Is Manny Pacquiao Looking to Fight the Winner of Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado in 2013?

[litolapid]

C/P
By Alex Groberman, Thu, October 11, 2012


Manny Pacquiao is currently focused on one fight and one fight only: his Dec. 8 showdown versus Juan Manuel Marquez. The rest of the world, however, can’t help but look forward and try to predict what lays ahead for the Filipino champ.

As of now, the general consensus is that Pacquiao will defeat Marquez for the third consecutive time. It won’t be easy. Marquez will put up a serious fight, no doubt about it. But in the end, if Pacquiao trains hard and gives it his all – it’s very hard to envision him losing.

You will recall, last June, Pacquiao absolutely worked Timothy Bradley. Bradley is 29 years old. Marquez is 39 years old. Yes, style makes fights, and yes, Marquez has a rich history of giving Pacquiao problems. That said, there is a reason Marquez has never actually earned that elusive W. That reason? He’s just not as good.

So let’s assume Pacquiao wins on Dec. 8; where does the Filipino champ go in 2013? The obvious answer is Floyd Mayweather Jr. Earlier today, we reported on some rumors floating around regarding the status of that Dream Match. It’s interesting but, as we noted, it’s not something that is verifiable. Stuff that’s on the record is verifiable. And the only thing we have on the record as far as Pacquiao-Mayweather goes is the former offering the latter a bigger split of the purse, and the latter never actually responding. That’s where the trail goes cold.

Today, Bob Arum spoke with the good folks at Boxing Scene about a different potential 2013 fight for Pacquiao. Via that report:

Arum told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard in Los Angeles that a showdown between Pacquiao and the winner of the Rios-Alvarado battle "could be unbelievable."

He said the fight will be at 147 pounds and that Pacquiao, who recently extended his contract with Arum to December 31, 2014, told him that "he wanted to fight no later than the middle of April so he can come back (to the Philippines) for the elections" next May.

Arum said they went over the calendar and since April 13 is a holy week "he (Manny) agreed November 20 is the last week that he could fight but not that it has to be April 20. It could be a little earlier but April 20 is what we are looking at."

He said should Pacquiao win and face either Rios or Alvardo "the public will go crazy for that fight. Imagine Manny against either of these animals (Rios or Alvarado.) Manny will have to become an 'animal' himself. Absolutely. These guys will make him an animal."

That’s a pretty crazy twist, right? Look, Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado are both fantastic fighters – but nobody wants to see either guy face off against Pacquiao. The public want to see Mayweather face off against Pacquiao. And Arum isn’t stupid, he is well aware of what the public’s reaction to either of these guys would be.

So why is he putting this information out there? Because he wants Mayweather to know that he isn’t the only fish in the sea. He wants the undefeated champ to know that it’s not just going to be Pacquiao trying to decide between Miguel Cotto and Timothy Bradley next year; he has other options.

The smart money says that Pacquiao won’t fight either Rios or Alvarado in 2013. Then again, with Bob Arum – you never know.

[Fibroso]

Arum continuous to make it easier for the Filipino star by ignoring world class boxers in the welterweight division and facing jr welterweight boxers. The Cotto vs Pac rematch didn't materialized because of weight problems, so will the PBF mega fight. Floyd will not come down to 147 ever, he is to big and just like Rios was forced to go up, can't make it. Manny's future is fighting little guys and can't no longer look forward to face bigger 154 boxers. Danny Garcia will eventually go up to 147, he'll give Manny a very good fight, that is if he can beat JMM. The closest that Manny can be of facing Floyd is fighting Adrien Broner and he will probably lose.......

[Fibroso]

Brandon Rios hits back at detractors after win over Mike Alvarado in Fight of the Year candidateSun, Oct 14, 2012 1:20 AM EDT


CARSON, Calif. – A pack of reporters pursued Brandon Rios into the bowels of the Home Depot Center. Moments earlier, Rios ended one of the great fights of the century by pummeling Mike Alvarado along the ropes and forcing referee Pat Russell to stop it at 1:57 of the seventh round.
Rios spied the reporters, many of whom had blasted him in December and then again in April for missing weight in a pair of lightweight title fights, and the broad smile across his face instantly turned into a sneer.
http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/CYNTF3sfZ0xrbCAm2bOAhQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/gettyimages.com/mike-alvarado-vs-brandon-rios-20121013-215833-439.jpgBrandon Rios celebrates his seventh-round TKO win over Mike Alvarado. (Getty)"Did I prove a point to you [expletives]?" Rios said, poking his finger at one reporter. He'd won what most certainly will become the 2012 Fight of the Year in dramatic fashion, and likely earned a shot at the winner of the Dec. 8 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Yet, Rios wasn't content. He hadn't forgotten the slights directed his way and wouldn’t let them pass, even in the shining moment of his professional career.
His desire, his love of the battle and, most of all, his sheer will to prove his doubters wrong, is what makes him great. He's as motivated to perform as any athlete in the sport and is willing to do just about anything to win.
"That," Russell said in the quiet of the locker room a half hour later, "was one unbelievable fight."
Bob Arum, who has promoted fights for 46 years, said it stands alongside the great matches he's ever seen.
"I put it right up there with [Muhammad]Ali-[Joe]Frazier, their third fight, the one in Manila, with [Marvelous Marvin]Hagler-[Thomas] Hearns, right up there with those fights," Arum said. "It's definitely the Fight of the Year. How could it not be?"


The bout was reminiscent of the classic 2005 scrap between Jose Luis Castillo and the late Diego Corrales, a match which ended in an almost identical manner. After a back-and-forth battle, Corrales pinned Castillo on the ropes and fired away until the bout was stopped.
That stood as the greatest fight of the 21st century until Saturday, when Rios and Alvarado put on a brutal brawl that may edge it from its perch.
Alvarado threw 779 punches in less than seven full rounds, landing 175, yet he still came out on the short end. He was ripping Rios with right hands and uppercuts, but Rios would smile and keep coming forward.
"I've got a great chin and I proved that tonight," Rios said. "I love getting hit."
If so, Alvarado made him plenty happy. From the opening moments of the bout until the savage, unexpected finish, Alvarado was going toe-to-toe with Rios and giving as good as he got.
At the time of the stoppage, judges Max Deluca and Zach Young had it even, 57-57, the same score as Yahoo! Sports. Judge James Jen Kin had it 58-56 for Rios.
Alvarado's right hand seemed to be finding a home until Rios landed a crushing right that changed the fight, and presumably the course of his career.
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/JvDVPNibFeO1vV208gdrAw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-10-14T030006Z_1520278806_GM1E8AE0UHF01_RTRMADP_3_BOXI NG.JPGMike Alvarado (R) lands a punch on Brandon Rios in the sixth round. (Reuters)
But it was the punch that preceded the right that did the real damage. He grew up a huge fan of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and watched how Chavez would brutalize opponents to the body.
Rios was an apt student. He went after Alvarado's body, and hard.
"Julio Cesar Chavez taught me, if you break the body, the head will fall," Rios said. "[In the sixth round] I hit him to the body and I saw he was hurt. I hit him with the right overhand and I felt I stunned him. But it was the last 30 seconds of that round. I knew I couldn't get him then, but I did it in the next round and I hurt him pretty good. If the referee hadn't stopped it, I think I would have hurt him pretty bad."


Alvarado's failing was not keeping the fight at distance. Rios closed the gap early and the two traded inside much of the night, with less than two feet separating them. They would just put their hands down and punch.
By about the fourth round, though, Alvarado began to create the space he needed. He was pumping his jab and following it with a vicious right that was consistently finding its home.
"I figured it would be a tremendous, tremendous fight because of the styles of the two guys," Arum said. “… This exceeded what I thought. These two guys stood in the center of the ring and they didn't clinch once. They threw every punch they had until one guy went down and the referee stopped the fight. You just didn't know who was going to win. I thought Alvarado was coming on strong at one point there, but then Rios would come back. The back-and-forth was amazing."
It wasn't exactly the greatest show of defense ever, as their faces attested afterward. But it was a fight fan's dream, action from bell to bell in round after round.
"God, that was a great fight, and I don't think any of those punches missed," Russell said.
http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/8xK_ZoFxPy4WwA0xAd223g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-10-14T025548Z_1562750994_GM1E8AE0U9M01_RTRMADP_3_BOXI NG.JPGBrandon Rios (L) and Mike Alvarado trade punches in the third round. (Reuters)
The fight will launch Rios into stardom with a mega-fight in early 2013. Alvarado, too, will get a big fight, but he lamented what might have been.
Holding an ice pack to his face, both of his eyes swollen grotesquely, Alvarado grinned when asked if being part of such an epic bout was of any consolation.
"It's still exciting to know [people think] that, but losing, man it sucks," Alvarado said, grinning wanly. "I hate losing, but it's only going to make me stronger. I'm going to come back twice as strong. Maybe it's just what I needed to be a better fighter."
It's scary to think either of them could come back any better than they were on Saturday.
If Rios is any better, the Pacquiao-Marquez winner is going to have a major problem on his hands next year.
"If Pacquiao beats Marquez, Pacquiao with Rios next year would be an unbelievably huge draw, because people would know they'd see crazy wild action," Arum said.

True. But if they don't know they'll see crazy wild action in a Brandon Rios fight by this point, they're just not boxing fans.

[rudee]

What a fight that was! i still can't get over the blows these two delivered...
Fight of the Year in my book.
Kudos to Rios... he would have one hell of a chance against Manny...
Would like to see him fight the Manny vs Marquez winner.

[litolapid]

this two are mein event in the evening and the younger version of Morelis and Marquez.....