Not every fight we see scheduled gets the pulses racing in anticipation of a war. I know I'm not looking forward to Andre Ward v Edwin Rodriguez for example, however one fight that screams "blood, guts and violence" is the upcoming WBO interim Light Welterweight contest between Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23) and Russian slugger Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15), a fight that makes me remember just why I love this great sport of ours.
It's not often that we get true warriors matched together, but that's what we have here with two fighters who actually look like they were made for each other. Both are TV friendly, fan friendly and better yet they are sharing a ring together, what more can we want?
As the defending champion the pressure is on Alvarado who impressed many by avenging his sole defeat earlier this year. Having lost to Brandon Rios in a tear up last year Alvarado took on Rios for a second time and showed his ability to box as well as fight as he mixed things up and out pointed Rios in a barnstormer. He'll have to show his boxing ability again here, though it's a relief for the American that has it in his locker.
Although Alvarado is "only" 33 he's a fighter who has many more miles on the clock than a normal 33 year old. His history of out-manning opponents will have taken it's toll on his long term health, his career and his ability to go to the well again. That's not to say he's only got 1 more good fight in him, but it is to say that his style is going to catch up with him sooner or later. It might be this bout, it might the next one, or it might be 10 fights away, but it will happen.
Whilst Alvarado has shown an ability to go to plan B we've never seen that from Provodnikov a man who has single game plan and one that is usually effective. To fight. You'll never get anything unpredictable from Provodnikov, there's no traps or clever countering, there's little in the way of imagination though what you get is a strong, tough, hard hitting Russian on a seek and destroy mission from round 1 to round 12.
Provodnikov can be made to look second rate by someone who boxes on the move, though he'll take advantage of any lapses in concentration and landing thudding shots with either hand. It takes not just a tough opponent to beat him, but one with either boundless energy or one the ability to discourage him, something we've yet to see.
If Alvarado employees his usual "fighting" style then this is a FOTY candidate with every round being a mini war. If, instead, Alvarado elects to box the American may find that he looks a level or two better than Provodnikov who could look 1-dimensional. Problem for Alvarado though if he does choose to box is that Provodbikov won't back off and only needs to land one punch to shake him, as hard as Alvarado tries to box there will always be that tense feeling that Provodnikov is only 1 shot away from turning the bout around.
I think Alvarado will manage to box for most of the fight, he'll certainly have a scare and may be dropped, though will show his smarts and just do enough to take a very tight decision in a memorable FOTY contender. I can certainly see Provodnikov hurting the American, but for some reason I think that Alvarado will see out the storm in a fight that sees fans and the media calling for an immediate rematch, just as much for the action as anything else.
Prediction-Alvarado SD12
Showing posts with label Mike Alvarado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Alvarado. Show all posts
Friday, 18 October 2013
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Brandon Rios v Mike Alvarado II
Last year boxing fans got a real treat when the Americans Brandon Rios (31-0-1, 23) and Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23) waged a thoroughly enjoyable war on each other in a none title bout. This coming weekend the two step in to the ring together again with the interim WBO Light Welterweight title on the line in what promises a lot considering their first fight.
Last time out Alvarado started very well before eventually being dragged more and more in to a war that eventually saw him getting stopped in the 7th round by a determined Rios who was forced to take hard shots himself. Although last time out the bout played chief support to Nonito Donaire's bout with Toshiaki Nishioka this time the bout is the main event and after their first meeting the reason si obvious-these two are fun to watch.
Of the two men Brandon Rios goes in to this bout as the notable favourite (3/10) and this is partly due to his victory last time out and also partly due to his reputation. Rios has, over the past 3 years, been on a real tear beating the likes of Jorge Luis Theron, Anthony Peterson, Miguel Acosta, Urbano Antillon, John Murray, Richar Abril (though this one was hugely controversial) and of course Alvarado. He has looked unstoppable with only Abril seeing the final bell (in a bout that Rios was very lucky to win) and has shown power, aggression, work rate and sheer toughness. In fact it's fair to say that Rios has shown nothing less than a sheer bloody mindedness to win come hell or high water.
The unbeaten Rios may not be the most skilled or the most technical in the ring but he's one of the toughest and has one of the biggest hearts. He doesn't seem to know when he's lost, he doesn't seem to know how to take a backwards step and probably most impressively, he knows how to cut the ring off and get his offensive work in (even if he does take a shot or two in return).
Like Rios, Alvarado has proven himself to be a genuine warrior. Sure he was stopped last time out against Rios though had already proven his balls in an enthralling war with Breidis Prescott (who fights on the undercard) which he won by stopping Prescott in the tenth despite being very marked up. Also like Rios, Alvarado isn't the smartest of boxers, though he is probably more technically sound than Rios he's also no Willie Pep.
Alvarado is a warrior through and through he's tough and this time around (more so than last time) he's got a point to prove. He started well against Rios last time and seemed to look the much better boxer, though was unfortunately dragged into a fight, hurt then stopped. If (and it's a big if) Alvarado can stick to his boxing and tag Rios whilst moving laterally (like he did in several rounds last time out) he could manage to find himself taking a decision. Sadly for Alvarado boxing against Rios can be harder than it seems and for those who saw Rios v Acosta they may know just how good Rios is at cutting off the corners (which admittedly Acosta seemed to like fighting out of).
Although Alvarado for me personally is over-priced (18/5) I do favour Rios on account of the fact we know he can hurt Alvarado. Although it's obvious that Rios' career at the top isn't going to be a long one (he simply takes too many shots for that) I don't think he'll suddenly get old here. Alvarado will stick to his boxer more this time, though I think eventually he gets either dropped (perhaps choosing to take a knee) an loses by close decision or stopped standing as Rios proves to be an offensive machine.
Prediction-Rios by TKO11
Last time out Alvarado started very well before eventually being dragged more and more in to a war that eventually saw him getting stopped in the 7th round by a determined Rios who was forced to take hard shots himself. Although last time out the bout played chief support to Nonito Donaire's bout with Toshiaki Nishioka this time the bout is the main event and after their first meeting the reason si obvious-these two are fun to watch.
Of the two men Brandon Rios goes in to this bout as the notable favourite (3/10) and this is partly due to his victory last time out and also partly due to his reputation. Rios has, over the past 3 years, been on a real tear beating the likes of Jorge Luis Theron, Anthony Peterson, Miguel Acosta, Urbano Antillon, John Murray, Richar Abril (though this one was hugely controversial) and of course Alvarado. He has looked unstoppable with only Abril seeing the final bell (in a bout that Rios was very lucky to win) and has shown power, aggression, work rate and sheer toughness. In fact it's fair to say that Rios has shown nothing less than a sheer bloody mindedness to win come hell or high water.
The unbeaten Rios may not be the most skilled or the most technical in the ring but he's one of the toughest and has one of the biggest hearts. He doesn't seem to know when he's lost, he doesn't seem to know how to take a backwards step and probably most impressively, he knows how to cut the ring off and get his offensive work in (even if he does take a shot or two in return).
Like Rios, Alvarado has proven himself to be a genuine warrior. Sure he was stopped last time out against Rios though had already proven his balls in an enthralling war with Breidis Prescott (who fights on the undercard) which he won by stopping Prescott in the tenth despite being very marked up. Also like Rios, Alvarado isn't the smartest of boxers, though he is probably more technically sound than Rios he's also no Willie Pep.
Alvarado is a warrior through and through he's tough and this time around (more so than last time) he's got a point to prove. He started well against Rios last time and seemed to look the much better boxer, though was unfortunately dragged into a fight, hurt then stopped. If (and it's a big if) Alvarado can stick to his boxing and tag Rios whilst moving laterally (like he did in several rounds last time out) he could manage to find himself taking a decision. Sadly for Alvarado boxing against Rios can be harder than it seems and for those who saw Rios v Acosta they may know just how good Rios is at cutting off the corners (which admittedly Acosta seemed to like fighting out of).
Although Alvarado for me personally is over-priced (18/5) I do favour Rios on account of the fact we know he can hurt Alvarado. Although it's obvious that Rios' career at the top isn't going to be a long one (he simply takes too many shots for that) I don't think he'll suddenly get old here. Alvarado will stick to his boxer more this time, though I think eventually he gets either dropped (perhaps choosing to take a knee) an loses by close decision or stopped standing as Rios proves to be an offensive machine.
Prediction-Rios by TKO11
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