OCTOBER 13 AN “UNLUCKY” DAY FOR TWO GUYS
Donaire Landing With Authority
Sacramento, CA– On October 13th at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA WBO 122 lb. champ, Nonito Donaire (29-1, 18KO) takes on respected Japanese champion Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KO). This is certainly a fine match up, and should help to clear up the cloudy super bantamweight title picture, but one of the fights underneath threatens to steal the show. Brandon Rios (30-0-1) battles Mike Alvarado (33-0, 23 KO) in his debut at 140 lbs.
ALVARADO HAS SOME “HEAT” ABOUT HIM
Alvarado is coming off of a solid win over Mauricio Herrera and a thrilling come-from-behind stoppage of original Amir Khan conqueror Breidis Prescott. Rios a fighter always looking to go to war in the ring, and although he looked out of his element in what should have been a loss to Richard Abril in his last fight, I expect Rios to come into his showdown with Alvarado fully prepared.
WAS BRANDON RIOS EXPOSED AS LIMITED HOOKER BY ABRIL?
Rios has been lingering around 135 for far too long. That being said, Brandon has failed to make weight in his last two fights, and has seemingly outgrown the lightweight division. Rios should look a bit sharper at 140, and Alvarado is the perfect opponent to test this theory. Both men are as tough as anyone in the ring, and fans can anticipate fireworks from the opening bell.
THE “HOUSE FIGHTER” HAS THE EDGE HERE!
Rios should come out with the victory, but he will not leave the Home Depot Center unscathed.
Alvarado will take the fight to him all night and will undoubtedly land big shots of his own. The
deciding factor in the fight will be the fortitude of each man. While both Rios and Alvarado have
proven to be made of steel, I believe I’m in the minority here at RingTalk.com, but Rios I feel has the edge when it comes to being “Tungston” tough!
RIOS LOOKS THE MORE DURABLE
Rios has never been truly hurt at any point during his career, while Alvarado was nearly out
against Prescott. If this fight ends up being these two swapping leather in the center of the
ring, I think Rios’ chin will hold up better to Alvarado’s shots than Alvarado’s will to Rios’ shots.
Both men possess what appears to be an equal level of power, so they have the ability to hurt
each other, but Rios is just a bit tougher.
All boxing fans should tune in on October 13, as the main event and co-main event are
guaranteed wars. I see Rios and Donaire coming away on top, but not without their fair share
of battle scars. Rios-Alvarado is a legimiate fight of the year candidate on paper, so the best
advice I have is “don’t blink.”
Zak “Attack” Young