The highly anticipated Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado rubbermatch will take place this Saturday just outside Denver, in Broomfield, Colorado. It?s ?Mile High? Alvarado?s home turf, though Rios won?t be far from his roots in Garden City, Kansas.
The first two encounters took place at junior welterweight, the third meeting will be at welterweight. Though both fighters struggled in separate bouts last time out, Rios and Alvarado seem to dovetail in much the same way Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward did a decade ago.
Cameron Dunkin has managed Rios for his entire career, spotting him in the amateurs, guiding him to pro glory. Dunkin, like fans, media and TV, is excited for the third installment of their classic rivalry, which stands at one win apiece. Rios won the first fight by a seventh-round stoppage in 2012 and Alvarado won a unanimous decision in the rematch five and a half months later.
?Oh yeah, of course I?m nervous. Alvarado?s a heck of a fighter,? Dunkin told RingTV.com last week. ?He?s at home in Denver and he?s gonna fight to the end, you know that.
?But I have so much faith in Brandon, he was in a rough fight with (Diego) Chaves, but he has a way of getting through them. Brandon Rios is a lot better fighter than people say he is. He?s a tough guy to beat, not an easy out for anybody.?
Since deciding to get involved in boxing full-time in the late 1980?s Dunkin has become one of the premier managers in the sport, working with 32 world champions.
A keen eye for talent, he?s spotted fighters in the amateurs, nurturing the likes of Danny Romero, Steven Luevano, Diego Corrales, Kelly Pavlik, Nonito Donaire and Terence Crawford from grass-roots level.
Here?s what Dunkin had to say when RingTV.com spoke to him on a variety of subjects including the upcoming Alvarado-Rios fight, his other clients and future aspirations.
Anson Wainwright ? What are your thoughts on the rubbermatch between Rios and Alvarado?
Cameron Dunkin ? It?s a great fight, it?ll always be a great fight. It doesn?t matter when it happens ? those guys they have styles that meet in the middle ? it?s gonna be a sensational fight. Brandon?s finally healthy, his arm?s fixed, he?s in great shape, he?s really been training. I?m really excited for this fight.
AW ? He had a problem with his arm?
CD ? Yeah, he had surgery on his elbow. What I really like about this is for the first time in probably three years his arm is healthy. He?s been fighting one-handed and not even telling people. He was one-armed. Now it will be the first time he?ll be healthy because he stopped and had the surgery and got well. I?m really looking forward to seeing him. I?ve got a lot of faith in my guy, I really believe in Brandon Rios.
AW ? How about weight ? he?s struggled with that in the past?
CD ? He has no problem with his weight. He started training way early, he?s ready to go. He wants this very badly and I know Mike Alvarado does too, so the fans are gonna be really happy, ?cause this is gonna be a great fight, I really believe that.
AW ? Three weeks out from the fight Alvarado was arrested. There was obviously concern the fight may end up being called off.
CD ? Yeah, I was concerned but they got it straightened out right away so we didn?t have to worry about it very long and it was ok. We?re on and he?s fighting. Brandon never stopped training, Brandon is ready to go.
AW ? Alvarado was involved in a fracas before the rematch with Rios ? do you think he thrives on the mayhem?
CD ? Yeah, nothing seems to phase this guy. When they?re all telling me, ?You know, he?s probably not training,? believe me, Mike Alvarado has a way that it doesn?t matter. He?s the kind of guy that gets off the couch and goes 12 rounds with people and beats ?em. Brandon?s very aware of that, we?ve spoken about that and he knows Mike Alvarado?s not going to be fighting at home in Denver and be embarrassed. He?s going to be ready to fight. He?s a tough, proud guy, so we know he?s going to bring it. Forget what you read ? it?s going to be a tough, tough fight.
Alvarado?s a street guy and he gets in fights on the street and he always has, he has no fear to fight, it?s just a way of life. Brandon?s the same way; that?s the way he was when he grew up in Garden City, he was always fighting. So he has no fear either and I think that?s what makes these guys terrific, they have no fear at all.
Now they?ve fought twice they really respect each other and I think that makes for a great event, because not only do they have no fear and they?re gonna put on a sensational fight, but because of their respect for each other.
AW ? Without looking past this fight, it?s huge for both guys? careers ? neither can afford to lose.
CD ? This is a huge fight for Brandon. That win over Chaves and now ? if he can find a way and get by Alvarado ? he?s back. He?s back on top and he?s back in a position of doing a lot of things. He can?t afford to lose this fight and he understands that.
AW ? Let?s talk about some of your other clients and what is happening with them ? Nonito Donaire?
CD ? He?s fighting in March in the Philippines, we?re looking for an opponent. His deal is he?s been training, he?s been taking care of himself and he told me he wants to come back and be back on top. He?s another guy who?s really proud. He was a top pound-for-pound fighter for years and he?s got a lot of pride and he wants to regain a title and get into some major fights at 122, but of course if there?s a fight that make sense at 126 he?d be willing to do that again.
People have been really hard on him but if that second round (vs. Nicholas Walters) had lasted another 30 seconds Nonito might have knocked him out and we wouldn?t even be talking about anything else. He had Walters really hurt and walking to the wrong corner when the bell rang; he was one more punch from Nonito stopping him. It?s not a blowout like everyone thinks ? he almost knocked Walters out.
AW ? Jessie Vargas?
CD ? I was just talking with (Bob) Arum and Todd (duBoef) and we should know something in another week or so. Just not sure yet. We?re talking about fighting several guys with him.
AW ? Thomas Dulorme?
CD ? Same position, we?re not sure but I?ll be talking to Gary (Shaw) and we?ll figure out what we?re going to do. He went through a lot in his last fight, losing all the weight, it was kinda hard on him. We?re gonna discuss everything and see what he wants to do.
AW ? Terence Crawford?
CD ? He has two options. He told me he can still make 135 pounds if the money is right, if there?s a fight that makes a lot of sense, but I think we want to see him go to ?40. So we?re discussing several opponents at 140 and we did talk about somebody at 135, but I think he?ll probably go at 140. We?re just waiting on a date, I?m waiting on Todd to get me a date and where. We should know soon.
AW ? Willie Nelson?
CD ? I?ve got to find something for him. I should know something soon. I thought he fought a good fight last time against Vanes (Martirosyan). He lost but it was a fun fight and people enjoyed the fight. I think he can made a run at a title.
AW ? Randy Caballero?
CD ? I think he?s sensational, he?s ready to break out. He had a great year ? he won the title and he?s undefeated and he?s the IBF bantamweight champion of the world. Golden Boy had him scheduled to fight at home (on Feb. 27 verses Alberto Guevara in Indio,California). [He has to] get through that fight, but I?m really looking at talking with them about doing big things with him. He?s a terrific fighter, he?s a great kid. I want him to get in the mix of making some real money. I?m gonna be talking to them and figure out what we can do with him. I think he?s gonna be a star.
We?ve got to get him on television, he fought overseas twice ? he fought in Japan in an eliminator and then of course he fought in Monaco and won the title. We?ve got to get him on American television, get him fighting at home and then look for some recognizable name at bantamweight, somebody that makes sense and eventually he?ll be moving up. He?s a big strong kid and I think he?s gonna take off and do something. I?ve just got to push to get him the opportunities and hopefully we can work out something.
I think he?ll draw a lot of people (at Fantasy Springs in Indio, where 12 of his 22 fights have taken place), he?s so likable. He makes fun fights, he?s real pleasing to watch, he?s just got to get out there and be seen.
AW ? You have a lot of young talent ? who is next off the production line?
CD ? I think Mikael Zewski ? he?s 26-0, he?s right on the doorstep. I?ve got another guy, Trevor McCumby ? he?s 18-0. He?s not quite there yet but they?re guys I want to start getting them ready. Maybe getting him on a big show. Those are guys who are gonna be coming out and doing something real soon. I?ve got a guy Manuel ?Tino? Avila, 16-0, he?s sensational, he can really fight and I think he?s gonna break out soon. Of course I love the guys I?ve already got that are already champions or right at the top. I could mention other guys but they?re not really ready yet. It should be a great year.
AW ? You have achieved so much in boxing, working with so many top fights ? what goals do you still have in the sport?
CD ? I don?t think you ever lose your love of taking a kid like you said ? with Randy Caballero with Terence Crawford, Mikeal Zewski, Trevor McCumby ? you can go on to the guys of the past: Kelly Pavlik, Danny Romero, Steven Luevano, Nonito Donaire, all of these guys. Diego Corrales. Taking a guy where nobody has heard of him and you?re working with him, nobody talks about him and slowly you start moving him along and putting him into position and all of a sudden everyone?s taking about him, he wins a belt and then he gets on major television. The thrill of that you never lose.
Or taking a guy like Tim Bradley, Freddie Norwood, Stevie Johnston, Mark Johnson or more recently Jessie Vargas, who was already a world champion or almost a champion, taking him from fighting regular fights to fighting major fights with (Manny) Pacquiao and (Juan Manuel) Marquez and fighting on pay-per-view ? those are all exciting, they?re fun to do and I don?t think you ever lose that. I still enjoy it, I still love taking a kid and we?ve all got egos and people saying, ?I never though Steven Luevano was going to do this ? ? or a Bones Adams, etc. ? ? I was wrong Cameron.? You still love doing it and you still love trying to be right and the main thing is you wind up making these guys money and helping them with their career and putting themselves in a position where they have money to do things in life. Whether it be making enough money they don?t have to work, or whether it be they make enough money they can start a business, they can do other things in life. I don?t think you ever lose the hunger of doing that.
AW ? You worked with Johnny Tapia and Diego Corrales for a portion of there careers. What was it like working with them?
CD ? Tapia never really trained a lot for his fights and neither did Diego Corrales. Diego Corrales smoked two packs of cigarettes for probably the first three or four years of his career and nobody really knew because nobody knew who he was and then he would go out there for 12 rounds and not even breathe hard because he had no fear at all. It was a lesson I learned about fear: when guys aren?t afraid ? we were just talking about Alvarado and Rios ? he can get off the couch and fight tremendous. It?s one of the lessons I learned. Tapia would disappear and he?d show up three days before the weigh-in and go out and go 12 rounds and nobody would know he barely trained at all. He?d make weight and go out there and at the end of the fight he?s in better shape than his opponent. He wasn?t even breathing hard, he?s thrown a hundred punches in the 12th round, stuff like that, that I had to learn that was just amazing to me.
On the other hand I?ve had guys that trained like crazy, none of my top guys but guys who I thought were gonna be a top guy at the time and they trained, had nutritionists, doctors and training and perfect diets and they run out of gas in the seventh round and they can?t make it as a top fighter. Those are the things that don?t make sense in this business but it?s part of the business and you just have to learn it.
AW ? It?s 10 years in May since the epic Corrales-Castillo fight. You no longer worked with him at that point. I?m sure you have your own memories of that night?
CD ? Yeah, I was there, I watched it. Kelly Pavlik was in town and had fought the day before and he was going home and I said, ?Don?t go home.? I said, ?Stay and watch this fight,? and Kelly wasn?t a guy to watch fights and he said, ?Cameron, I don?t care to watch fights.? I said, ?Just stay for this fight, just stay and watch it.? They all stayed over one extra day. After I don?t know ? the seventh, eighth round ? he (Kelly) was sitting right in front of me and he turned around and he says, ?Thanks for telling me to stay.?
It was a great fight. The best I ever saw. It?s hard to say when you think of Tim Bradley and (Ruslan) Provodnikov, that was another. I mean Tim Bradley, what he did in that fight, I don?t think there was three people in the world that would have done what he did to get through that fight. I can?t imagine what he did to get through the fight, and not only get through it but win it. That?s another that really sticks in my mind.
AW ? Recently HBO showed a documentary on Johnny Tapia ? that must have taken you back?
CD ? Yeah, he was a real unique guy. He was really a good guy as far as somebody you wanted to know and as far as a friend. He was always there to help you, he was always asking you, ?Do you need anything? Can I help you?? You?d say to Johnny, ?That?s my job to help you, that?s what you hired me for.? Everybody that knew Johnny loved him, he was a great guy. It?s sad that he?s gone.
AW ? What are your hopes for 2015?
CD ? I?d like to see a couple of guys get big fights, Jessie Vargas and Crawford and Brandon continue to get big fights. I?d like to see some guys win world titles like Zewski. Same thing as every year and hopefully it?ll happen.
