March 29, 2013 – Breidis Prescott (26-4, 20KOs) will have to wait a little longer before he receives his title shot against WBA’s “regular” junior welterweight champion Khabib Allakhverdiev. Allakhverdiev injured his elbow last week in camp and was forced to pullout of his title defense in the televised co-feature of HBO Boxing After Dark: Rios-Alvarado.

Prescott remains in the co-feature but he will now be fighting in a 10 rounder against lightweight prospect Terence Crawford (19-0, 15KOs) who will be moving up to junior welterweight for the fight. Crawford was originally supposed to compete on the untelevised portion of the card against Robert Osiobe, but he jumped at the chance to step in for the injured Allakhverdiev and now he has the opportunity to step in the ring on an HBO broadcast in his most high profiled fight to date.

It’s unfortunate for Prescott, but being on the televised portion of the card and keeping the opportunity to compete in front of a major audience is nothing to balk at, which is exactly how he sees it.

“I wish I was fighting for the belt, but I’m prepared to fight and it would’ve been much worse not competing at all. Crawford is a talented prospect, but he’s out of his division and out of his league. I’ll make the adjustments and turn in a great performance.

“Who knows, maybe if I impress on Saturday I could earn myself an even greater opportunity? My job is to fight and it doesn’t really matter who’s in front of me because I see every opponent as an obstacle standing in my way, that’s motivation enough,” Prescott said.

LAS VEGAS – Boxing is Brandon Rios’ playground. Show him a ring. Take him to a weigh-in. Doesn’t matter. He’s like a kid at recess. Friday was the weigh-in for his junior-welterweight encore with Mike Alvarado Saturday night at Mandalay Bay.

Rios jumped on the scale almost as if it were an empty seat on a merry-go-round. He came up a fraction of a pound too heavy, perhaps because of a jarring impact or just an abundance of enthusiasm.

No problem. Rios stepped behind a beach towel, stripped off his shorts and took another turn at the scale. This time, he was perfect — 140 pounds-even. Not a whisper of an ounce less or more. Alvarado also weighed 140.0.

Rios (31-0-1, 22 KOs) smiled, perhaps at the prospect of the bruising brawl he has promised in an HBO-televised rematch of his seventh-round stoppage of Alvarado (33-1, 23 KOs) on October 13 in Carson, Calif. Or, maybe, he heard from a handful of Alvarado fans in the weigh-in crowd. Taunts have to be a favorite on the Rios play list. They are his marching music.

“I love it when you guys talk bleep, just love it’’ said Rios, a 4-to-1 favorite who according to contracts filed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission will collect $1 million Saturday. Alvarado’s purse is $650,000.

Rios loves it almost as much as a brawl. Whether more brawling will be enough for another victory over Alvarado is one reason for the rematch, of course. There’s that and Juan Manuel Marquez’ upset of Manny Pacquiao in December.

Rios had been in line for a rich shot at Pacquiao until Marquez’ right hand got in the way, dropping the Filipino Congressman on to the canvas, face-first. Marquez altered a lot of promotional plans, but didn’t really seem to change anything about Rios, who fights to have fun.

Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado II Saturday night at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay might be more of a continuation than it is a rematch. At least, all of the talk seems to promise a resumption of a brawl in Carson, Calif., that ended more than five months ago in a seventh-round TKO victory for Rios.

Make no mistake, Rios and Alvarado might still be fighting if Pat Russell had not ended a bout lacking in subtlety and skillful adjustments, yet spellbinding for its undisguised ferocity. There was some debate then about whether Russell’s stoppage at 1:57 of the seventh was premature. From this seat in Carson, it looked to be well-timed and wise. Moments before Russell intervened, a dazed Alvarado fell forward and into Rios’ chest. Instinct probably would have kept Alvarado on his feet, but only at the price of more punishment.

Nevertheless, Alvarado and his trainer/manager, Henry Delgado, argued then that he should have been allowed to continue. Had the fight gone the distance, it could have wound up as a draw. It was 57-57 on two scorecards. Rios led on the third, 58-56.

In the buildup for Saturday’s HBO-televised fight, Alvarado has repeated the argument, in part because of what he saw in Tim Bradley’s epic decision on March 16 over Ruslan Provodnikov, also in Carson. Russell let that one continue, despite evident signs that Bradley was in real trouble during the early rounds. Even Bradley said he thought he had suffered concussions.

“I thought Bradley got a good opportunity to prove himself, show that heart,’’ Alvarado said during a conference call. “He was knocked out on his feet pretty much. I thought the referee was fair, the more I saw it.’’

Translation: Alvarado is asking for the same chance that Bradley got. Given Russell’s apparent inconsistency, it’s a fair argument. But boxing is only a debate club during news conferences. For those of us fortunate enough to be in ringside seats, we’re only in danger of adding pounds to our ever-expanding cheeseburger bellies during the pre-fight meal.

A tough fight means heightened danger. It also means a tough call is likely. Referee Tony Weeks might have the toughest job of all Saturday night. Rios-Alvarado has taken on a predictable tone. Some blood lust is baked into the expectations. It’s hard to see how the Rios-Alvarado resumption will differ from the style witnessed on Oct. 13. By their own admission, Rios and Alvarado aren’t sweet scientists.

“We have the same type of style,’’ Rios said. “We both go and fight each other. We try to get the job done the only way we know how. We can try to change it up in the gym. But once the bell rings and we get hit, we go back to do doing what we know how to do. That’s the warrior mentality that comes out of us.

“Mike Alvarado is Mike Alvarado. Brandon Rios is Brandon Rios.’

There’s speculation that the prospect for more of the same will be altered by adjustments from Alvarado, who is believed to be more athletic because of his wrestling background. Alvarado has even hinted at possible adjustments. But that might be a pre-fight ploy in an attempt to keep Rios guessing.

“You can always train differently to try to change things up, but I think our styles and the way we approach the ring, it is automatically going to turn into that kind of fight,’’ Alvarado said during the conference call on March 21. “They are the styles we have. We are both warriors. We just fight and whoever comes out on top, that’s just the way it’s going to go.’’

Alvarado apparently got into an unscheduled brawl sometime in early February. Cuts on his right cheek and down the right side of his neck are visible in the video, Road to Rios-Alvarado II.

“It hasn’t hindered me,’’ said Alvarado, who said the cuts are no reason to worry. “It was just a little accident. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and it was a little accident.’’

What’s expected Saturday night will be no accident. But it’ll look like one, another one in a chapter that could have fans asking for even more.

What was he thinking? Guerrero wasn’t

It’s a good thing there’s no reliable test for stupidity. Boxing would come up positive every time. The latest example: Robert Guerrero’s arrest Thursday for trying to check baggage that included a handgun onto a flight in New York.

Remember Plaxico Burress? Guess not. Burress, then a New York Giants receiver, wound up doing nearly two years in jail on a 2009 weapons charge in New York. And he shot himself.

Circumstances look to be a lot different. Burress’ gun was concealed and loaded. According to reports, Guerrero informed the airline that he had a hand gun, unloaded and locked in a safe box, according to a joint statement Thursday from Team Guerrero, Golden Boy Promotions and Mayweather Promotions. Guerrero has a California license for the weapon, according to the statement.

Given the national debate over gun control, however, Guerrero could face trouble in New York, where gun laws are more stringent than anywhere else in the U.S. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a vocal proponent of banning guns. If New York is looking to make an example out of someone, Guerrero is in the political cross-hairs. He was all over the New York media during the last few days. His fight on May 4 against Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand is already in the headlines.

Even if his arrest and arraignment on firearm charges don’t jeopardize the fight, he will have to deal with unwanted distractions He was booked on a flight for Las Vegas, where he had planned to get back into the gym as soon as possible. He was released on his own recognizance, according to the joint statement. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 14, 10 days after the fight.

Mayweather is enough of a problem. He asked for that one. Now, Guerrero has a complicated one that he could have avoided.

Saturday, California’s Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios will make a rematch with Colorado’s “Mile High” Mike Alvarado of the second-best fight of 2012, a relentless engagement Rios won in round 7 when California referee Pat Russell ruled Alvarado was too defenseless to continue at Carson, Calif.’s Home Depot Center in October. Rios-Alvarado II will happen at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

There is a feel of the cash-out to this rematch. It is too soon for Mike Alvarado to review his October mistakes, imagine theoretical corrections, apply theory to his gym routines, bend and memorize his muscles to new positions, then practice these new positions till they bore him. There is not time enough for an athlete who was not stopped brutally in his last fight to do this or time enough for an athlete of sound mind and body to do it, and so imagine for a moment how inadequately timed is Alvarado – who was solved conclusively by Rios in the middle part of their sixth round together barely five months ago and was then wounded in February in what Alvarado’s manager told Rick Reeno was a minor affair, calling what HBO’s camera made look like the shimmering claw-work of a mountain lion on Alvarado’s right cheek, chin and neck, “just a few scratches.”

Such abrasions are not likely to impede Alvarado, Saturday – however perilously close to vital parts of his neck Alvarado’s wounds happened, a fighter with a properly tucked chin shouldn’t have those wounds reopened by another man’s leathered fists – but it is unlikely Alvarado has been able to focus on much more than how those marks sting when perspiration glides its salt-depositing way across them.

Colorado boxing is a realm unto itself; there have not been many world champions from the Centennial State, but one of boxing’s most colorful and well-liked characters, matchmaker Don Smith, resides up that way and one afternoon recounted stories aplenty – liberally punctuating them with his delightfully autobiographical clause, “it is alleged” – of what happened in a place where regulations were wanting: bareknuckle scraps, toughman competitions, tag-team boxing. Out of remnants from that brannigan emerged a prodigious wrestler-cum-boxer named Mike Alvarado, nine years ago.

Alvarado is considered a toughman of his own now, a complement to Brandon Rios’ prehistoric fighting style, but he was not that when he began, and he was not that when promoter Top Rank had him featured on Telefutura years ago. Today, large holes in his résumé, face and neck betray Alvarado’s penchant for unsanctioned combat, which is why the cash-out comes, though without much of the nefariousness the term often connotes. Alvarado knows where his career is at this moment, and exactly how unlikely a Las Vegas main event, broadcast by HBO, was, 20 months ago when he won an IBF Latino title on a Denver softball field adjacent to a functioning railway.

Local shows like that one offer narrow vistas and few escape routes. Smalltown cards in the West are caldrons of reinvention and assumed identities, places where full rosters of flunkies nobody has ever heard of stomp their ways to VIP seats from harried local promoters whose favorite phrase is “Never heard of him!” Commission officials, overdressed and ubiquitous till a call for judgment or actionable information goes out, preen in the provincial authority common to small provinces. The packs that prey near ringside look nothing like what one sees in Las Vegas; however much his attendance at Marquez-Pacquiao IV may have enchanted Mitt Romney, if he gained fifty pounds of fat, three pounds of ink, a pound of beard, and a Harley-Davidson jacket, he still would not make it far enough to be wanded by an offduty cop at such a card’s improvised entrance, much less to his unfolded aluminum chair, beige or grey, with its same seat number handprinted on at least three other VIP tickets.

One does not come out an environment like this and ask for a tuneup or postponement, which is why Alvarado did not ask for either, and neither probably would have been granted him by a sage promoter with no way of knowing how free or healthy Alvarado might be in June. Saturday’s fight is unlikely to be good as its predecessor, which saw Rios undertake a brutal 17-minute apprenticeship from which he emerged with coordinates for a hellish spot heavyweight Ray Mercer once coined “Righthand City” – right before depositing Tommy “The Duke” Morrison there for an unforgettable 1991 exile.

Rios knows Alvarado has no workable solution for his right hand, and Rios knows Alvarado knows it as well, and that should bring the suspenseful round or three that opens their rematch Saturday, when Rios tries to cut Alvarado’s consciousness in two minutes and finds Alvarado, for whatever haplessness he showed in rounds 6 and 7 of their first fight, remains dangerous as any man Rios has fought, until he is softened by a hundred or more punches. One hopes Alvarado spent training camp fixated on other men’s right shoulders and thoughts of Rios’ right deltoid as it twitches the instant before he launches a right cross, or, better still, that Alvarado abandoned his low-lead-hand approach totally – though that seems too rich an account for Hope to settle.

It would be a wonderful thing for Alvarado and prizefighting if Rios were careless enough to hurl himself square on an Alvarado counter, early, wonderful for the spectacle that would ensue and the possibility these savages would make a rubber match, but probability does not favor it. So I’ll take Rios, KO-6, while wishing both men only the very best.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

FRED STERNBURG: When Ernie Banks said “Let’s Play Two” he had to be thinking about the Brandon “Bam-Bam” Rios and Mike “Mile High” Alvarado Interim World Championship rematch coming up on March 30 at Mandalay Bay Live on HBO. Last year’s fight many thought was the Fight-of-the-Year and they are expecting the same.

BOB ARUM: Coming off the great fight we had last week with Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov we are looking at really one of the great highlights of the first quarter. The first fight between Brandon and Mike was excellent and we are looking for an equally good fight this time. Brandon and Mike know one thing – they know how to fight and they know how to bring it. It’s great for the fans and I’m looking forward to it on March 30.

BRANDON RIOS: Training camp is going great. I feel really great. I am very hyped up to meet another warrior in the ring as myself. We want to give the fans what they want — another fight. It’s going to be a great fight and I couldn’t be any more excited.

MIKE ALVARADO: Camp is going great. Everything is on schedule. I am here training at home [Denver] and like Brandon said, it’s going to be another great fight. It’s going to be a great show for everyone and I am just glad to have this opportunity to fight.

Do you think it is too soon for a rematch?

BRANDON RIOS: It’s never too soon to do it again. Like I said, we are warriors and if you are a warrior, you want to fight again and again and again. It is never too soon. The first fight was great. I feel great and I’m ready for another battle. I am just ready to do it again. I am ready for another battle. Why wait? It is never too soon.

MIKE ALVARADO: I agree with Brandon. I can’t wait for the chance to redeem myself from the first fight and it is a fight that everyone wants to see, so it’s fight on. And we’re ready to do it.

BOB ARUM: I don’t usually like to do immediate rematches but this first fight was really so great. There was a demand for it to get done and the people at HBO came up with a financial package that was very appealing. Both fighters are getting considerable more than they got the first time. It’s the exception that proves the rule.

Mike, did you think the first fight was going to turn into a war?

MIKE ALVARADO: I knew it was going to. Everyone kind of has a game plan when they go into a fight. I knew it was going to turn into that kind of fight and I had prepared for a war. And that’s the kind of fight it ended up being.

Do you plan to make it less of a war this time to get a better chance to win?

MIKE ALVARADO: You can always train differently to try to change things up but I think our styles and the way we approach the ring, it is automatically going to turn into that kind of fight. They are the styles we have. We are both warriors.. We just fight and whoever comes out on top, that’s just the way it’s going to go.

Do either of you see yourself when you look across the ring in a fight like this?

BRANDON RIOS: We have the same type of style. We both go fight each other. We try to get the job done the only way we know how. We can try to change it up in the gym, but once the bell rings and we get hit we go back to doing what we know how to do. That’s the warrior mentality that comes out of us. Mike Alvarado is Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios is Brandon Rios. We are going to give the fans what they want and we are going to give them a good show.

MIKE ALVARADO: Once we get in the ring – we can train any way we want – but once we get in that ring it’s on us to make adjustments and not get hit like we did, but you never know. There is only one way to find out and that’s when we get in the ring on the 30th, we’ll see what happens.

You were perceived as the lighter puncher when you moved up in weight…

BRANDON RIOS: I had to get out of the lightweight division. I couldn’t make the weight any more. I was a big 135 the whole time and eventually it caught up to me. I had thought moving up in weight would give me more power and benefit me more and that’s what happened. I felt strong.

Did you feel stronger than Mike?

BRANDON RIOS: I am strong no matter what. I come to fight. I come to bring it. I had power at 135 and I have power at 140. Now I don’t have to make those last five pounds and I don’t have to dehydrate myself. So I feel very strong and the power is going to be there even more this time.

Do you think the fight will go as long as the first?

BRANDON RIOS: I am pretty sure it will go the same way. I’m sure he feels the same way to. I am gunning for a knockout. That’s the way I feel right now.

MIKE ALVARADO: He is a warrior and he came and brought all he had. He’s strong. He knows what he has. I was in there with him before and I know what to expect this next time around. I have a game plan and I’ll come back with something a little different this time. We still have to get in with each other again and we know what we are bringing into the ring. And we are going to do it again.

Did Rios force you out of your game plan the first fight?

MIKE ALVARADO: I didn’t really have a game plan. I just fought like I usually do. That is the style I like to fight – it’s the only way I know how. I didn’t change anything up. I made a couple of adjustments in the ring but I wasn’t at the top of my game like I should have been.

Is there anything you have to do differently?

MIKE ALVARADO: I just have to be on my game. I am going to fight the same way. I will make adjustments to overcome situations. On fight night, in the ring, I will make those adjustments.

What do you think about fighting Bradley or Marquez?

BRANDON RIOS: First of all, Mike Alvarado is all that’s in my mind. I have to fight Mike Alvarado before I think of anything else.

Do you think Alvarado will fight the same of different?

BRANDON RIOS: Mike Alvarado is a fighter. He is going to come in the middle of the ring and fight toe-to-toe. I expect him to fight the same way as he did the first time.

What did you think about the Bradley-Provodnikov fight?

MIKE ALVARADO: I thought Bradley got a good opportunity to prove himself, show that heart. He was knocked out on his feet pretty much. I thought the referee was fair the more I saw it.

BRANDON RIOS: I was watching the fight at home. I was almost jumping on the TV watching that fight. It brought back memories. I was like ‘Damn, they are showing the warrior spirit.’ They were going at it. Like they said, Bradley came out with a different game plan and he proved that he’s a warrior and a fighter.

It must be nice watching a brawl like that from outside the ring?

BRANDON RIOS: Even today I watched our match. I wake up in the morning and when I get back from my run I watch our fight. After I go to the gym, I watch it. Before I go to bed, I watch it. I am a fan of our fight and I am a fan of that fight.

MIKE ALVARADO: I have watched our right a few times. I remember it like the back of my hand so I don’t have to go over it too much. It is going to be the same kind of fight with a few adjustments. We are just going to go out there and do it again.

Are you surprised at how much action there was in the first fight?

BRANDON RIOS: I was very amazed. It was like watching an Arturo Gatti – Micky Ward fight. I couldn’t believe we stood up to the big shots. We were both landing big shots going toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring. Like I said, I am a big fan mine, and his, so it was awesome.

While watching ”Road to Rios-Alvarado II” I noticed a couple of cuts on your cheek…

MIKE ALVARADO: No, it hasn’t hindered me. It was just a little accident. I was just at the wrong place and the wrong time and it was a little accident. It happened outside the ring and I am fine.

Why are you fighting Rios again? Is it personal?

MIKE ALVARADO: Why will I fight him again? It is a fight that the fans want. Having the rematch gives me an opportunity to redeem myself after the first fight. That was a good fight. I like fights like that. We are both warriors. We want fights like that.

Bob, do you see how this fight will co-mingle with the Bradley-Provodnikov fight and Pacquiao coming up in the fall?

BOB ARUM: Fans aren’t stupid. They want to see action. Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios are action fighters. Timothy Bradley showed that he is an action fighter. Juan Manuel Marquez is an action fighter. Many Pacquiao is an action fighter. Ruslan Provodnikov is an action fighter. They don’t play around. They don’t dance around. They fight. That’s what the public wants to see, so we’ll mix and match as we go along because they are the big fights that people want to see. That is the way the fighters can be rewarded monetarily.

Mike, can you talk about Rudy Hernandez and what he adds to your training camp?

MIKE ALVARADO: Rudy is a great trainer. He came into my camp and made a few adjustments and has gone over a few things from the first fight. We have been going over the game plan for this fight. Moving around a little bit. We will fight the same way, just a little bit of adjustments. Since bringing Rudy in, he has made some good adjustments.

BOB ARUM: Tickets are selling extremely well and we are very pleased with that. There are only approximately 1,500 tickets left. We are selling 60 or 70 a day so I am pretty sure we will have a sellout by fight time. There is one bit of advice I want to give both fighters – nobody smoke a joint – wait till after the fight is over.

MIKE ALVARADO: I am ready and hyped up for this fight. I have had a great training camp. The fight is right around the corner and I am ready to put on a good show and go to war again with Brandon. I am honored to be a part of the show.

MIKE ALVARADO: I am very excited and hyped up for this fight and can’t wait to get in the ring. Everyone around the world get to Mandalay Bay. It is going to be a better show than the first one. Mike Alvarado is trying to get his revenge so he is training harder so I am ready and very excited. It’s going to be one exciting fight again.

Rios-Alvarado II, a rematch of their 2012 Fight of the Year-nominated fight and one of the greatest fights of the 21st Century, will take place, Saturday, March 30, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The 12-round World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim junior welterweight championship rumble will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

In their first fight, last October 13, a battle of undefeated gladiators, Rios and Alvarado fought toe-to-toe and non-stop for seven thrilling rounds that saw dramatic momentum shifts throughout the action-packed bout. Two of the judges had the fight scored even before referee Pat Russell stopped the fight at 1:57 of the seventh round, awarding the TKO victory to Rios. Media and fans alike compared Rios-Alvarado to the great matches of the past 50 years, including Ali-Frazier III, Corrales -Castillo I and Hagler-Hearns, based on action and entertainment value.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate, remaining tickets to Rios-Alvarado II are priced at $250, $150, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person and are available for purchase at all Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Mandalay Bay at (877) 632-7400 or Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.MandalayBay.com or www.Ticketmaster.com.

Fans who are interested in not only purchasing tickets to the fight but also booking a room at Mandalay Bay can earn a special offer, which includes a discounted room rate along with a $25 resort credit. This sweet room deal can be accessed by visiting https://resweb.passkey.com/go/erank13b.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, or twitter.com/hboboxing.

Monday, March 11 – HBO Boxing will present “Road to Rios/Alvarado II,” an all-new special examining the upcoming junior welterweight rematch between Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado. The two ring warriors engaged in an epic battle in October of 2012 that was one of the year’s top slugfests and most talked about encounters. The highly anticipated rematch will take place on Saturday, March 30 and be televised on HBO Boxing After Dark ®.

The “Road to Rios/Alvarado II” special, which will premiere on HBO on Saturday, March 16 at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT or immediately following the live presentation of World Championship Boxing, will feature a look back at their thrilling October contest as well as all new content including a portrait of both men’s journey from hardscrabble neighborhoods to the highest level of the boxing world.

On October 13, 2012, Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios (31-0-1, 23 KOs) stopped Mike Alvarado (33-1, 23 KOs) in the seventh round of the hotly contested fight. The two sluggers went toe-to-toe in a non-stop, action-packed bout. Having suffered his first professional loss on that warm night in southern California, Alvarado hopes to avenge the loss under the bright lights of the Las Vegas strip at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Still undefeated, Rios is looking to pick up where he left off to show the boxing world that he is the man to beat at 140-pounds.

The 15-minute special will also be available on the HBO ON DEMAND® and HBO GO® platforms.

Additional HBO replay dates:

Saturday, March 16 at 12:15 a.m.

Sunday, March 17 at 12:30 p.m.

Monday, March 18 at 11:15 p.m.

Friday, March 22 at 8:45 p.m.

Sunday, March 24 at 8:15 a.m.

Monday, March 25 at 7:45 p.m.

Wednesday, March 27 at 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 28 at 7:45 p.m.

Friday, March 29 at 12:00 a.m.

Saturday, March 30 at 8:15 a.m.

Additional HBO2 replay dates:

Friday, March 22 at 9:00 a.m.

Tuesday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 27 at 9:15 p.m.

Sunday, March 31 at 10:45 a.m.

All times are ET/PT.

GOBBLER’S KNOB, (Groundhog Day 2013) — At 7:28 A.M. ET today, Punxsutawney Phil — the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators — emerged from his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, PA. and proclaimed, in his native Groundhogese, that there would be an early winner of the 2013 Fight of the Year — the upcoming rematch between undefeated former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS and top-rated contender “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO. Rios and Alvarado will battle each other again, with the WBO interim junior welterweight title at stake, Saturday, March 30, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

“Will Alvarado get sent up the Rios without a paddle? Will Rios become a Rocky Mountain Highlight for Alvarado? Who knows? But I do predict, without a shadow of a doubt, that Rios-Alvarado II will be the early winner for being the 2013 Fight of the Year,” said the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound quadruped as he shadowboxed (wearing a Tecate headband and a Top Rank warmup) during his annual news conference. “Temperatures are already rising. Forget an early spring, there is a heat wave heading boxing’s way!”

When pressed for a definitive answer on whether he could predict the winner of Rios-Alvarado II, Phil astounded the media by answering in English.

Quoth the groundhog, “Nevermore.”

In their first fight, last October 13, a battle of undefeated gladiators, Rios (33-0-1, 22 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., and Alvarado (33-1, 23 KOs), of Denver, Colo., fought toe-to-toe and non-stop for seven thrilling rounds that saw dramatic momentum shifts throughout the action-packed bout. Two of the judges had the fight scored even before referee Pat Russell stopped the fight at 1:57 of the seventh round, awarding the TKO victory to Rios. Media and fans alike compared Rios-Alvarado to the great matches of the past 50 years, including Ali-Frazier III, Corrales -Castillo I and Hagler-Hearns, based on action and entertainment value.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate, remaining tickets to Rios-Alvarado II are priced at $250, $150, $100, and $50, not including applicable service charges. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person and will be available for purchase at all Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Mandalay Bay at (877) 632-7400 or Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.MandalayBay.com or www.Ticketmaster.com.

Fans who are interested in not only purchasing tickets to the fight but also booking a room at Mandalay Bay can earn a special offer, which includes a discounted room rate along with a $25 resort credit (tickets to the fight are not included in the offer). This sweet room deal can be accessed by visiting https://resweb.passkey.com/go/erank13b.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com/boxing.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (January 31, 2013) — To quote Hall of Fame baseball superstar Ernie Banks, “Let’s play two.”

That’s exactly what undefeated former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS and top-rated contender “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO will do when they face each other in a rematch of their 2012 Fight of the Year-nominated fight. Rios-Alvarado II will take place, Saturday, March 30 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The 12-round World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim junior welterweight championship rumble will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

In their first fight, last October 13, a battle of undefeated gladiators, Rios and Alvarado fought toe-to-toe and non-stop for seven thrilling rounds that saw dramatic momentum shifts throughout the action-packed bout. Two of the judges had the fight scored even before referee Pat Russell stopped the fight at 1:57 of the seventh round, awarding the TKO victory to Rios. Media and fans alike compared Rios-Alvarado to the great matches of the past 50 years, including Ali-Frazier III, Corrales -Castillo I and Hagler-Hearns, based on action and entertainment value.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate, tickets to Rios-Alvarado II will go on sale Tomorrow! Friday, February 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET / Noon PT. Priced at $250, $150, $100, and $50, not including applicable service charges, tickets are limited to eight (8) per person and will be available for purchase at all Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Mandalay Bay at (877) 632-7400 or Ticketmaster (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.MandalayBay.com or www.Ticketmaster.com.

Fans who are interested in not only purchasing tickets to the fight but also booking a room at Mandalay Bay can earn a special offer, including a discounted room rate along with a $25 resort credit. This sweet deal is available, beginning Tomorrow! Friday, February 1 at Noon PT, and can be accessed by visiting https://resweb.passkey.com/go/erank13b.

Rios (31-0-1, 22 KOs), the former World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion, from Oxnard, Calif., is on the hunt for his second world title in as many weight divisions. He enters this fight having won 11 of his previous 13 fights by knockout. One of boxing’s most exciting fighters, Rios is known for his all-action fan-friendly fighting style. His trainer, former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight champion and 2012 Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, calls it a “throwback” style with a warrior’s mentality that screams excitement. Highlight knockout victories on Rios’ resume include Miguel Acosta, Anthony Peterson, Urbano Antillon, John Murray and of course Alvarado. Alvarado, the natural 140-pounder, entered that fight as the undefeated WBO No. 1 junior welterweight contender. Rios, by virtue of his TKO victory over Alvarado, is currently world-rated No. 1 by the WBO.

Alvarado (33-1, 23 KOs) of Denver, Colo., had won 10 of his last 13 bouts by stoppage en route to a career-high No. 1 world rating in the WBO when he battled Rios. Notable Alvarado knockout victims included Breidis Prescott, Ray Narh, Emmanuel Clottey and Cesar Bazan. In 2012 Alvarado fought in two Fight of the Year-nominated fights. Last April, Alvarado went toe-to-toe for 10 brutal and exciting rounds winning a unanimous decision over Mauricio Herrera (18-1, 7 KOs). Herrera entered that fight world-rated No. 7 and riding a two-year, five-bout winning streak, highlighted by victories over Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0) and Mike Dallas, Jr. (17-1-1). That was followed by Rios in October. Despite losing to Rios by a technical knockout, his effort and talent are so respected he still remains highly rated, where he is ranked No. 3 by the WBO.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com/boxing.

CARSON, Calif. – Surgery isn’t pretty. But sometimes it’s necessary.

It was Saturday night for Nonito Donaire in a well-crafted, yet careful ninth-round stoppage of Toshiaki Nishioka in a super-bantamweight bout booed by a Home Depot Center crowd that had just witnessed some Fight of the Year drama in Brandon Rios’ victory over Mike Alvarado.

There was no way Donaire and Nishioka could put together a satisfying encore. Who could?

Then again, there also aren’t many times when a fighter with world-class credentials lands only 49 punches. That was Nishioka’s total, according to Compubox, which broke it down to 23 jabs and 26 power punches. Rios and Alvarado landed more punches in their walk from the dressing room for opening bell.

Nishioka, a 122-pound fighter from Japan with an accomplished resume, looked listless and perhaps a little surprised. From the beginning, he looked confused. He tried to avoid instead of engage Donaire. Fewer punches magnified the ones that did land, especially from Donaire.

“Nonito is a surgeon,’’ Donaire (30-1, 19 KOs) said.

In the sixth, the Doctor was in.

Donaire delivered a left- uppercut that dropped Nishioka (39-5-3, 24 KOs). Donaire said he hurt his left hand sometime in the middle of the fight. After the sixth, he said he had to rely on his right.

No problem. In the ninth, he dropped Nishioka and the curtain with a straight right. Referee Raul Caiz called it at 1:54 of the round.

“I’ve never seen a fighter with that kind of speed,’’ Nishioka said.

For Donaire, it’s hard to know what’s next. He wants to fight Abner Mares. But Donaire is a Top Rank fighter and Mares is promoted by Golden Boy. Peace on earth has a better chance than a Golden Boy-Top Rank alliance.

Then again, maybe a good surgeon can mend the promotional rift that stands in the way of the only 122-pound fight anybody wants to see. Dr. Donaire can hope.

Rios wins TKO on a night when he and Alvarado deliver

They hoped for Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward. They talked about Jose Luis Castillo-Diego Corrales. They promised a lot.

Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado delivered.

In their own way.

First, there were punches. Then, there were counters. Then, there were chants. Then, there was astonishment. Never was there an interruption, until Rios suddenly found energy where everybody else had begun to see signs of potential fatigue. They weren’t looking in the right place.

But it was there, somewhere inside Rios (31-0-1, 22 KOs), who marshaled his energies Saturday night for a dramatic seventh-round TKO of Alvarado (33-1, 23 KOs) in what might be the Fight of this Year and few other years.

Rios, of Oxnard, Calif., caught Alvarado with an overhand right. The punch seemed to land on Alvarado’s left temple. He appeared dazed. He slumped against the ropes. That was an invitation the instinctively aggressive Rios could not resist. He swarmed Alvarado at a rate that the Compubox computer at ringside must have had a hard time counting. The punches were hard to see. Alavardo surely couldn’t

Appearing defenseless, referee Pat Russell called it at 1:57 of the round, awarding Rios a TKO and perhaps a shot at the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez rematch on Dec. 8.

“I knew the overhand right would do it,’’ Rios said, who had a slight bruise under his right eye.

Rios, fighting for the first time at junior-welterweight, waited for his chance to land it while enduring one cracking uppercut after another from Alvarado. After six rounds, the bout was tied, 57-57, on each of the cards held by judges Max Deluca and Zach Young. On James Je Kin’s card, Rios led, 58-57.

Alvarado, of Denver, was showing Rios a shoulder and rolling it in a defensive tactic. Amid a relentless body attack, Alvarado finally abandoned the tactic. That was the beginning of the end to a drama that had a capacity crowd of more than 7,000 at the Home Depot Center on its collective feet and roaring its approval.

Rios listened and broke into a smile that said:

“I told you so.’’

Never, he said, was there a moment when he thought Alvarado might have gained the momentum and begun to do enough to win.

“Hell, no,’’ he said to a question thrown at him by HBO Max Kellerman moments after he was declared the victory.

Hell, yes, was the response from an audience that knew Rios and Alvarado had been to hell and back. And, hell yes, everybody was happy to have been along for the ride.

Benavidez rocked, yet survives to win unanimous decision

There’s always been one question about Jose Benavidez Jr.

Could he take a punch?

That punch landed Saturday.

For one fight, at least, Benavidez had an answer. He could take one. He could endure, at least long enough to remain unbeaten in his brief career.

Benavidez (17-0, 13 KOs), a junior-welterweight from Phoenix, was rocked by a left hook from Pavel Miranda (19-8-1, 10 KOs) of Tijuana with about 45 seconds left in an eight-round fight. Dazed and unsteady, Benavidez stumbled across the canvas at an outdoor ring at Home Depot Center, yet managed to hold on to victory by unanimous decision and his status as an unbeaten prospect.

If Miranda’s hook had landed earlier, or if he had followed up with another punch, or had the fight been scheduled for 10 rounds, the story might be very different. Benavidez might be anguishing over his first defeat.

Those are questions that the 20-year-old Benavidez will now have to confront and answer against better, more powerful opponents. There’s never a definitive answer. There are only lessons and more fights, many more of both for Benavidez, who relied on his jab to claim a victory that was nearly taken from him during the bout’s desperate last moments.

The Best
Light-heavyweight Trevor McCumby only enhanced the likelihood he’ll be offered a Top Rank contract this week with his seventh stoppage in seven victories. McCumby, a Chicago native who trains in Phoenix and Oxnard, Calif., at Robert Garcia’s gym, was never challenged in a first-round demolition of Mexican Eliseo Durazo (4-4, 1 KO).

The Rest

Lightweight Javier Garcia (8-2-1, 7 KOs) of Oxnard, Calif., knocked down Jose Roman (14-0-1, 11 KOs) in the first round. Roman, of Garden Grove, Calif., returned the favor in the second. But the ringside physician had the final say. He stopped the fight after the third because of a cut sustained by Garcia, although it appeared the wound was cause by a punch. The fight was declared a technical draw.

Featherweight Evgeny Gradovich (14-0, 7 KOs) calls himself the “Mexician Russan.’’ He needed Mexican tactics and toughness to score a unanimous decision over Jose Angel Beranza (36-25-2, 27 KOs) in a brawling, give-and-take eight-rounder.

Miami super-middleweight Ronald Ellis (4-0, 3 KOs) came into the ring wearing sunglasses. He took them off, fought for four rounds, put them back on, stepped out of the ring and into the sunshine with a unanimous decision over Denver’s Katrell Straus (2-3, 1 KO). Easy as that.

A super-featherweight bout between Mexican Cesar Garcia (6-12-1, 1 KO) and Saul Rodriguez (6-0-1, 5 KOs) was ruled technical draw. The ringside physician stopped it after two rounds because of bloody cut suffered by Garcia in an apparent head butt.

Top Rank signs Mexican Olympian
Top Rank announced Saturday that it has signed Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez. Valdez, a two-time Olympian, lost to eventual silver medalist John Joe Nevin of Ireland at bantamweight during the London Games in August. Valdez, 22, grew up in Nogales, which is a town on the border with Arizona.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Follow all the action as Super Bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire defends against Toshiaki Nishioka. In the much anticipated cofeature, Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado go out in a much anticipated Jr. Welterweight bout that will be sure be on many fight of the year lists. The action begins at 10p, eastern / 7 pm pacific.

12 Rounds–WBO SUPER BANATAMWEIGHT TITLE–NONITO DONAIRE (29-1, 18 KO’S) VS TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA (39-4-3, 24 KO’s)

ROUND 1 Not much Donaire more active…10-9 Donaire

Round 2 not much.either…20-18 Donaire

Round 3 Donaire lands a lead right…Nishioka not throwing punches..Donaire lands a right…30-27 Donaire

Round 4 Donaire lands a body shot..40-36 Donaire

Round 5 Donaire lands a combination..Nishioka jab..Donaire a right..triple jab/right to the body..Donaire lands a jab..50-45 Donaire

Round 6 Nishioka lands a left..Donaire lands a right…Left from Nishioka…BIG SHOT ON THE INSIDE AND DOWN GOES NISHIOKA..Left from Nishioka..Combination..Hook from Donaire…left..right …60-53 Donaire

Round 7 Right from Donaire..Left from Nishioka..Left from Donaire…body..right..clash of heads..Jab from Nishioka..Jab from Donaire…70-62 Donaire

Round 8 Donaire lands a right..left from Nishioka..Straight right from Donaire…Combination from Nishioka..Right from Donaire..80-72 Donaire

Round 9 NISHIOKA GETS DROPPED FROM A COUNTER…THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

10 ROUNDS–JR. WELTERWEIGHTS–BRANDON RIOS (30-0-1, 22 KO’S) VS MIKE ALVARADO (33-0, 23 KO’S)

ROUND 1: Trading rights but Rio’s was more effective..Left from Rios and another hard left..Good combo from Alvarado..good right to the body..Trading rights..Rios lands a jab..tremendous trading at the end of the round...10-9 Rios

Round 2 Rios lands an uppercut..Alvarado lands a chopping right..good uppercut from Rios..Alvarado lands a big right..Huge uppercut and right..Body/head combo from Rios..left..good left..20-18 Rios

Round 3 Combination from Alvarado snaps Rios head back…Good left from Rios, Alvarado answers..Good left and chopping right and left from Rios..Right hand..Alvarado lands a short right and left from Rios at the bell..30-27 Rios

Round 4 Good left from Rios..Blood from Alvarado’s mouth..Good right from Alvarado that followed a jab..Good left and uppercut and a right from Alvarado..39-37 Rios

Round 5 Huge right from Alvarado..Short right inside..trading hooks to the body..Right from Alvarado..Alvarado landing heavy shots..these guys are just wailing away…48-47 Rios

Round 6 Good left and right inside from Alvarado..left from Rios..ALvarado answers back..2 short lefts from Rios..Right From Alvarado..Huge rights from Rios..left from Alvarado..58-56 Rios

Round 7 Rios landing huge shits…Alvarado is hurt….. MASSIVE SHOTS FROM RIOS AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Nonito Donaire 121.6 – Toshiaka Nishioka 121.8
Brandon Rios 140 – Mike Alvarado 139.8
Jose Benavidez Jr. 143.4 – Pavel Miranda 142.2
Jose Roman 136 – Javier Garcia 135.6
Saul Rodriguez 129.6 – Cesar Garcia 130

DALLAS – Four miles north of this city’s Main Street District, on Southern Methodist University’s beautiful campus, stands Meadows Museum – a collection of Spanish art so extensive it fulfills founder Algur H. Meadows’ vision of a “Prado on the Prairie.” Complementing perhaps the finest collection of Diego Velazquez’s work outside Madrid are works by Spanish masters Murillo, Goya and El Greco. Here hangs, as well, an excellent Fernando Yanez work of Saint Sebastian, cheekily called “the pin-cushion saint” by art students.

Sebastian, a third-century Christian martyr, was a subject treated often by Renaissance painters and always with arrows piercing his body. Tradition says those arrows represent pestilence. Martyrdom, pestilence and masterpieces compose a vantage fitting as any from which to preview Saturday’s undercard scrap between Colorado’s Mike Alvarado and California’s Brandon Rios, a junior-welterweight title-eliminator match that will begin HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” program. It is a fight to which both men seem eager to martyr themselves, a fight to rid boxing briefly of its pestilence, and a fight more likely to become a masterpiece than any this year or next.

Beside my laptop sits a six-year-old media credential that acts as a reminder Mike Alvarado was once something quite different from what he is today. On June 2, 2006, Alvarado represented a future of sorts for his promoter, Top Rank. That night in Tucson, Ariz., at a venue called Club Envy, Alvarado was the main event even if he wasn’t in the main event.

The night’s final match, actually, was Jesus Soto-Karass against “Cool” Vince Phillips in a brutal fight broadcasted by Telefutura’s once-invaluable “Solo Boxeo” program. Soto-Karass beat down the man who stopped hall of famer Kostya Tszyu in 1997 – and yes, Phillips, himself, is on this year’s ballot – in a fashion so assiduous and harsh Phillips tried to retire immediately afterwards. Programming issues, though, prevented Phillips’ public retirement, and so, unsurprisingly, Phillips was back in a prizefighting ring, this time in Russia, one year later.

But my credential makes no reference to Phillips or Soto-Karass. It emphasizes boxing, Top Rank and Mike Alvarado – in order of font size. Alvarado went through a welterweight target named Maximino Cuevas that night, stopping the overmatched New Yorker in round 5. One paragraph about Alvarez from the Tucson report stands out:

“Despite absorbing a number of right hands in the first round, Mike Alvarado quickly adjusted to Cuevas’s style by the start of the second, allowing more distance and landing straight punches. In the closing moments of Round 2, Alvarado rocked Cuevas with a fierce right uppercut that was the fight’s best punch.”

Two notes: 1. Six years ago Alvarado was open to right hands as he is today, and 2. Alvarado’s arsenal included, and one assumes still does, a fight-changing right uppercut. That is germane to Saturday’s match because the right uppercut is not a punch anyone but the peerless Juan Manuel Marquez throws as a lead. It is ever a counter, one thrown at a volume-punching aggressor who unadvisedly gets his weight over the lead knee. It is a punch executed by taking a quick hop backwards, planting one’s right elbow just about on the right hip and shooting both upwards at once. The counter right uppercut is devastating for a volume puncher – the one blow they all fear. It requires of its thrower poise enough to take a hop backwards, geometric awareness enough to establish a tempting plain for the aggressor to stretch himself over, and timing enough to drop that aggressor’s chin on an upcoming fist.

In 2006, after only 28 months of prizefighting, Mike Alvarado’s record was 14-0. Seventy-six months later, Alvarado’s record is 33-0. This dramatically slowed rate is attributable, in part, to time Alvarado spent in jail. His career has been a disappointment. He is 32 years old, which surprises fans who believe they’ve made the discovery of a new action fighter. Alvarado is more exciting than ever, now, because he has to be.

He and Brandon Rios are the sorts of fighters Top Rank makes an industry of. They are the prizefighters Bob Arum threatens other fighters with, the way he shook Antonio Margarito, like a fist, at Jose Luis Castillo when the latter got his rubber match with Diego Corrales canceled because of twice missing weight.

If that sounds at all familiar, it is because twice is how many times Rios has missed the lightweight limit of 135 pounds since ruining Urbano Antillon in July 2011. Remember, the plan was for Rios to fight Juan Manuel Marquez in Cowboys Stadium three months ago, not Mike Alvarado in a co-main event on the tennis courts of Home Depot Center.

Alvarado can outbox Rios because Alvarado is a better athlete than Rios and because, as Richard Abril demonstrated in April, Rios can be thoroughly outboxed. Whatever his amateur pedigree, Rios’ ring IQ is questionable. Alvarado chooses to make savagery with others because he has to, Rios because he can – for when he has to, as he did against Abril, Rios often trips over himself. Alvarado represents for Rios his largest opponent; Rios represents for Alvarado his best.

Both men need redemption. Their fight is, in essence, Margarito versus Margarito – and promises to be that entertaining. In redeeming themselves through suffering, in absorbing abuse that will probably shorten their lives and invariably compromise what health they take to retirement, Alvarado and Rios will also, like Saint Sebastian, rid us of the pestilence that adheres to our sport – for a spell anyway.

I’ll take Alvarado, MD-12, in a savage affair that redeems both men.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

BOB ARUM: I am delighted to be on this call. Everybody that has any connection with boxing is excited about this card. The 122 lb. championship that will be defended by Nonito Donaire is going to be a classic. I had the opportunity to watch Toshiaki Nishioka when he fought Rafael Márquez and he is a terrific fighter and we know that Nonito is one of the great fighters in boxing but he’s going to have his hands full. I believe that his fight with Nishioka will be as exciting and as interesting as the co-feature with Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado at The Home Depot Center. We have sold over 5,000 tickets and looking for a crowd of around 7,000 which will be a virtual sell-out.

CAMERON DUNKIN: This is a fight that Nonito has wanted for a very long time. Nishioka is a great fighter. This is the kind of fight that Nonito, who is one of the great fighters fighting today and also in history, these are the kinds of fights that you get excited about because this is really a historic fight.

ROBERT GARCIA: Nishioka is a great fighter and the best in the division. He is ranked as the best super bantamweight in the world. It’s going to be a really tough fight but Nonito has been training really hard and he has to come out and perform and do what he’s been doing so far.

NONITO DONAIRE: Training camp has been going excellent. We had our last sparring yesterday and we are mentally prepared and physically prepared for this big fight next weekend and we are going to put the game plan in the works and come out of this fight victorious.

What do you think about the fact Nishioka has not fought much recently?

NONITO DONAIRE: I think that being older and being a veteran their record is never as bad as it is. We have been training really hard for this fight – we don’t want to take any chances at all. I believe when we are at this level and at this age and even if he hasn’t fought in a while he can be very dangerous.

You have been winning and dominating but three fights in a row without a spectacular KO…

NONITO DONAIRE: We have been fighting the fights and getting the victories and I think that’s what counts most. These guys I have been fighting are world champions and they are at the top of their game. Sometimes you don’t get the results that people look for. People expect a lot from me. We have been trying to change things up to get different results. Against Nishioka we can’t let our guard down and going back to the old Nonito Donaire style of fighting smart.

Nishioka has not been stopped since his second pro fight in ’95 – how much would it mean to get the KO?

NONITO DONAIRE: When it comes it comes but the proper game plan will show my power which is what I was known for – lightning fast counters that were knocking people out because they never saw it coming. No matter how tough you are, if you don’t see where it’s coming from, you don’t expect it and it will knock you down.

ROBERT GARCIA: We all know when the guys move up in weight the punches get stronger and the opponents have all been world-class fighters so it is more difficult to get the KO. It won’t be easy against Nishioka but at the beginning of training camp Nonito told me he wanted to come in and do it the way he used to do it – picking them apart little by little then knocking them out. He’s been doing it in training against lightweights, super lightweights – he’s been landing beautiful punches and combinations and I have no doubt he will do it against Nishioka. I am not pushing or asking for the knockout but in training he has been doing the right thing and if he performs like he did in training I will be happy with him.

How do you think Nishioka will try to get the job done?

NONITO DONAIRE: One thing he will try to do is land the straight that is difficult to do against me. Aside from that, I haven’t seen any tape that he can do damage with. He did great against Márquez, but Márquez is a lot slower than me. A lot of those punches won’t land with me with power. But we are very worried and very mindful of that advantage he has.

How much is he being a southpaw a problem for you?

NONITO DONAIRE: It is not so bad. I have sparred with a lot of southpaws over the years. Darchinyan was a notable southpaw and I knocked him out. And Márquez was one of the guys I took apart as well when I did decide to turn it on. We are mindful he is a southpaw. I try to do the things that are difficult for me against a southpaw and that’s one thing we figured out.

How is the drug testing going?

NONITO DONAIRE: Pretty good. A couple of days ago they showed up at my door and took 4 tubes of blood – the last time they only took 2. You never know when they’ll come in. I really believe in it. It’s good for boxing – it’s random so you really can’t hide anything at all.

Do you think it has a future in boxing?

NONITO DONAIRE: I think it will and it should be a part of boxing. For me I do the things that I do for the fans and the love of the sport. The only thing that comes out of it is good – it will gain fans.

Where do you see yourself in a year from now?

NONITO DONAIRE: Moving up to 126 pounds is another option that we have. We are looking to stay at 122 for a bit but I can work my body to be ready for 126. There are fighters at 122 that I have not faced yet and they know who they are and I am fine with facing any of them.

ROBERT GARCIA: Yes, this guy is very experienced. He is one of those guys that has been there for so many years and has done everything with every type of opponent but inside the ring he has not been with a Nonito, who stings the way he stings and has the power that he has. He hasn’t seen that and that is going to be the difference. Nonito has the power and the speed and Nonito knows what punches are going to be coming.

NONITO DONAIRE: Nishioka has power and he knows how to set it up. He’s a veteran and knows the tricks that can frustrate a fighter – that’s what we don’t want to fall into. We have a great game plan and we are ready for whatever it is.

NONITO DONAIRE: Every fight makes you stronger. Every fight makes you smarter. Going into the fight you know what you want to do. I know I am a better fighter going into this fight because of the tough fights I have had.

What about the Mathebula fight?

NONITO DONAIRE: We took it to him. We showed power. Even against a taller guy we showed we could out-speed him and get by his longer reach. We can bring that into this fight as well.

NONITO DONAIRE: The last three fights were experimental. This fight we are going back to boxing and being unexpected. We relied on the power in the last three fights but this fight we will come out throwing lots of punches.

What do you think about the co-feature?

NONITO DONAIRE: I’ll be watching that fight. That’s going to be a great fight. My fights don’t need to be fight of the year. I just go out and do what I need to do. Rios and Alvarado will go out and do what they do and make it exciting for everybody but there is no pressure for me to out-do that fight.

Would you want a fight against Abner Mares?

NONITO DONAIRE: I hope so, but that is up to the promoters, the networks and the fans. We are always willing to fight anybody.

BOB ARUM: Everybody who loves boxing come out to The Home Depot Center because they are going to see a card second to none. Two great fights and a terrific undercard and tickets reasonably priced. Almost all of the tickets are sold except for the $35 tickets. So for $35 you can watch history.

NONITO DONAIRE: I want to thank everyone and let them know that this is very exciting for me. Thanks to Bob and Top Rank for making it happen. Rios-Alvarado is going to be an incredible, incredible fight and you don’t want to miss it. I know Nishioka will go all out and I will go all out. Excitement will be in the air on October 13.

****************************

The Super Powers of the junior featherweight and the junior welterweight divisions will go mano a mano, in a sensational night of championship boxing. Top-Five pound for pound fighter and four-division world champion NONITO “Filipino Flash” DONAIRE vs. WBC Diamond Belt super bantamweight champion TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA, and undefeated former world lightweight champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS vs. undefeated No. 1 junior welterweight contender “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Teiken Promotions and Tecate, the Donaire vs. Nishioka / Rios vs. Alvarado championship doubleheader will take place Saturday, October 13 under the stars at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Both fights will be televised Live on HBO®, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

These four gladiators boast a combined record of 131-5-4 (86 KOs) — a winning percentage of 94% with 2/3 of those victories coming by way of knockout.

Remaining Tickets for The Home Depot Center’s Donaire-Nishioka / Rios-Alvarado championship event, priced at $150 (sold out), $75 (Almost sold out) and $35, can be purchased online at AXS.com or by phone at 888-929-7849 as well as The Home Depot Center Box Office (open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Suites are available by calling 1-877-604-8777. For information of group discounts, please call 1-877-234-8425.

WBO/IBF junior featherweight champion Donaire (29-1, 18 KOs), a native of General Santos City, Philippines, now living in the Bay Area of San Leandro, Calif., enters this fight riding an 11-year, 28-bout winning streak.

Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KOs), of Hyogo, Japan, boast an eight-year, 16-bout winning streak in his own right, including eight world title fights.

Rios (30-0-1, 21 KOs), the former WBA lightweight champion, from Oxnard, Calif., is on the hunt for his second world title in as many weight divisions. He enters this fight having won 10 of his previous 12 fights by knockout.

Alvarado (33-0, 23 KOs) of Denver, has won 10 of his last 13 bouts by stoppage en route to a career-high No. 1 world rating.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com/boxing.

BOB ARUM: It’s really nice to do a boxing show where all you hear are accolades. Most of the time there are one or two guys complaining but this show is just tremendous. The media can’t wait to see Alvarado against Rios. Even before the first punch has been thrown, people are touting it as the ‘fight of the year.’ I think it could end up as the fight of the year. Mike Alvarado is a tremendous fighter who always brings it to the ring. He’s thrilled fans and now he gets this opportunity on HBO Boxing After Dark stage against Brandon Rios. [Saturday, October 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT]

HENRY DELGADO: I expect an action-filled fight. They have the same styles. Neither one of them will be taking a step back. It’s going to be non-stop.

MIKE ALVARADO: Camp is going well and I expect a good boxing performance. It’s going to be a very entertaining fight for the people. I am going to get in there and do what I do and that’s fight ’til the finish. I know it’s going to be a great, thrilling, non-stop, action fight. And I can’t wait.

You have moved camp out of Denver, which is a little unusual…

MIKE ALVARADO: Just to get my mind clear of everything. I wanted no distractions at all. I wanted to get my training down to a ‘T’. This is the biggest fight of my career coming up.

Are you happy you weren’t in Denver for the debate?

MIKE ALVARADO: Yes, I am happy I was away from all the hoopla of the debate. I heard all about it from my friends. It was crazy.

Can you tell us what the trek has been like for you to get to this point?

MIKE ALVARADO: It’s been a long, rocky road but I am happy where I am right now and excited for this fight. I am ready for this fight. I am blessed that Top Rank and HBO and my team are all here to help me push through it. I am ready to reach that next level now. I have been training so hard for this fight. I have been away from my family to make this fight a great performance. I can’t wait for October 13.

How does it make you feel when people say how excited they are to see this fight?

MIKE ALVARADO: I don’t really hear or pay attention to what the other people say. I just try to stick to my game plan. It will make me train harder because people are expected to see a high level fight. I am looking forward to it and I know I need t put on a good performance. I am going to do the best I can to win this fight, to put on a great show and be victorious on that night.

Do you feel you are a slugger and that your boxing is underrated?

MIKE ALVARADO: My boxing is definitely underrated. I am not just a slugger, I can also box ’til the end. I have learned a lot about myself in that ring. The fight (against Prescott) never took a toll on me. It was a good war with Prescott and has only made me that much stronger. I have the skills and I am ready to do this.

Will Rios history of trouble making weight affect your preparation?

MIKE ALVARADO: I am thinking in my mind that Brandon is training the best that he can. He hasn’t made weight in his past couple fights but now he is moving up in weight and fighting somebody bigger and stronger. I am sure his nutrition is good and he is having a great camp. That makes me more humble and more focused to be ready.

You are 32 now, do you feel an urgency?

MIKE ALVARADO: I don’t care about my age. I know I am at the level now. Right now, this is where I am meant to be. I feel young in the game and am ready to perform.

Do you feel rusty since you have fought only twice this year compared to 5 times the year before?

MIKE ALVARADO: No. I don’t feel rusty at all. After my last fight we didn’t want to do anything to risk this next fight. We were looking for something big after the last fight and we are blessed that we got this fight. It is only my second fight of the year but it is worth it. I will not be rusty – I will be ready for it. Maybe it would have been nice to have another fight between then and now but it is what it is. I will just do what I do, put everything in to it and win.

How do you mentally get through it when it is such a tough fight?

MIKE ALVARADO: I have always been good in pressure situations. I love to win and put on a good show. It’s something I’ve always been good at.

Do you do anything different to prepare for this fight, which may be your toughest fight yet?

MIKE ALVARADO: I know that this is going to be a tough fight and I know I am prepared for it and confident. I look forward to a good fight. I maintain my focus on my training. I stay strong.

HENRY DELGADO: I think Mike makes the fights tougher than they are. He is a gladiator. He is a warrior. And he has a lot of skills that we haven’t even seen yet. For this fight, we have a different kind of game plan going. We are going to try and stick to our game plan but like I said, the warrior always comes out. He’s going to be in position to dominate the whole fight. We have some surprises coming.

What makes you believe that Brandon is tailor-made for you?

MIKE ALVARADO: My boxing skills are underrated. I am going to keep him at bay. He is going to be right there in front of me so I can do anything I want with him. I can fight his fight. I can bang with him. I can do whatever I want with him. It will be my fight. I will control the pace.

Do you think you’ll be able to push him around?

MIKE ALVARADO: I don’t plan to. I’ll try my best to do it but I don’t know. I can see myself throwing him around being the stronger fighter, but then again I may not want to waste my time – I may just want to keep him outside. We’ll see. We have a lot of options.

You were an undefeated two-time high school wrestling State Champion. How has your background as a wrestler helped you in boxing – i.e. making weight and training?

MIKE ALVARADO: It has helped me as far as my discipline, which I learned at a young age. As far as making weight, I have been on a scale since I was 5 years old to make weight. So the discipline in that area has always been there. Learned the ins-and-outs of it so it has always been there.

MIKE ALVARADO: Wrestling taught me how to push myself when the going got tough. I learned how to mentally and physically control all areas.

You traded the high altitude training of Denver for training in California. Do you miss it?

MIKE ALVARADO: Traditionally I would go home to the elevation before going back to the fight. Your blood cells get smaller when you go to the higher elevation. I never tested it. I always came from training in high elevation down to lower at the fight. I am fighting in it and training in it. My endurance is good right now. In my heart I know this fight is going to go toe-to-toe. I think it has its advantages, training at a high elevation, but at the end of the day, you still have to get in there and fight.

Have you ever sparred with Rios?

MIKE ALVARADO: No, I never sparred with him. I met him through a couple of professional events. My trainer knows who he was from the amateurs.

HENRY DELGADO: Don’t miss this fight. It is going to be ‘Must See TV.’ Mike is going to bring the arsenal and Rios better be ready.

MIKE ALVARADO: I am ready for this fight and make sure everybody tunes in. I’m not going to put on a bad performance. Never have. It’s going to be an explosive, entertaining fight.

CAMERON DUNKIN: This is a fight that Brandon really asked for and it was a fight that I was real hesitant to take, of course. I wanted to get him a couple of other fights and I talked to trainer Robert Garcia about that. When it presented itself, Brandon was so excited and I didn’t want to disappoint him so we went to work on this fight and boy, everyone is very excited about it.

ROBERT GARCIA: As everyone knows Brandon was a big lightweight and hasn’t fought at lightweight in about a year. The last two fights he couldn’t make weight – he was fighting at about 140. People don’t realize that Brandon was so big and so strong that he will be comfortable at 140.

BRANDON RIOS: Training camp has been excellent. I am 100% holed up. I am confident. I am focused. This is one of the best training camps since I fought Peterson. I am ready to show the world and everybody what I can do at 140 now. 135 was good for me but now I am ready for 140.

How tough of a fight do you expect this to be?

BRANDON RIOS: This is going to be a tough fight. Alvarado is a tough jr. welterweight. Our styles are similar. He likes to come forward and I like to come forward. I don’t like to play a chess game. I like to go in and handle business and he likes to do that too. It’s going to be one helluva fight. The fans are going to love it and I’m going to come out victorious in this one.

What do you think about people mentioning this could be “Fight of the Year”?

BRANDON RIOS: I don’t really focus on that stuff. If it happens, it happens. We can’t talk about that right now because we haven’t fought yet. It’s pretty cool that people are saying that. That it could hit the “Gatti list” – that would be awesome.

Do you think it will be a tough fight?

BRANDON RIOS: Yes I do, because if he fights the way he has been fighting it is going to be one helluva fight. It is going to be one of those fights that is like a Gatti-Ward. I am going to go out and fight like I always do. If he changes, it won’t be like that. But if he comes to fight it going to be a great fight.

Will you try to tame Brandon or let him fight a war?

ROBERT GARCIA: We all know how Brandon fights. I’ll have to remind him of the little things — like keep your hands up, keep your chin down. That’s my job during the minute break and during the fight. During the fight, Brandon is focused on my voice only and he follows instructions. The word is Brandon has won with no defense, but his last five or six fights he has won and not been tired at all – so we have to get in there and throw a lot of punches and get on the inside and work – that’s his defense. People think he has no defense but I disagree. In his last five fights he fought great fighters and his best defense was his offense.

Do you feel your power will transfer to 140?

BRANDON RIOS: I was 140 making 135 comfortably. I always had the power. I could have fought at 140 and had the power. Now I will be fighting at 140 and hitting like a 147 pounder. That power is going to follow me wherever I go. The power never leaves a fighter. I will be ready 100% and the power will be there right with me.

How do you feel about not making weight?

BRANDON RIOS: I didn’t let my fans down. I don’t feel anything like that. If you can see the videos, I was trying to make weight. It would be a different story if I didn’t try to make weight and I came in heavy and looked heavy but I did try to make my weight. In my last two fights I knew it was starting to get hard. I felt good in the fights but the weight was starting to get harder. I put that behind me and now I am ready for a new division.

What kind of fight do you see against Alvarado?

BRANDON RIOS: The fight I see is we both come forward and I strike him and it is a bloody massacre of a fight. It’s going to be one of those fights that people are going to be on their feet the whole time. I told Robert since I started boxing I have been waiting for that type of fight and I hope this is that fight.

Do you feel ready to take a punch from a bit 140-pounder such as Alvarado?

BRANDON RIOS: I am ready to take a punch from a heavyweight-pounder. I don’t do it just to do it. I love my job. I love to fight. I love hitting people in the face and I love getting hit. If a heavyweight punches I will still love it and still have smile on my face. There is no difference from a lightweight to a junior welterweight to a welterweight to a heavyweight. It makes no difference to me.

Alvarado said his boxing skills are underrated. Do you buy that he won’t make it a war?

BRANDON RIOS: I’ll be ready for whatever he brings to the table. If he doesn’t want to fight – that’s good for me. If he wants to fight, it’s better for me. I’m not worried about what he brings. I have to worry about what I do when I go in there and fight. We are very confident. In this training camp we were very focused. We haven’t done much media. I want to prove a point in this fight and shut him up.

What are you expecting in this fight that you haven’t seen before? Alvarado’s manager says he makes fights harder than they should be and that he has great boxing skills that have never been seen and that they have some surprises…

ROBERT GARCIA: It shows me that he doesn’t even know what he’s saying. I’ve only seen him fight the same way. Now they are going to show different skills? If I have a fighter with so many skills…I have no idea what he’s talking about. We are prepared for a war. If he wants to change his style to a boxer, well, good luck to him.

BOB ARUM: On Tuesday at Fortune Gym in Los Angeles, the four fighters will host a Media Workout. Mike Alvarado will be there at Noon as well as Toshiaka at 12:30 p.m., who arrives in Los Angeles tonight (Oct. 4). At 1:00 p.m. Brandon Rios will be there and at 1:30 p.m. Nonito Donaire will be there. On Thursday, rather than hold a press conference where everyone makes speeches, we are going to have roundtables where the press can go from fighter to fighter to interview these principles and I think that’s going to be a lot more fruitful than the droning that goes on in these press conferences. Friday will be the weigh-in and Saturday, UNDER THE STARS, at The Home Depot. Tickets are going unbelievably well. This may be the biggest attendance maybe in many years, for boxing at The Home Depot. We have sold nearly 5000 seats as of now and they are moving very well. We hope to have between 6-7000 seats sold the night of the fight. You give people quality and they respond. One of the things we’ve done is keep the prices reasonable. The $150 tickets are sold. There are a couple $100’s remaining and the rest – $75 and $35. We priced it right for the fans for them to see great fights.

BRANDON RIOS: Everybody out there in the LA area – come to the fight. If not, watch it on HBO. The haters – keep hating. I am going out there to make a statement – a knockout.

****************************

The Super Powers of the junior featherweight and the junior welterweight divisions will go mano a mano, in a sensational night of championship boxing. Top-Five pound for pound fighter and four-division world champion NONITO “Filipino Flash” DONAIRE vs. WBC Diamond Belt super bantamweight champion TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA, and undefeated former world lightweight champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS vs. undefeated No. 1 junior welterweight contender “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Teiken Promotions and Tecate, the Donaire vs. Nishioka / Rios vs. Alvarado championship doubleheader will take place Saturday, October 13 under the stars at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Both fights will be televised Live on HBO®, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast.)

These four gladiators boast a combined record of 131-5-4 (86 KOs) — a winning percentage of 94% with 2/3 of those victories coming by way of knockout.

Remaining Tickets for The Home Depot Center’s Donaire-Nishioka / Rios-Alvarado championship event, priced at $150 (sold out), $75 and $35, can be purchased online at AXS.com or by phone at 888-929-7849 as well as The Home Depot Center Box Office (open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Suites are available by calling 1-877-604-8777. For information of group discounts, please call 1-877-234-8425.

WBO/IBF junior featherweight champion Donaire (29-1, 18 KOs), a native of General Santos City, Philippines, now living in the Bay Area of San Leandro, Calif., enters this fight riding an 11-year, 28-bout winning streak.

Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KOs), of Hyogo, Japan, boast an eight-year, 16-bout winning streak in his own right, including eight world title fights.

Rios (30-0-1, 21 KOs), the former WBA lightweight champion, from Oxnard, Calif., is on the hunt for his second world title in as many weight divisions. He enters this fight having won 10 of his previous 12 fights by knockout.

Alvarado (33-0, 23 KOs) of Denver, has won 10 of his last 13 bouts by stoppage en route to a career-high No. 1 world rating.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com or www.hbo.com/boxing.

The nickname is Bam Bam. Bold and Bolder might be more appropriate for Brandon Rios, who isn’t afraid of promises or punishment.

Rios’ confrontation with Mike Alvarado on Oct. 13 at Carson, Calif., is generating buzz about a possible Fight of the Year. But Rios raised the bar, or at least the blood lust, for a junior-welterweight bout that could upstage the main event, Nonito Donaire versus Toshiaki Nishioka.

“A Micky Ward-Arturo Gatti kind of fight,’’ Rios said Thursday during a conference call.

For bruises, danger and drama, Ward-Gatti is the modern standard. It’s not the sort of fight that Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Andre Ward would seek. They see themselves as scientists who try to balance their craft with a sweet balance of offense and defense. Their philosophy has been heard for as long as there has been an opening bell. They live by one credo: Hit and not get hit. Delete the not from that formula and add as many hits as possible, and you’ve got a pretty good idea at what Rios hopes to inflict and perhaps endure.

That stretch of canvas between the ropes is no checker board for Rios, who is moving up in weight, to 140 pounds, after a controversial failure to make the lightweight limit, 135. He has no patience for what he calls “little chess games.’’

When Rios looks at the unbeaten Alvarado, he could be looking into a mirror. He sees a similar style and the same stubborn streak of pride that demands, if not welcomes, a walk though harm’s way.

“It’s going to be a bloody, massacre fight,’’ said Rios, who told trainer Robert Garcia that he has been dreaming about a chance to do battle in a fight that would be the equal of Gatti-Ward. “I’ve been telling Robert since I started as a professional I’ve been waiting for that type of fight and hopefully this is that fight.’’

Whether that chance will be there in an outdoor ring above the Home Depot Center’s tennis court, however, depends on Alvarado. Alvarado’s trainer, Henry Delgado, left it open-ended as to whether Rios will encounter the Alvarado he expects.

Fans and media have yet to see Alvarado’s boxing skill, Delgado says. His instincts draw him into exchanges from which there is no retreat.

“He makes it tougher than it has to be, because he’s a warrior,’’ Delgado said. “But we’ve got some surprises coming. We have options, lots of options.’’

Options are often forgotten after the first big punch lands, of course. That’s when even the most seasoned fighter reverts to what he knows and does best.

“He looks to come forward; I like to come forward,’’ said Rios, who says there’s nothing new about a heavier weight which he believes makes him stronger and able to hit with the power of a welterweight. “I don’t change my style.’’

Or his hopes of realizing a dream that many avoid like a nightmare.

Tyson can’t escape 20-year-old controversy
New Zealand’s withdrawal of Mike Tyson’s request to enter the country because of his conviction for raping Desiree Washington is just another sad chapter in a 20-year-old controversy.

Tyson, who was scheduled to speak at series of events in New Zealand, has long denied that he committed the crime. Legal experts, including Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, criticized the 1992 Indianapolis trial and Tyson’s legal defense.

In 2001, Tyson underwent a lie-detector test in Phoenix, where he was living at the time. According to test results acquired by The Arizona Republic, Tyson was truthful when he said he did not rape Washington. But the conviction will always be on his record. Fair or not, it also will always be there for people seeking to make political capital out of it, no matter what he says or they believe.

AZ Notes
Unbeaten Phoenix prospect Jose Benavidez Jr. (16-0, 13 KOs) has a change in opponents for his undercard appearance on Donaire- Nishioka undercard on Oct. 13. Benavidez now is scheduled to face Pavel Miranda (17-7-1, 7 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico.

Iron Boy Promotions of Phoenix is back at Celebrity Theatre Saturday, Oct. 6, with a card full of young fighters, including Phoenix super-bantamweight Emilio Garcia (6-0-1) against Jensen Ramirez (2-1-1) of Tucson. Opening bell is scheduled for 6 p.m.

CARSON, CALIF. (August 8, 2012) – The Super Powers of the junior featherweight and the junior welterweight divisions will do more than flex their muscles when they battle for supremacy, mano a mano, in a sensational night of championship boxing. Top-Five pound for pound fighter and four-division world champion NONITO “Filipino Flash” DONAIRE will risk his junior featherweight world title against fellow super bantamweight champion TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA. And in the second main event, former world lightweight champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS will take on No. 1 contender “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO where undefeated records and world rankings will be at risk. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Teiken Promotions, the Donaire vs. Nishioka / Rios-Alvarado championship doubleheader will take place Saturday, October 13 under the stars at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Both fights will be televised Live on HBO Boxing After Dark, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast.)

These four gladiators boast a combined record of 131-5-4 (86 KOs) — a winning percentage of 94% with 2/3 of those victories coming by way of knockout.

Information on tickets, including prices and on-sale date, will be announced soon.

“History shows there is only one way for a fighter to make the leap to stardom and that’s by accepting the challenges and risks like the ones Donaire, Nishioka, Rios and Alvarado committed to on October 13. They are young, hungry and ambitious,” said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank.

“Fight fans everywhere will be marking their calendars for October 13 to see this superb, all-action doubleheader on our late-night franchise,” said Kery Davis, senior vice president of programming, HBO Sports.

Donaire (29-1, 18 KOs), a native of General Santos City, Philippines, now living in the Bay Area of San Leandro, Calif., is a consensus top-five pound-for-pound fighter. He enters this fight riding an 11-year, 28-bout winning streak, which includes an International Boxing Federation (IBF) / International Boxing Organization (IBO) flyweight title knockout victory of defending champion Vic Darchinyan, and a fourth-round blasting of former World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight champion Wladimir Sidorenko, December 4, 2010. However, Donaire’s most impressive knockout victory occurred on February 19, 2011, when he stopped defending World Boxing Council (WBC) / WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel in the second round, ending Montiel’s 25-bout winning streak while also claiming his third world title in as many weight divisions. That victory was named the 2011 Knockout of the Year. Ten of Donaire’s last 13 victories have come by way of knockout. He successfully defended his World Bantamweight Championship last year by blitzing undefeated Omar Narvaez, winning virtually every round en route to a unanimous decision victory. On February 4, Donaire captured the vacant WBO 122-pound title, winning a gritty split-decision battle over former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. He unified the title on July 7, winning a dominant unanimous decision over defending IBF champion Jeffrey Mathebula.

Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KOs), of Hyogo, Japan, enters this fight riding an eight-year, 16-bout winning streak, including eight world title fights. After capturing the interim WBC super featherweight title via a dominant unanimous decision over Napapol Kiatisakchokcha in 2008, he was elevated to world champion where he successfully defended the WBC 122-pound title seven times between 2009 and 2011 with only two of those fights going the distance. In his last world title fight, he won a unanimous decision over two-division world champion Rafael Marquez.

Rios (30-0-1, 21 KOs), the former WBA lightweight champion, from Oxnard, Calif., is on the hunt for his second world title in as many weight divisions. He enters this fight having won 10 of his previous 12 fights by knockout. One of boxing’s most exciting fighters, Rios is known for his an all-action fan-friendly fighting style. His trainer, former IBF junior lightweight champion Robert Garcia, calls it a “throwback” style with a warrior’s mentality that screams excitement. Highlight knockout victories on Rios’ resume include Miguel Acosta, Anthony Peterson, Urbano Antillon and John Murray. He returns to the ring after winning a tough split decision over WBA interim lightweight champion Richard Abril on April 14.

Alvarado (33-0, 23 KOs) of Denver, has won 10 of his last 13 bouts by stoppage en route to a career-high No. 1 world rating, in the WBO. Notable knockout victims include Breidis Prescott, Ray Narh, Emmanuel Clottey and Cesar Bazan. In his last fight, Alvarado went toe-to-toe for 10 brutal and exciting rounds winning a unanimous decision over Mauricio Herrera (18-1, 7 KOs) on April 14. Herrera entered that fight riding a two-year, five-bout winning streak, highlighted by victories over Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0) and Mike Dallas, Jr. (17-1-1). Alvarado’s victory over the No. 7-ranked Herrera is already a consensus Fight of the Year candidate.

The ticket prices and on-sale date for the Donaire vs. Nishioka / Rios-Alvarado championship fight event will be announced soon. For details, please visit Top Rank: Website, Facebook, Twitter or The Home Depot Center: Website, Facebook, Twitter: For HBO: Website, Facebook, Twitter.

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (March 17, 2012) – Méxican legend and three-division world champion JUAN MÁNUEL MÁRQUEZ and undefeated former World Lightweight Champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS will headline a world championship pay-per-view event that’s so big its main events are originating from two different countries!

Márquez will go for an historic fourth world title in as many different weight divisions when he takes on World Boxing Organization (WBO) European junior welterweight champion SERGEY FEDCHENKO for the vacant WBO interim 140-pound world title. Márquez-Fedchenko will take place in México City’s brand new Arena México. Rios will attempt to reclaim his old title when he rumbles with Cuban gladiator and World Boxing Association (WBA) interim lightweight champion RICHARD ABRIL in a battle for the vacant WBA lightweight title, Saturday, April 14, at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The Márquez/Rios world championship event will be produced by Top Rank and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

The live pay-per-view telecast (SRP $44.95) will also feature a 10-round junior welterweight collision of top-10 contenders — “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO and MAURICIO HERRERA — and open with undefeated Top-10 contender MERCITO GESTA of the Philippines, in a 10-round lightweight fight. Boxing fans at Mandalay Bay will also see the Márquez-Fedchenko world title fight live, via closed-circuit, on a jumbo screen.

These warriors boast a combined record of 173-9-4 (110 KOs) – a winning percentage of 94%.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions, Tecate and AT&T, remaining tickets priced at $250, $150, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges, are available at all Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Mandalay Bay at (877) 632-7400 or Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

At a Miami, Fla. press conference earlier this month, the setting for this fight was set when Abril challenged Rios to fight him for the title. As the verbal exchange heated up, Abril slapped Rios across the face, screaming “You aren’t a real champion!”

“Rios won’t need a GPS to find me on April 14. All he’ll have do to is look up and see the referee holding my hand up in victory,” said Abril.

“He may not have thought I was a real champion when he slapped me but he’s going to know I’m a real champion on April 14 when I knock him on his South Beach,” said Rios. “I do give Abril credit for one thing. I know he’s going to show up for this fight. That will be his second mistake with me.”

“We have four great fights that will make for a very exciting event, including a legend from México in Juan Mánuel Márquez and undefeated knockout artist Brandon Rios who is trying to recapture his world title,” said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank. “The dual-site pay-per-view event will open at Mandalay Bay with Gesta, followed by Alvarado vs. Herrera and the Rios-Abril world title fight. The grand finale will send boxing fans to México City where they will get their first look at the brand new Arena México, and a projected full house, on hand to witness Márquez’s attempt at history. Top Rank owes a great deal to its sponsors, Mandalay Bay and HBO for its continued support of our event.”

“With Juan Mánuel Márquez, Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado all on the same fight card, boxing fans can look forward to a night of non-stop action”, said Mark Taffet, senior vice president, HBO Pay-Per-View. ”We’re delighted to provide the pay-per-view distribution for this event.”

Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOs), the former WBA lightweight champion, from Oxnard, Calif., enters this fight having won 10 of his previous 11 fights by knockout. Highlight victories on his resume include Miguel Acosta, Anthony Peterson, Urbano Antillon and John Murray, none of whom went the distance. Abril (17-2-1, 8 KOs), a Cuban expatriate who now resides in Miami, Fla., returns to the ring having won seven of his previous eight fights. He captured the WBA interim lightweight title last October, knocking down former WBA lightweight champion Acosta three times en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Márquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs), of México City, is one of only a rare few from México to have won world titles in three different weight divisions. The only man to go the distance with pound for pound superstar Manny Pacquiao three times, Marquez boasts a Hall of Fame resume highlighted by victories over Marco Antonio Barrera, Manuel Medina, Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis. Fedchenko (30-1, 13 KOs), from Kharkov, Ukraine, enters this fight riding a 28-month winning streak, which has included WBO European title victories over Willy Blain and Demarcus Corley. He is world-rated No. 5 by the WBO.

Alvarado (32-0, 23 KOs) of Denver, has won 10 of his last 12 bouts by stoppage en route to a career-high No. 3 world rating, in the World Boxing Organization (WBO). Notable knockout victims include Breidis Prescott, Ray Narh, Emmanuel Clottey and Cesar Bazan. Herrera (18-1, 7 KOs), from Lake Elsinore, Calif., enters this fight riding a two-year, five-bout winning streak, highlighted by victories over Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0) and Mike Dallas, Jr. (17-1-1). Herrera is currently world-rated No. 7 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF).

Gesta (24-0-1, 12 KOs), a native of Cebu, Philippines, fights out of San Diego. He returns to the ring with seven of his last 10 victories coming inside the distance, earning career-high world ratings of No. 7 in the WBA and No. 8 in the WBO.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that two fights have been agreed upon for the November 12th Pay Per View undercard that will be highlighted the third fight between Manny Pacquiao – and Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas.

One of the bouts will have junior welterweight contender Mike Alvarado (31-0, 22 KOs) of Denver facing Colombia’s Breidis Prescott (24-3, 19 KOs).

“That’s a pretty good fight isn’t it? I think so. It’s a good test for Alvarado and a good fight,” Arum said.

In a fight that will open the PPV broadcast, Arum said that Puerto Rican junior lightweight Luis Cruz (19-0, 15 KOs), who recently signed with Top Rank as his co-promoter, will face Juan Carlos Burgos (27-1, 19 KOs), a former featherweight title challenger who is moving up in weight.

Jr. Welterweight Mike Alvarado remained perfect by scoring a ten round unanimous decision over Gabriel Martinez at a Softball Park in Alvarado’s hometown of Denver.

Alvarado was dominant as he controlled the bout by boxing well and mixing in a good aggressive game plan. Alvarado scored a flash knockdown in round one.

Alvarado was never challenged in the bout that saw Martinez go down several times which were ruled slips.

Alvarado, 140 lbs of Denver, CO won by scores of 99-90; 100-89 and 100-90 and will now look for a big fight with a record of 31-0. Martinez, 140 lbs of Sinora, MX is now 27-3-1-1.

Roberto Marroquin scored two knockdowns en route to an eight round unanimous decision over veteran Jose Beranza in a Super Bantamweight fight.

Marroquin sent Beranza down in round three and again in round six from a perfect uppercut. Marroquin controlled the action with his combinations and hand speed but did get hit a few times as evidenced by the mouse that formed under his right eye.

Marroquin, 123 lbs of Dallas, TX win by scores of 78-71; 78-71 and 79-70 to raise his record to 19-1. Berazna, 123 lbs of Mexico is now 33-21-2

Sammy Martinez spoiled the pro debut of Martin Quezada by scoring a second round stoppage in a scheduled four round Lightweight bout.

Martinez was relentless in his assault by dropping Quezada twice in the second round with the finishing blow being a hard left hand that dropped Quezada to his knees and the fight was stopped immediately at 2:33 of round two

Martinez, 134 lbs is now 4-0 with three knockouts. Quezada, 133 lbs of Denver is now 0-1

Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Colorado’s Mike Alvarado successfully continued his comeback Saturday. Ohio’s Kelly Pavlik will successfully continue his comeback Saturday. Top Rank continues to promote both. And American boxing aficionados who are not within driving distance of Southern California’s thriving gym scene continue to be nostalgic about better times.

Saturday’s Fox Sports Español telecast was a reminder of this. There was Alvarado, fighting in Denver at a venue called Softball Country Arena – which appeared to be a field with a set of tracks behind it where trains moseyed past. Rumor is, ticket sales went well. But Alvarado is in a much different place from where he once was.

Today he is 31-years old. He is fighting Off-Off-Broadway, to be charitable. Since his quick rise on the professional scene, one aided by Telefutura’s “Solo Boxeo” (its invaluable predecessor, not the current imposter), he has fought in cities like Cicero, Ill., Gary, Ind., and Commerce City, Colo. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Sixty-two months ago, Alvarado fought in the co-main event of a Top Rank card in Tucson, Ariz., in a venue called Club Envy. The club itself was small, as I recall it. The parking lot was converted to a fighting venue. There were folding chairs and a chainlink fence and metal tubs of beers on the perimeter. The turnout was mediocre, as Arizona boxing was by then nine months into a cruel freeze – one our own Norm Frauenheim reports may just now be thawing.

Some of the usual characters were at Club Envy, though not as many. Phil Soto, Top Rank’s Arizona publicist, placed seat assignments on ringside tables and put me beside TheSweetScience.com’s Phil Woolever – arguably boxing writing’s most poetic soul. Woolever spoke his observations into a handheld voice recorder, and we shared a few jokes about the hot pink trunks one of the undercard combatants wore in the ring that night.

Alvarado was sharp, threw tight combinations, impressed observers with his right uppercut, and got hit plenty with right crosses. His opponent that night, Maximino “Holy Hands” Cuevas, boasted an 8-3-1 record that was headed for 10-11-1. He was there to lose and found his way out of the match with a left-eye injury after round 5.

Alvarado was disappointed the fight didn’t go longer, implying he would have been hit with fewer punches as it went on. Saturday’s junior welterweight fight against Gabriel Martinez showed that either Alvarado’s five-year-old claim was never particularly true, or he’s lost some of the fast-twitch from his reflexes. He still gets hit hard with right hands.

But he also shows the same impressive chin he showed in his youth, back when Top Rank very nearly called him a top prospect in its stable – before the arrests and private disappointments. Last June, as Top Rank spent a week in San Antonio to promote Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s match with John Duddy, Alvarado’s career had collided with another obstacle, and Top Rank personnel were not timid about expressing their displeasure with Alvarado.

Yet, there was Alvarado on a Top Rank broadcast Saturday – a marker we’ll return to.

Kelly Pavlik, too, has performed a sabotage of sorts on his prizefighting career, a career Top Rank’s Bob Arum once promised would eclipse in riches and acclaim Oscar De La Hoya’s. Pavlik was his hometown’s professional-sports franchise. Youngstown, Ohio, perhaps the closest thing boxing has to a sister city, rallied round its one excuse for optimism. Pavlik let the city down.

Talk to folks above the legal drinking age in Youngstown, and you’ll find most have a story or two about the hell-raising Pavlik brothers. A few weeks ago that hell-raising won national attention, as Kelly and his brother staged a sparring match to whose credentials list local police were belatedly added. Pavlik doesn’t want to talk about it. Boxing media, excepting only Michael Woods, were happy to comply with the fighter’s wishes during last week’s conference call.

You know who’s happy to talk about it, though? Guys in boxing gyms. In South Texas at least, where most heavybag habitués’ names end in an s or z, there’s a long-held suspicion Pavlik was the beneficiary of what President George W. Bush once called “the soft bigotry of low expectations.” Pavlik’s white skin lowered expectations, Pavlik sprang over the shortened hurdles, and Pavlik became far more famous than a Mexican or Puerto Rican might have for knocking-out middleweight champion Jermain Taylor.

Is this accurate? Not really. Boxing gyms are often racially fixated and cruel places, and Pavlik deserves better than the “white hope” and “middleweight drunk” titles his name now triggers.

Just the same, by now, Pavlik was supposed to be a pay-per-view mainstay, selling-out edifices like Ohio State’s Horseshoe or Cleveland Browns Stadium. Instead, Pavlik now hopes for a “walk-up” crowd in Youngstown’s Covelli Center on Friday. He’ll be fighting someone named Darryl Cunningham on Showtime’s “ShoBox” program, one whose subtitle is “The New Generation.”

Top Rank will promote that show, too. Just like Alvarado’s show Saturday. Why is this worth mentioning? Because it tells you something about the fabric of Bob Arum’s company.

Contrary to general impressions, Arum engenders loyalty by showing loyalty. He may bark at his fighters. Hell, he may even crow about them in the press. But Top Rank always answers the phone when one of its stable calls. It finds a place for tough action fighters, regardless of their private mistakes. People, it seems, like Arum more the better they know him.

If Oscar De La Hoya is the future of boxing promotion, this is a trait he should learn from his former promoter. De La Hoya has an opposite track record: He is most beloved by those who are farthest from him.

Meanwhile boxing’s own comeback remains in neutral, exactly between first gear and reverse.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Follow all the action as it happens from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as WBO Welterweight champion and Pound for Pound king, Manny Pacquiao takes on future Hall of Famer “Sugar” Shane Mosley. The action begins at 9pm est/6pm pac with a three fight undercard that will feature a 122 lb world championship between Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. and former three division champ Jorge Arce. Also the return of former Middleweight king Kelly Pavlik taking on undefeated Alfonso Lopez. The night will begin with Jr. Welterweight clash between Mike Alvarado and Ray Nahr.

12 ROUNDS–WBO WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–MANNY PACQUIAO (52-3-2, 38 KO’S) VS SHANE MOSLEY (46-6-1, 39 KO’S)

12 ROUNDS–WBO SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–WILFREDO VAZQUEZ JR. (20-0-1, 17 KO’S) VS JORGE ARCE (56-6-2, 43 KO’S)

Round 1 Pacquiao lands a left…Pacquiao lands a left to the body…Mosley lands a right to the body..Pacquiao a left to the body…Pacquiao 10-9

Round 2 Mosley lands a 1-2; Pacquiao lands a left…Pacquiao lands a left…right hook…left…manny starting to get a rhythm…20-18 Pac

Round 3: Mosley gets in a right…STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES MOSLEY...30-26 Pac

Round 4: Mosley lands a body shot and right…Pacquiao a right hook..Body shot…Mosley lands a combination..39-36 Pac

Round 5:Pacquiao lands a right hook…Pacquiao lands a body shot…head clash…Pacquiao lands a straight left…Mosley lands 2 rights to the body…Left hook…..49-46 Pac

Round 6 Pacquiao lands straight left to the body…Uppercut…combination…Mosley lands a right..59-55 Pac

Round 7: Pacquiao coming forward and Mosley doing nothing…69-64 Pac

Round 8 Mosley lands a right…Pacquiao lands a left to the head…Nice right by Mosley…78-74 Pac

Round 9 Pacquiao landing combinations…striaght left …right hooks…right hook..Mosley lands a right..88-83 Pac

Round 10 Combinations by knockdown…The feet get tangled BUT PACQUIAO IS DOWN AND RULED A KNOCKDOWN…Pacquiao drills Mosley with a right and left..Mosley holding on…97-93 Pac

Round 11 Pacquiao landing hard combinations throughout the round.,..Has Mosley in trouble a couple times. Mosley lands once nice counter right for Which lights yet another fire under Pacquiao who comes in with combinations…107-102 Pac

Round 12: Pacquiao lands a straight left..Straight left to the chin..2 right hooks..117-111 Pacquiao

119-108; 120-108; 120-107 FOR MANNY PACQUIAO

Round 1: Arce lands a good left hook…Good left to the body..Vazquez lands a looping right..Arce lands a left that has Vazquez holding on…big right…Vazquez lands a right…Arce lands to the body... Arce 10-9

Round 2:Nice combo from Vazquez…Arce lands a jab…left…right..20-18 Arce

Round 3: Blood from bridge of Arce’s nose..Double left from Arce…29-28 Arce

Round 4: Vazquez lands a counter left…Arce lands a right……BIG LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES ARCE….38-37 Vazquez

Round 5 Vazquez lands a right…Arce lands a left..Good body…trading body shots…Vazquez lands a left hook…another one..Arce lands a 3 punch combination..47-47

Round 6: Vazquez lands a right..Arce body..straight right…Vazquez lands 2 left hooks…57-56 Vazquez

Round 7: Going toe to toe on the ropes…Vazquez lands a right…67-65 Vazquez

Round 8: Aece just throwin and throwin…lands a left at the bell…76-75 Vazquez

Round 9: Arce lands a body...85-85

Round 10: Vazquez lands a good right…Hook and uppercut..Arce flurries…95-94 Vazquez

Round 11: Arce lands a left hook..They trade hooks…Arce lands a jumping left backs up Vazquez…Arce all over Vazquez…..104-104 Vazquez wobbles back to his corner

Round 12: Arce all over Vazquez…just unloading..VazQUEZ IN SERIOUS TROUBLE…THEY THROW IN THE TOWEL AND THE FIGHT IS OVER

10 ROUNDS–SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS–KELLY PAVLIK (36-2, 32 KO’S) VS ALFONSO LOPEZ (21-0, 16 KO’S)

ROUND 1: Pavlik lands a right…Good left hook…10-9 Pavlik

Round 2: Pavlik lands a left hook..Lopez comes back with a combination…19-19

Round 3: Pavlik works the body…Good right hand…Jab…29-28 Pavlik

Round 4: Pavlik lands a good combination…39-37 Pavlik

Round 5 Good combination from Lopez…Pavlik lands a short hook…48-47 Pavlik

Round 6: Good right from Pavlik..body shots has Lopez holding on..Big right…right to the body..58-56 Pavlik

Round 7: Pavlik gets in a left hook..Lopez working the combinations…Right from Pavlik…Pavlik warned for a low blow…Lopez lands a flurry..67-66 Pavlik

Round 8: Lopez lands a nice combination as Pavlik lands a left hook at the bell…76-76

Round 9: Pavlik lands a good right…Lopez lands a solid right and a short left hook…Left hook..86-85 Lopez

Round 10: Lopez lands a combination…Good body work…Big left by Pavlik buckles Lopez…another left hook..yet another…straight right…Lopping right..hard jab…Blood from right eye of Lopez…Right from Pavlik..95-95

95-95; 98-92; 99-91 PAVLIK BY MAJ DEC

12 Rounds–Jr. Welterweights–Mike Alvarado (29-0, 21 KO’s) vs Ray Narh (25-1, 21 KO’s)

Round 1: Nahr lands an uppercut…Jabbing…Alvarado lands an uppercut..10-0 Nahr

Round 2: Alvarado lands big jabs that shake Narh..19-19

Round 3: Alvarado jabbing…Right hand..another right…29-28 Alvarado

Round 4: NARH QUITS ON THE STOOL AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED ALVARADO WINS BY TKO

Manny Pacquiao 145 – Shane Mosley 147
(WBO Welterweight Championship)
Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. 122 – Jorge Arce 122
(WBO Super Bantamweight Title)
Kelly Pavlik 170 – Alfonso Lopez 169
Mike Alvarado 139 – Ray Nahr 140