It was a fight that will go down in history. Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios vs. "Mile High" Mike Alvarado, the co-main event on the Donaire/Nishioka HBO Boxing After Dark card ended up being a fight no boxing fan would want to miss. From a pure boxing fan to the most casual fan, the idea of two men standing in the ring a phone booth's distance a part exchanging blows is refreshing and exciting. The thought of the regional belt that was on the line was neither here nor there. The possibility that we might see a Gotti-Ward type fight had diehard fans chomping at the bit. In an era of the protected fighter, where guys are constantly nervous about losing their undefeated records, the Rios-Alvarado fight was a stylistic match up.
Brandon Rios embodies Southern California. From his demeanor, choice of words, style of fight and overall actions, Rios seems to live and breathe the LA area and the culture he fights in and for. A man who constantly applies pressure even when it seems as though the world around him is insane and illogical, he will just bite down on his mouth piece and fight that much tougher. At the same time, especially at the weigh in, Rios was especially classy and came off to fans as a very nice person.
As for Alvarado, he arrived with a loud group of relatives, close friends and trainers who looked as they could have doubled for the Sons of Anarchy cast. Though I tried my hardest to be unbiased through the whole fight, just seeing how excited Mike Alvarado was made me want Alvarado to do very well. Alvarado answered questions from nearly anyone who asked and took a 50 or so pictures with people in Marriott Hotel lobby after the weigh in had ended. Alvarado, like Rios, was tough, but in a different sense. He looked as though he was a video game character. He had a stare and sense of earnestness in his face that could move a parked car if he was unhappy with it. To put it plainly, Mike Alvarado was tough, everything about him, even when he joked around I could sense the toughness in the humor. On top of that, he looked bigger than most 170 lbs men when drained at 140.
So the cast of characters was in place, the stage was set - the Home Depot Center was alive as the sun sank beneath the evening clouds. The bright lights emerged as the fight was announced over the loud speaker. We would listen to four national anthems before the beginning of the fight the crowd had all come to see. Looking around the diverse crowd I saw Latinos who were Pro-Rios, Filipino's in support of Donaire, Japanese fans wearing their country's flag around their shoulders and a few Denver sports team jerseys were sprinkled here and there, as most Alvarado supporters seemed somewhat quiet in the very pro-Rios environment. As an impatient crowd sat tense, waiting for Alvarado to make his way to the ring, suddenly, a brash rap song came on over the speakers with something to the effect of "33-0 Mike Alvarado." As you can imagine, the obligatory boo birds came out. Minutes later, "A Bitter Sweet Symphony" by the Verne came on as Rios walked to the ring. But, no, just as it had begun it stopped and a traditional Mexican song played and the crowd went into an uproar.
The fight was dramatic and it would be unjust to simply explain it in a technical fashion. It was light a seven act play unfolding before our eyes. The lights glared down at the ring as the bell sounded in the first round as both Alvarado and Rios met in silent agreement. The uniqueness of the fight was something that I had not seen for, well, to be honest maybe ever. One fighter landed a hard punch that seemed to shift the focus of the fight and then suddenly the later would land an even harder punch backing up the other. It was a sight to behold as round one ended in a fiery exchange between both warriors with the most of the crowd on their feet clapping.
As both fighters headed to their corners a few things became clear: 1) It seemed that the hardest punches of the fight landed were the uppercuts that Alvarado was throwing from in close; 2) Rios was making it his type of fight, an inside war; 3) Alvarado was cut around the eye and that damage may have accumulated; and finally, 4) Rios may not be human and quite possibly may be slightly out of his mind. Why do I say this? At times Rios would eat uppercuts that would nearly turn his head in a circle, reminding me of an owl looking for food in the middle of the night. In response Rios would just smile and, even when re-watching the fight on television I was able to hear Rios saying to his trainer, Robert Garcia, the he enjoyed this type of fight. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before we would get a knockout, even in press row people began to make wagers on when a knockout might occur.
Then it happened, in round 7 Rios pawed a jab into Alvarado only to land a crushing left hand that wobbled him. The next moments became a blur. Depending on whom you favored going into the fight, it could be viewed as rigged. Conspiracy theorist could point to the 10 rounds instead of 12 for a title fight, which favored Rios, or they could say that Alvarado looked at the ref and seemed to want either a standing 8 count or just a relief from the beating. Either way, the fight ended with Alvarado getting hit with a right hand that moved him to the corner during the exchange. He looked towards the ref prompting Rios to land another bomb that had him moving towards the other side of the ring. He was caught with a few more strikes and the ref stepped in. I personally felt a little robbed since, though Alvarado was not fighting back, it appeared he was motioning to punch right as the ref stepped in. In the ref's defense he gave an honest speech to the crowd with the words "I want to take him into deep waters, but I don't want him to drown," meaning he didn't want to see any fighter harmed permanently. The speech was cheered by the Home Depot a crowd as it seemed to hit home. However, Max Kellerman, of HBO, seemed to go on about the stoppage after the main card fight.
At the end of the day, the fight left us wanting more and though Brandon Rios will more than likely fight Manny Pacquiao, IF and that is a big IF, he can beat Jaun Manuel Marquez in December. If Pacquiao lost, it seems as though a rematch of Rios vs. Alvarado could be one of the biggest potential PPV cards in 2013. Rios now looks like a monster who moved up in weight and fought one of the most feared fighters in the 140 lbs division and won. As for Alvarado, he never hit the floor, though he was stopped. It was the judgment call of the ref. Taking that into account with the 7th round in mind, Alvarado should have been granted a standing 8 count. Well, that would make it a 66-66 draw heading into the 8th round having the fight dead even. Either way, both fighters are now part of boxing history having boxed one the classics in recent memory.
As for the main event between Nonito Donaire vs. Toshiaki Nishioka, it was no match for the Rios/Alvarado fight. During the walk outs some fans already began to leave, though a majority stayed the first two rounds. In fact, it seemed the Japanese fighter Nishioka seemed to honor a certain distance of range, as well as his highly technical approach which made many rounds look like defensive drills in a boxing gym more than a highly touted match up that was supposed to challenge Donaire.
Round after round, Donaire seemed to effortlessly win. It became methodical, some might it call it boring. These two took the serious boxing fan to a clinic. The novice fan could learn about what boxers do, nearly in slow motion. In the end, Donaire seemed to sleep walk his way to a KO, as he took a couple of jabs on the ropes and landed a straight punch to Nishioka that floored him. Nishioka simple looked dazed and confused though he could have continued; his legs looked like strands of spaghetti as he walked to the ref. His corner had seen enough as they called the fight off. It is important to note that a round or two earlier Brandon Rios made his way back to the ring and sat front row to watch the end of the action. It seemed no matter what, when we look back on this occasion it, quite simply, was the night of Rios.
