Brandon Rios destroys Mike Alvarado after 3!
Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank
It was no where near the bloody slugfest we had all hoped for. Instead, in their third meeting, a well prepared Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios brutally beat down “Mile High” Mike Alvarado in his own backyard.
It didn’t take long for Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) to get started. The Oxnard fighter immediately started putting combinations together in the opening round. A solid jab followed by an all out assault busted up Alvarado’s nose and had the blood flowing at the end of the first.
Alvarado (34-4, 23 KOs) had no answer for Rios in the second. Rios went for the kill and the only thing that stopped the vicious attack was a shot that strayed well below the belt. But that only momentarily stopped the beating. Rios again finished the round strong while Alvarado stumbled to his corner.
The end would come after a one-sided third round. A left hook, right uppercut combination put Alvarado on the canvas and it was all but over. Rios dealt out another minute of punishment and though Alvarado survived the round, he would not come out for the fourth.
At the end of the third, Alvarado’s trainer said “I’m going to send you out there and then stop it” but it seemed as though, Mike didn’t want to take another punch, responding with “nah, I can’t see”. Referee Jay Naydee was called over and told Mike couldn’t see. “Does that mean you want to quit?” asked Naydee. Though Alvarado and team said no, it was clear that the fight was over and they wanted it stopped. The ringside physician would make the call after Alvarado called out 4, when asked how many finger do you see by the doc who was holding up 2…
“I had to do what I had to do, I had to come out prepared because this could have been the end of my career” said Brandon “I never thought it was going to be easy. I know Alvarado is a warrior and I knew he could bounce back at any time because he has power in both hands so I had to take my time and be patient, listen to my corner and stick to the game plan.
The crowed of nearly six thousand cheered Alvarado as he made his way to the ring but boo’d the hometown fighter as he gave his post fight interviews.
“I was still getting comfortable and getting in my zone but he caught me with a good uppercut and I couldn’t see, my vision wasn’t there so I had to make the call” said Mike “I’m not done yet, I’m far from being at my best so I will be back. I wasn’t training like I should have been, that’s what I get. I’m not at piece with myself, I didn’t give it all I got”
Following two losses in front of a hometown crowd, it’s clear that outside the ring distractions have played a big part in the bumps and bruises of Alvarado’s career and hopefully he can pull himself out of this hole he’s in.
As for Rios, he has put some spark back into his career and called out “the Russian” Ruslan Provodnikov and Victor Ortiz who he has some “Bad Blood” with.