MIKE ALVARADO VS. BRANDON RIOS 3
WBO INTERNATIONAL WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Plus
MEXICO’S UNDEFEATED NO. 2 CONTENDER
GILBERTO “ZURDO” RAMIREZ
This Saturday! January 24, at Denver Area’s 1STBANK Center
Live on HBO®
DENVER, CO (January 21, 2015) — Former world champions and co-stars of one
this era’s most intense and exciting boxing rivalries — Denver’s “Mile High” MIKE
ALVARADO and BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS of Oxnard, Calif. — are just days away
from the final chapter of their epic trilogy. Each warrior owns a victory in the series —
both of which were candidates for Fight of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Alvarado-Rios 3
is scheduled for 12 rounds with the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO)
International welterweight championship on the line. It will take place This Saturday!
January 24, at the 1STBANK Center, located in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, CO.
The fight will be televised live on HBO, beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT. The last boxing
event hosted by 1STBANK Center was sold out in advance — the October 19, 2013
WBO junior welterweight world championship between Alvarado and Ruslan
Provodnikov.
The telecast will open with undefeated No. 2-world-rated super middleweight
contender GILBERTO “Zurdo” RAMIREZ of Mexico, facing the toughest challenge of
his professional career when he rumbles with once-beaten Top-10 contender MAXIM
VLASOV from Russia, in a 10-round light heavyweight battle.
The four gladiators boast a combined record of 126-6-1 (84 KOS) — a winning
percentage of 95% — with two-thirds of those victories coming by way of knockout.
Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Zapari Boxing and Tecate,
remaining tickets to the Alvarado-Rios welterweight championship, priced at $250,
$200, $125, $65 and $40, tickets are available at www.AltitudeTickets.com, by phone at
866-461-6556.and at the Pepsi Center box office.
“This is going to be like our wars in fight no. 1 and fight no. 2. We are two
warriors. We will go into the middle of the ring and mix it up. For me, all of this is for one
thing — redemption,” said Alvarado.
“If Alvarado wants to go the center of the ring and trade, he will feel my power
right away,” responded Rios. “A few of my big punches and he will change his game
plan. That’s when I hunt him down, win the fight.”
“This is a rematch made in heaven,” said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank.
“Their first two fights were barn burners and arguably Fights of the Year. Alvarado and
Rios know what is at stake. Fans can expect to see a finale that will rival, if not surpass,
the legendary Morales-Barrera and Pacquiao-Marquez wars.”
“In 2015, we begin with a trilogy’s conclusion. In the course of two years and
3,003 punches exchanged between them, Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios traded
triumphs,” said Peter Nelson, vice president, programming, HBO Sports. “Now, in their
third fight, both seek to author their saga’s definitive chapter. Styles make fighters, but
fights themselves are made from heart, and fans recognize that these men have two of
the biggest hearts in boxing. On January 24, Alvarado-Rios 3 promises to be a mustsee
event.”
Alvarado (34-3, 23 KOs) of Denver, had won 10 of his last 14 bouts by stoppage
en route to his rematch victory over Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, on March 30, 2013,
which not only avenged Alvarado’s loss to Rios in 2012’s Fight of the Year, but also
made Alvarado a world champion. Alvarado had lost to Rios on October 13, 2012, via a
seventh-round technical knockout in one of the most action-packed fights of the
millennium. Going into round seven, two of the three judges’ scorecards had it 57-57. In
the sequel, which was as action-packed as the first fight, Alvarado made subtle
adjustments to eke out a narrow but unanimous decision and win the WBO junior
welterweight world title. Notable Alvarado knockout victims have included Breidis
Prescott, Ray Narh, Emmanuel Clottey and Cesar Bazan.
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