Tonight at 9:45 HBO's Boxing After Dark Series will pit Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios in the ring against Mike Alvarado in the third fight of one of boxing's best rivalries. Live stream the fight online by clicking this link.
Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios thrilled fans with a classic slugfest for the ages in October 2012 with Rios' granite chin winning out. The action was stopped in Round 7 as Alvarado was taking too much punishment. When they rematched in March 2013, Alvarado came determined to box more.
He did early on, then was dragged into the same old slugfest, but reverted to his original game plan as the fight wore on. He displayed superior technical skills to Rios, and edged out a narrow decision.
Alvarado's career may be on the line tonight in the rubber match. He has lost his last two fights since beating Rios, and is in potentially serious legal trouble for illegally possessing a handgun. Alvarado says the legal woes won't affect him in tonight's bout.
"I don't bring them with me into the ring, and it's not a distraction," Alvarado said. "I have learned to be positive through it and be strong, and it gives me more confidence to be a better person and a better fighter."
In fact, he welcomes difficult times in preparation for fights because he says he thrives on overcoming obstacles.
"I am used to something always going wrong in camp," Alvarado said. "When it is going too good and perfect, I know something bad is going to happen because that's the way it has always been. I have been dealing with adversity my whole life. Adversity has been in my life the whole time, so there are not distractions for this fight."
For two fighters who have done significant damage to one another, they share a mutual respect that is admirable.
"We are cool outside the ring but once we get in that ring we hate each other," Rios said.
"We want to kill each other and that's what makes this sport and that's what makes these fights more exciting because everyone thinks that these guys are too close, they have fun together. But once they get in the ring they kill each other. It's like the Army. All of the soldiers are your brothers. Alvarado is like my brother and we fight. We fight until somebody gets hurt."
Prediction: Brandon Rios def. Mike Alvarado by TKO (Round 9)
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