In what is certain to be an entertaining affair, Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez will look to rebound from his tough loss to Timothy Bradley against Coloradoan slugger Mike Alvarado later this evening at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
MMAmania will deliver LIVE "Marquez vs. Alvarado" results and updates tonight, starting with the HBO World Championship Boxing broadcast at 10:15 p.m. ET RIGHT HERE.
The broadcast opens with a Welterweight bout between unbeaten Viktor Postol and Selcuk "The Turkish Warrior" Aydin, but we know you're here for the main course. Who will get the all-important win and a possible crack at division champion Manny Pacquiao?
Let's find out.
Juan Manuel Marquez
Age: 40
Record: 55-7-1, 40 KO
Last Five Fights: Split decision loss to Timothy Bradley, knockout win over Manny Pacquiao, unanimous decision win over Serhiy Fedchenko, majority decision loss to Manny Pacquiao, technical knockout win over Likar Ramos
Notable Wins: Manny Pacquiao, Michael Katsidis, Juan Diaz (twice), Joel Casamayor and Marco Antonio Barrera
VS.
Mike Alvarado
Age: 33
Record: 34-2, 23 KO
Last Five Fights: Referee technical decision loss to Ruslan Provodnikov, unanimous decision win over Brandon Rios, technical knockout loss to Brandon Rios, unanimous decision win over Mauricio Herrera, technical knockout over Breidis Prescott
Notable Wins: Brandon Rios, Mauricio Herrera, Breidis Prescott and Carlos Molina
The Fight: Ordinarily, a brawl is the last place a counter-puncher wants to be. Marquez is atypical in the sense that he absolutely thrives in wild exchanges, landing his brilliant counter combinations in the midst of his opponents' heavy artillery. We've seen this against Diaz and Katsidis, both hard-nosed bruisers, and even against the offensive technical mastery of Manny Pacquiao.
That doesn't leave a lot of avenues for Alvarado.
"Mile High" won his rematch with Brandon Rios on the strength of an improved jab and footwork. Though Marquez struggles when forced on his front foot, I don't see Alvarado having the same success playing matador that Timothy Bradley did.
When things get rough, the tendency is to revert to a natural style, which for Alvarado is pure aggression. He'll probably hurt and possibly drop Marquez at some point. Exchanging with "Dinamita" is a losing proposition, however, and after a few exhausting rounds, Alvarado is going to open up just a little too much.
From there, Marquez's body work will lower Alvarado's hands just enough for the former to lower the boom with his killer right hand.
Prediction: Marquez via technical knockout in round nine
Be sure to join us for the festivities later tonight.
See you there, Maniacs!
Remember that MMAmania will deliver LIVE "Marquez vs. Alvarado" results and updates tonight, starting with the HBO World Championship Boxing broadcast at 10:15 p.m. ET RIGHT HERE.