort of his career, Alvarado just managed to sneak by him via close decision.
But pay no mind to those who suggest his recent legal dust-up will have an effect on the fight.
Because the 19 previous rounds between the two hard-nosed sluggers, as well as Alvarado’s consistent pattern of making less-than-ideal choices, suggests nothing of the sort.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
