Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios had barely got done hitting each other in Las Vegas when the talk of a third fight between the two warriors began.
No reason not to do it again, the way these two like to go after it.
The action Saturday night was much the same as their first fight, only this time the result was different. Alvarado boxed and punched his way to a narrow but unanimous 12-round decision over Rios in the rematch of their slugfest from five months ago.
Alvarado came on strong in the late rounds to win 115-113 on two scorecards and 114-113 on the other to avenge his seventh-round loss to Rios in October. The ringside punch totals were almost as close as the scoring, with Alvarado credited with landing 261 punches to 241 for Rios.
It wasn’t as dramatic as the first fight, when Rios stopped Alvarado after being rocked himself a round earlier. But the fight was still thrilling at times, fought at a high level between two game warriors.
It also was brutal at times, as evidenced by the cut on Alvarado’s forehead and his swollen face. He was taken to a hospital for a precautionary brain scan after the fight, and Rios also was taken to the hospital. – AP
