Once upon a time, the phrase ?Wait ?till next year? was coined by the late Leo Durocher during his years spent as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, back when the famed baseball squad was still in Brooklyn, of course. Three years before moving to Los Angeles, 1955 finally became ?next year? for the perennial bridesmaid, claiming its first World Series.
For most of the 2014, ?wait ?till next year? has befitted a boxing fraternity in hopes that a steady stream of meaningful fights were on the horizon. This past calendar was nothing like its predecessor; while 2013 was a year to remember, 2014 has ? with the exception of a few key moments – largely been a year to forget.
The past few weeks, however, have given boxing fans reason to believe that 2015 will be ?our? year.
Even without the fight yet signed and sealed (if ever), there is already plenty to look forward to once we enter the New Year.
The latest announcement came down Tuesday evening, as Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado agreed to terms for a rubber match to settle the tie in their current two-fight series. The bout will air live on HBO, taking place on January 24 at 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, a suburb of Denver and just outside of Alvarado?s hometown in Thornton, Colorado.
Each of their previous two fights versus one another easily ranked as among the year?s best in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Rios came up big in the first fight, rallying to stop Alvarado in the 7th round of their Oct. ?12 war at the Home Depot Center (now known as StubHub Center) in Carson, California.
The bout served as Alvarado?s first career loss, though returning the favor as he outboxed the then-unbeaten Rios just five months later in Las Vegas.
It?s been a rough road for both fighters since then. Rios suffered a second straight loss in a 12-round rout at the hands of Manny Pacquiao last November, adding insult to injury in testing positive for a banned substance. The California-based slugger has since returned to the win column, though in an ugly, at times unwatchable 9th round disqualification win over Diego Chaves in August.
Alvarado has lost two straight since posting a career-best win in the rematch with Rios. A homecoming showdown proved disastrous, suffering a 10th round knockout loss to Ruslan Provodnikov last October in the very same 1st Bank Center venue that will host next month?s rubber match.
The former amateur wrestling standout-turned-boxer was noble in defeat in his most recent ring appearance in May, dropping a decision to Juan Manuel Marquez in a bout that saw both fighters hit the deck.
News of the third entry of their thrilling series came one day after news initially broke of a pending light heavyweight showdown between unbeaten three-belt titlist Sergey Kovalev and former lineal champion Jean Pascal. The bout is tentatively set for March 14 in either Montreal or Quebec, with final terms contingent upon Pascal getting past Italy?s Roberto Bolonti this weekend in Montreal.
