HOW HE DID IT: Alvarado’s Adjustments Gave Him The Win

Published

12 years ago

April 1, 2013

Lee Wylie

Mike Alvarado made some shrewd strategic and tactical adjustments that attributed to him defeating Brandon Rios by unanimous decision in their rematch on Saturday night. Although things were reasonably close heading into the final stages of the fight, Alvarado finished the stronger of the two and received the nod on all three of the judge’s scorecards. Today, I’d like to highlight some of the key changes that Mike Alvarado made from the first fight that allowed him to reverse the outcome this time.

Last October, Rios stopped Alvarado in the seventh round after breaking him down in a war of attrition. Although Alvarado (pictured above, right, with Rios, in Chris Farina-Top Rank photo) initially came out looking to angle off his jab and keep Rios at bay, it wasn’t too long before an inside fight erupted. Here, the physically stronger and shorter punching Rios had a significant advantage over the straighter hitting Alvarado. Throughout most of the infighting, what I found interesting was the way in which Alvarado tried to defend himself by hiding behind his lead shoulder. I believe there was a distinct reason for this. In his previous fight before facing Alvarado for the first time, Rios found himself in with underrated lightweight spoiler, Richard Abril. During that fight, in which Rios was very fortunate to have been given the decision, Abril was able to blunt much of Rios’ work because of how effective he was at close quarters using the half-guard defense (Philly shell). Whenever Rios tried to land his right or left hook, Abril would catch the rights on his lead shoulder and roll with them, or he would stuff Rios’ left hook to the body or head by jamming the blow with his right glove or elbow. Used correctly, the half-guard defense is incredibly effective at close range.

Unfortunately for Alvarado, he wasn’t nearly as effective as Abril was in using the half-guard defense on the inside against Rios.

Here’s a look at Alvarado trying to defend against a left hook at close quarters from the first fight.

mikealvarado412013

Alvarado is attempting to stuff a Rios left hook on the inside. Although his arms are correctly positioned in the first still (left arm acting as a barrier by the waist while the right glove and elbow are protecting the chin and right ribs respectively), notice how Alvarado has broken away from his guard slightly in the second still. In this scenario, the correct procedure for blocking a left hook in close should be either to turn your right side in and toward the blow (the opposite methodology of evading a right hand punch by rolling with it), jamming your lower right arm into the crook of your opponent’s left arm, not allowing the hook to pick up a head of steam, or by absorbing the blow on the outside of the right glove. Instead, Alvarado tried to lean away, lowered his right glove and got caught.

Let’s now take a look at a similar scenario in the first fight, but this time the threat is coming from Rios’ right hand.

mike alvarado wins over rios

Here, Rios lands a right hand as Alvarado attempts to roll with the blow. Notice that instead of rolling, Alvarado ends up bending at the waist and leaning forward. The correct way to roll with a right hand should be to lean back slightly on the back foot, rotating the hips and turning the left shoulder in so as to deflect the incoming blow. Not only has Alvarado failed to defend against the right hand here, but he’s also neutralized any chances of him throwing an effective counter.

Although the half-guard defense is good for narrowing a fighter’s profile, it can sometimes cause a fighter to stand too narrowly if they are not careful. For an example of this, you needn’t look any further than Andre Berto’s recent failed attempt at utilizing the half-guard defense effectively against Robert Guerrero. Not only did he fail to use it for its main purpose, which is to defend, but Berto also failed to mount any real offense from it because he was standing too narrowly. Standing too narrowly in the half-guard defense is especially detrimental to the effectiveness of straight or overhand punches coming from the rear hand as they are forced to travel across the body and from a greater distance.

Although it seems fashionable at the moment, the half guard defense is not for everybody. Last time, Alvarado’s defense wasn’t quite tight enough on the inside. Therefore, the decision to abandon the half-guard defense in favor of a more conventional guard was a brilliant one. This helped Alvarado in the following ways:

It gave Alvarado better protection from both right and left handed attacks in close.
It allowed Alvarado to land his overhand right (his most effective punch during the entire fight) from a more natural angle.
It provided Alvarado with the room and freedom to side-step around Rios at close quarters.
It improved his effectiveness at tying his man up on the inside, which Alvarado could not do successfully last time, but did so on more than one occasion this time.

Here are some examples of these points.

Mike Alvarado vs Brandon Rios

Here’s Alvarado using a more conventional guard (which gives him far better mobility) and stepping around Rios. As long as Rios is being forced to turn on the inside, he can’t generate maximum power on his short punches. This was a far cry from the first fight, in which Alvarado was trying to block and roll with many of Rios’ right and left hand salvos.

Here is a common position that took place throughout the night. Notice the difference in Alvarado’s infighting position in the second fight compared to the first. Here, he was much better equipped to deal with Rios’ left hand by getting slightly lower and standing more horizontal to Rios. Again, the half guard stance, although very effective at this range when used correctly, is not a one-size-fits-all defense. Alvarado was better off without it.

Here is another look at the effectiveness of Alvarado’s change of guard

Mike Alvarado

In the first fight, Rios was able to sneak his overhand right over the top of Alvarado’s lead shoulder. It essentially won the fight for Rios. Notice how the different guard gives Alvarado much better protection against the right hand. In the rematch, Rios’ right hand was often blocked by the outside of Alvarado’s left glove.

For me, the most significant thing that transpired as a result of the change in guard from Alvarado was his overhand right. Because of his narrower guard in the first fight, the effectiveness of Alvarado’s back hand was at times compromised. In the rematch, however, because of the more horizontal guard, Alvarado was better able to dip low and arc his right hand around the guard of Rios.

Mike Alvarado

Here’s Alvarado dipping low and coming over the top with his overhand right. Notice how Alvarado’s head is away from the centerline as he connects. By contrast, look at Alvarado’s body alignment in the final still. He’s in no position to even throw an overhand right, let alone connect with one.

The overhand right of Alvarado was the most prominent weapon of either man throughout the fight.

Mike Alvarado

Here’s Alvarado landing his overhand right on Rios at different stages during the fight. Notice how low Alvarado gets as he’s throwing. By changing levels and taking his head off line, Alvarado has taken a precautionary measure against a potential lead or counter from Rios. In these situations, when both fighters are punching with each other, the fighter who doesn’t move his head will usually come off second best.

Although I felt Rios abandoned his jab slightly as the rounds went by, and his head movement after punching wasn’t quite as good as it was the first time, Rios more than had his fair share of moments (namely earlier on in the fight as he was advancing behind his hard jolting jab which seriously hurt Alvarado on one occasion). For me though, Alvarado’s tactical adjustments were the deciding factor. By applying more movement this time around, Alvarado was able to distance himself slightly better, which gave him more punching room as well as time in which to set himself for that monstrous overhand right that he continued to unload.

Speaking of which, although he won’t admit to it because of the inevitability of a third contest between the two, I firmly believe that Mike Alvarado’s strategy, as was Juan Manuel Marquez’ when he met Manny Pacquiao in December, was not to try and out box Brandon Rios, but to render him unconscious. And if not for Rios’ world class chin, he would have done that. Yes, Alvarado was certainly using his legs more, but I don’t think it was really his intentions to use footwork as a way to keep turning his opponent and blindside him from a different angle. Nor was it really his intention to stick and move behind a jab. Those overhand rights of Alvarado, not to mention some of his left hooks and uppercuts, would have seriously hurt many a junior welterweight.

Earlier in the night, Terence Crawford did a tremendous job of thoroughly out-boxing Breidis Prescott. In this instance, using footwork and a jab to angle off toward the lead shoulder of his opponent, Crawford’s strategy was clearly to out-box his man and win a decision. There were very few moments during that fight where Crawford remained in front of Prescott long enough for him to set himself. Mike Alvarado, on the other hand, spent most of the night standing right in front of Brandon Rios trying to take his head off. Another look at Alvarado’s body alignment and commitment to his overhand right in the above stills should clarify what his real intentions were.

By moving side-to-side, sporadically switching between the southpaw and orthodox stance, landing occasional thudding hooks to the body which aided in disguising attacks up top, as well as evading Rios’ own hooks by either taking them on the outside of his gloves or by weaving under and out, I felt Alvarado did an excellent job of mixing up both his offensive and defensive patterns so as to remain unpredictable and disguise his real intentions.

Ultimately, Alvarado moved and threw straight punches down the middle to narrow Rios’ guard, before planting his feet and looping that huge right hand around it.

In trying to knock him out, Mike Alvarado ended up out slugging Brandon Rios across 12 truly compelling rounds in a glorious fight. I can’t wait for more of the same.

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Lee Wylie

Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

Published

12 hours ago

December 24, 2024

David A. Avila

Women’s Prizefighting Year End Review: The Best of the Best in 2024

It’s the end of the year.

Here are our awards for the best in women’s boxing. But first, a rundown on the state of the sport.

Maybe its my imagination but it seems that fewer female fights of magnitude took place in 2024 than in previous years.

A few promoters like 360 Promotions increased their involvement in women’s boxing while others such as Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions seem stagnant. They are still staging female bouts but are not signing new additions.

American-based promotion company Top Rank, actually lost 50 percent of their female fighter roster when Seniesa Estrada, the undisputed minimumweight champion, retired recently. They still have Mikaela Mayer.

A promotion company making headlines and creating sparks in the boxing world is Most Valuable Promotions led by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian. They signed Amanda Serrano and have invested in staging other female fights

This year, the top streaming company Netflix gambled on sponsoring Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, along with Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor and hit a monster home run. According to Netflix metrics an estimated 74 million viewers watched the event that took place on Nov. 16 at Arlington, Texas.

“Breaking records like this is exactly what MVP was built to do – bring the biggest, most electrifying events to fans worldwide,” said Nakisa Bidarian co-founder of MVP.

History was made in viewership and at the gate where more than 70,000 fans packed AT&T Stadium for a record-setting $17.8 million in ticket sales outside of Las Vegas. It was the grand finale moment of the year.

Here are the major contributors to women’s boxing in 2024.

Fighter of the Year: Amanda Serrano

Other candidates: Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields, Franchon Crews, Dina Thorslund, and Yesica Nery Plata.

Amanda Serrano was chosen for not only taking part in the most viewed female title fight in history, but also for willingly sacrificing the health of her eye after suffering a massive cut during her brutal war with Taylor. She could have quit, walked away with tons of money and be given the technical decision after four rounds. She was ahead on the scorecards at that moment.

Instead, Serrano took more punches, more head butts and slugged her way through 10 magnificent and brilliant rounds against the great Taylor. Fans worldwide were captivated by their performance. Many women who had never watched a female fight were mesmerized and inspired.

Serrano once again proved that she would die in the ring rather than quit. Women and men were awed by her performance and grit. It was a moment blazed in the memories of millions.

Amanda Serrano is the Fighter of the Year.

Best Fight of the Year – Amanda Serrano versus Katie Taylor 2

Their first fight that took place two years ago in Madison Square Garden was the greatest female fight I had ever witnessed. The second fight surpassed it.

When you have two of the best warriors in the world willing to showcase their talent for entertainment regardless of the outcome, it’s like rubbing two sticks of dynamite together.

Serrano jumped on Taylor immediately and for about 20 seconds it looked like the Irish fighter would not make the end of the first round. Not quite. Taylor rallied behind her stubborn determination and pulled out every tool in her possession: elbows, head butts, low blows, whatever was needed to survive, Taylor used.

It reminded me of an old world title fight in 2005 between Jose Luis Castillo a master of fighting dirty and Julio Diaz. I asked about the dirty tactics by Castillo and Diaz simply said, “It’s a fight. It’s not chess. You do what you have to do.”

Taylor did what she had to do to win and the world saw a magnificent fight.

Other candidates: Seniesa Estrada versus Yokasta Valle, Mikaela Mayer versus Sandy Ryan, and Ginny Fuchs vs Adelaida Ruiz.

KO of the Year – Lauren Price KO3 Bexcy Mateus.

Dec. 14, in Liverpool, England.

The IBO welterweight titlist lowered the boom on Bexcy Mateus sending her to the floor thrice. She ended the fight with a one-two combination that left Mateus frozen while standing along the ropes. Another left cross rocket blasted her to the ground. Devastating.

Other candidates: Claressa Shields KO of Vanessa LePage-Joanisse, Gabriela Fundora KO of Gabriela Alaniz, Dina Thorslund vs Mary Romero, Amanda Serrano KO of Stevie Morgan.

Pro’s Pro Award – Jessica Camara

Jessica Camara defeated Hyun Mi Choi in South Korea to win the WBA gold title on April 27, 2024. The match took place in Suwon where Canada’s Camara defeated Choi by split decision after 10 rounds.

Camara, who is managed by Brian Cohen, has fought numerous champions including Kali Reis, Heather Hardy and Melissa St. Vil. She has become a pro fighter that you know will be involved in a good and entertaining fight and is always in search of elite competition. She eagerly accepted the fight in South Korea against Choi. Few fighters are willing to do that.

Next up for Camara is WBC titlist Caroline Dubois set for Jan. 11, in Sheffield, England.

Electric Fighters Club

These are women who never fail to provide excitement and drama when they step in the prize ring. When you only have two-minute rounds there’s no time to run around the boxing ring.

Here are some of the fighters that take advantage of every second and they do it with skill:

Gabriela Fundora, Mizuki Hiruta, Ellie Scotney, Lauren Price, Clara Lescurat, Adelaida Ruiz, Ginny Fuchs, Mikaela Mayer, Yokasta Valle, Sandy Ryan, Chantelle Cameron, Ebanie Bridges, Tsunami Tenkai, Dina Thorslund, Evelin Bermudez, Gabriela Alaniz, Caroline Dubois, Beatriz Ferreira, and LeAnna Cruz.

Claressa Shields Movie and More

A motion picture based on Claressa Shields titled “The Fire Inside” debuts on Wednesday, Dec. 25, nationwide. Most boxing fans know that Shields has world titles in various weight divisions. But they don’t know about her childhood and how she rose to fame.

Also, Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) will be fighting Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs) for the undisputed heavyweight world championship on Sunday Feb. 2, at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. DAZN will stream the Salita Promotions fight card.

“Claressa Shields is shining a spotlight on Flint – first on the big screen and then in the ring on Sunday, February 2,” said event promoter Dmitriy Salita, president of Salita Promotions. “Claressa leads by example. She is a trailblazer and has been an advocate for equality since she was a young lady. This event promises to be one of the most significant sporting and cultural events of the year. You don’t want to miss it, either live, in person or live on DAZN.”

Shields is only 29 years old and turns 30 next March. What more can she accomplish?

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Lucas Bahdi Forged the TSS 2024 Knockout of the Year

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Lucas-Bahdi-Forged-he-RSS-2024-Knockout-of-the-Year

A Knockout of the Year doesn’t have to be a one-punch knockout, but it must arrive with the suddenness of a thunderclap on a clear day and the punch or punches must be so harsh as to obviate the need for a “10-count.” And, if rendered by an underdog, that makes the KO resonate more loudly.

Within these parameters, Lucas Bahdi’s knockout of Ashton “H2O” Sylva still jumped off the page. The thunderclap happened on July 20 in Tampa, Florida, on a show promoted by Jake Paul with Paul and the great Amanda Serrano sharing the bill against soft opponents in the featured bouts.

The 30-year-old Bahdi (16-0, 14 KOs) and the 20-year-old Sylva (11-0, 9 KOs) were both undefeated, but Bahdi was accorded scant chance of defeating Jake Paul’s house fighter.

Sylva was 18 years old and had seven pro fights under his belt, winning all inside the distance, when he signed with Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, in 2022. “We believe that Ashton has that talent, that flashiness, that style, that knockout power, that charisma to really be a massive, massive, superstar…” said the “Problem Child” when announcing that Sylva had signed with his company.

Jake Paul was so confident that his protege would accomplish big things that he matched Sylva with Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield. Currently 18-0 and ranked #2 by the WBA, Schofield was further along than Sylva in the pantheon of hot lightweight prospects. But Schofield backed out, alleging an injury, opening the door to a substitute.

Enter Lucas Bahdi who despite his eye-catching record was a virtual unknown. This would be his first outing on U.S. soil. All of his previous bouts were staged in Mexico or in Canada, mostly in his native Ontario province. “My opponent may have changed,” said Sylva who hails from Long Beach, California, “but the result will be the same, I will get the W and continue my path to greatness.”

The first five rounds were all Sylva. The Canadian had no antidote for Sylva’s speed and quickness. He was outclassed.

Then, in round six, it all came unglued for the precocious California. Out of the blue, Bahdi stiffened him with a hard right hand. Another right quickly followed, knocking Sylva unconscious. A third punch, a sweeping left, was superfluous. Jake Paul’s phenom was already out cold.

Sylva landed face-first on the canvas. He lay still as his handlers and medics rushed to his aid. It was scarifying. “May God restore him,” said ring announcer Joe Martinez as he was being stretchered out of the ring.

The good news is that Ashton “H2O” Silva will be able to resume his career. He is expected back in the ring as early as February. As for Lucas Bahdi, architect of the Knockout of the Year, he has added one more win to his ledger, winning a 10-round decision on the undercard of the Paul vs Tyson spectacle, and we will presumably be hearing a lot more about him.

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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Published

3 days ago

December 21, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.

The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.

Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.

The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.

An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.

Moses Itauma

Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.

His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.

Photo (c): Mark Robinson

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10^th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.

Bohachuk-Davis

In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.

Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.

Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.

Fisher-Allen

In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.

Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.

In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.

He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Other Bouts of Note

In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.

A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.

In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.

McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.

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