Brandon Rios notches a big win in his “best fight ever”…
The 28-year-old Mexican American light-welterweight boxer concluded his trilogy with Mike Alvarado Saturday night as he destroyed Alvarado in a third-round knockout.
Fighting in Alvarado’s Denver stomping grounds, Rios took the hometown favorite apart with ease before a near-sellout crowd of 5,988 at the 1stBank Center. Referee Jay Nady waved off the fight on the advice of the ringside doctor, with a battered Alvarado on his stool and having vision problems after the third round.
“It was my best fight ever,” Rios said. “I did everything right in this camp. I was not going to let him beat me in the trilogy. I saved my career, and I answered a lot of questions.”
Said Robert Garcia, Rios’ trainer: “Not only was it a win, but we trained to do what he did. He made Alvarado miss a lot, he was on his toes, he had head movement. It was the perfect performance. We needed it.”
Rios consoled Alvarado after the fight. He said he told Alvarado, “It’s been a pleasure fighting you, and I love you like a brother. Get back on the right track.”
There was action, to be sure, but it was mostly one-way traffic as Rios won the trilogy 2-1 and stopped Alvarado for the second time.
“It feels good. I won, and I showed I am here to stay. I’m not done yet,” said Rios, who took the fight so seriously he arrived in Denver with his team, on his own dime, two weeks ahead of schedule, to complete training at altitude. “They say I’m not dedicated, I’m lazy, I have no head movement. But this was the best camp I ever had in my life.”
The first two Rios-Alvarado fights were classics. Not so much for the third one, as Alvarado, who lives a very hard life outside the ring, had nothing.
“One would have liked to have seen an even slugfest and maybe a knockout in five or six rounds,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. “But it’s boxing. It’s up to the fighters. The promoter can’t produce it like a Broadway show.
“Brandon looked very, very good. Alvarado looked like he had very, very little. How much of that was Brandon, and how much was Alvarado? How could I tell?”
