“Mile High” Mike Alvarado has vowed to use his boxing skills to fight a smarter fight in his rematch against Brandon Rios that takes place this Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. He said that he will try to resist his natural instincts to fight toe to toe.
“I am going to be myself but I am going to fight smarter and stick to my game plan. My skills are there and I showed them but I am a warrior and I got away from my game plan. It is going to be easier this time around,” Alvarado explained.
On the other hand, Alvarado doesn’t expect Rios to make any changes from their first fight and said that the 26-year-old will be surprised at what he has in store for him.
“He’s going to do what he always does. I am going to move on him and set traps. He’s going to be shocked at what I do,” Alvarado opined.
The 32-year-old Colorado native saidthat he probably overlooked Rios in the first fight because Rios was coming up in weight. He also said that this time he won’t be gunning for a knockout and that securing a victory is his only concern.
“I kind of underestimated him. I was over confident. I was like he’s coming to my division, I own this division. This time around I am on top of my game. I am not going for the knockout. I’m going for the win regardless. If the knockout comes then it comes,” Alvarado told Boxingscene.com.
Alvarado watched Tim Bradley’s victory over Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16th and admitted that it bothered him a a little bit that referee Pat Russell allowed Tim Bradley to continue fighting when he appeared hurt on several occasions. Alvarado had previously complained that Russell stopped the fight early and feels that he made up for it by letting Bradley fight on.
“Yeah I saw that. It was the same ref. He (Bradley) got the chance to pull through and show his heart. Yeah I was kind of upset. I was like why didn’t he give me another 10, 15 seconds. I am sure he had heard about it and let Bradley get a little more time,” Alvarado stated.
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