Rios vs. Alvarado 3: Live Round-by-Round Highlights and Analysis

Brandon Rios put a decisive stamp on his trilogy with Mike Alvarado on Saturday night, dominating his longtime foe over three one-sided rounds and forcing a corner stoppage at the end of Round 3 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado.

Rios (33-2-1, 24 KO) attacked with ferocity at the opening bell, overwhelming his clearly overmatched rival with big combinations on the inside. There wasn’t a single moment of the fight where you could consider it close or competitive.

Alvarado (34-4, 23 KO) looked like a shell of his former self. He looked unsure of whether to box or slug, allowing Rios to seize the initiative and open him up with huge shots from every angle. He was dropped by a vicious uppercut near the end of Round 3.

The win revitalizes the career of Rios, a former lightweight champion, and positions him for another significant fight down the road.

Alvarado, despite his protestations to HBO’s Jim Lampley after the fight, is likely done with significant fights at the top level of the sport.

In the co-featured bout, Mexican prospect Gilberto Ramirez used a vicious body assault and high punch output to grind out a unanimous decision victory over Maxim Vlasov.

Scores were 96-94, 97-93 and 97-93, all for Ramirez.

Ramirez (31-0, 24 KO) is considered one of boxing’s blue-chip young talents, but his HBO debut was a little uneven. He was committed to working the body, zapping the already light-hitting Vlasov’s power, but showed a leaky defense and ate quite a few straight right hands.