Former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Lee Ríos defeated Mike Alvarado after the referee stopped the contest in round seven in their junior welterweight encounter. It was Alvarado's first defeat in 34 fights. The bout was brutal and unrelenting and kept the 7700-odd crowd at the edge of their seats.
It was Rios who emerged victorious after a vicious seventh round, after the winner injured Alvardo badly prompting the referee, Pat Russell to step in and halt the bout.
"Maybe the ref should have given him a little more time, maybe until there was a knockdown but he took a hell of a shot and he's a warrior," Rios said. "I am a warrior. He didn't hurt me.
"He got me a little stunned but I was ready to go on. I knew he had that style. I tried to throw my jab. Then I threw the big overhand right that hurt him which we worked at in the gym every day and it worked."
Russell however, thinks he did the right thing by stopping the fight and stood by his call.
"The whole thing was brutal," he said. "You've got to show me something to defend yourself. I thought he was defenseless and that's why I stopped the fight.
"He had absolutely no defense for any of those punches. There is not a referee out there that wants to see a fighter get permanently injured and that's why I stopped it."
Alvarado who was pretty hopeful of a win looked quite disappointed after his defeat and is eager for a re-match any time soon.
"I kind of got into a slugging match with Brandon," he said. "The fight turned out to be what it did. It shook me up a little bit but it should have kept going. We can do it again."
Bob Arum, the Top Rank promoter, said: "If Pacquiao beats Marquez, Pacquiao and Rios would be an unbelievably huge draw because people love and seek crazy wild action. There is pressure (for a rematch with Alvarado), but obviously boxing is a business and if there is a possibility of Rios fighting either Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez for really bonanza money, how can you take the risk of putting him in with Alvarado again, where he may lose?"
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