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

Published

11 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.

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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

Ramon Cardenas Channels Micky Ward and KOs Eduardo Ramirez on ProBox

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Ramon-Cardenas-Channels-Micky-Ward-and-KOs-Eduardo-Ramirez-on-ProBox

The Wednesday night bi-monthly series of fights on the ProBox TV platform is the best deal in boxing; the livestream is free with no strings attached! Tonight’s episode was headlined by a super bantamweight match between San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas and Eduardo Ramirez who brought a caravan of rooters from his hometown in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico.

Cardenas, coached by Joel Diaz, entered the contest ranked #4 by the WBA. He was expected to handle Ramirez with little difficulty, but this was a close, tactical fight through eight frames when lightning struck in the form of a left hook to the liver from Cardenas. Ramirez went down on one knee and wasn’t able to beat the count. It was as if Cardenas summoned the ghost of Micky Ward who had a penchant for terminating fights with the same punch that arrived out of the blue.

The official time was 1:37 of round nine. Cardenas improved to 25-1 with his14th win inside the distance. Ramirez, who was stopped in the opening round by Nick “Wrecking” Ball in London in his lone previous fight outside Mexico, falls to 23-3-3.

Co-Feature

In an upset, Tijuana super welterweight Damian Sosa won a split decision over previously undefeated Marques Valle, a local area fighter who was stepping up in class in his first 10-round go. Sosa was the aggressor, repeatedly backing his taller opponent into the ropes where Valle was unable to get good leverage behind his punches.

The 25-year-old Valle, managed by the influential David McWater, was the house fighter. This was his 10^th appearance in this building. He brought a 10-0 (7) record and was hoping to emulate the success of his younger brother Dominic Valle who scored a second-round stoppage of his opponent in this ring two weeks ago, improving to 9-0. But Sosa, who brought a 24-2 record, proved to be a bridge too high.

The judges had it 97-93 and 96-94 for the Tijuana invader and a disgraceful 98-92 for the house fighter.

Also

In a fight whose abrupt ending would be echoed by the main event, 34-year-old SoCal featherweight Ronny Rios, now training in Las Vegas, returned to the ring after a 22-month hiatus and scored a fifth-round stoppage over Nicolas Polanco of the Dominican Republic.

A three-punch combo climaxed by a left hook to the liver took the breath out of Polanco who slumped to his knees and was counted out. A two-time world title challenger, Rios advanced to 34-4 (17 KOs). Polanco, 34, declined to 21-6-1. The official time was 0:54 of round five.

—

The next ProBox show (Wednesday, May 8) will have an international cast with fighters from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mongolia, and the United Kingdom. In the main event, Liverpool’s Robbie Davies Jr will make his U.S. debut against the California-based Kazakh Sergey Lipinets.

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Haney-Garcia Redux with the Focus on Harvey Dock

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Haney-Garcia-Redux-with-the-Focus-on-Harvey-Dock

Saturday’s skirmish between Ryan Garcia and WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney was a messy affair, and yet a hugely entertaining fight fused with great drama. In the aftermath, Garcia and Haney were celebrated – the former for fooling all the experts and the latter for his gallant performance in a losing effort – but there were only brickbats for the third man in the ring, referee Harvey Dock.

Devin Haney was plainly ahead heading into the seventh frame when there was a sudden turnabout when Garcia put him on the canvas with his vaunted left hook. Moments later, Dock deducted a point from Garcia for a late punch coming out of a break. The deduction forced a temporary cease-fire that gave Haney a few precious seconds to regain his faculties. Before the round was over, Haney was on the deck twice more but these were ruled slips.

The deduction, which effectively negated the knockdown, struck many as too heavy-handed as Dock hadn’t previously issued a warning for this infraction. Moreover, many thought he could have taken a point away from Haney for excessive clinching. As for Haney’s second and third trips to the canvas in round seven, they struck this reporter – watching at home – as borderline, sufficient to give referee Dock the benefit of the doubt.

In a post-fight interview, Ryan Garcia faulted the referee for denying him the satisfaction of a TKO. “At the end of the day, Harvey Dock, I think he was tripping,” said Garcia. “He could have stopped that fight.”

Those that played the rounds proposition, placing their coin on the “under,” undoubtedly felt the same way.

The internet lit up with comments assailing Dock’s competence and/or his character. Some of the ponderings were whimsical, but they were swamped by the scurrilous screeching of dolts who find a conspiracy under every rock.

Stephen A. Smith, reputedly America’s highest-paid TV sports personality, was among those that felt a need to weigh-in: “This referee is absolutely terrible….Unreal! Horrible officiating,” tweeted Stephen A whose primary area of expertise is basketball.

Harvey Dock

Dock fought as an amateur and had one professional fight, winning a four-round decision over a fellow novice on a show at a non-gaming resort in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. He says that as an amateur he was merely average, but he was better than that, a New Jersey and regional amateur champion in 1993 and 1994 while a student New Jersey’s Essex County Community College where he majored in journalism.

A passionate fan of Sugar Ray Leonard, he started officiating amateur fights in 1998 and six years later, at age 32, had his first documented action at the professional level, working low-level cards in New Jersey. The top boxing referees, to a far greater extent than the top judges, had long apprenticeships, having worked their way up from the boonies and Dock is no exception.

Per boxrec, Haney vs Garcia was Harvey Dock’s 364^th assignment in the pros and his forty-second world title fight. Some of those title fights were title in name only, they weren’t even main events, but, bit by bit, more lucrative offerings started coming his way.

On May 13, 2023, Dock worked his first fights in Nevada, a 4-rounder and then a 12-rounder on a card at the Cosmopolitan topped by the 140-pound title fight between Rolly Romero and Ismael Barroso. It was the first time that this reporter got to watch Dock in the flesh.

Ironically (in hindsight), the card would be remembered for the actions of a referee, in this case Tony Weeks who handled the main event. Barroso was winning the fight on all three cards when Weeks stepped in and waived it off in the ninth round after Romero cornered Barroso against the ropes and let loose a barrage of punches, none of which landed cleanly. Few “premature stoppages” were ever as garishly, nay ghoulishly, premature.

With all the brickbats raining down on Weeks, I felt a need to tamp down the noise by diverting attention away from Tony Weeks and toward Harvey Dock and took to the TSS Forum to share my thoughts. Referencing the 12-rounder, a robust junior welterweight affair between Batyr Akhmedov and Kenneth Sims Jr, I noted that Dock’s Las Vegas debut went smoothly. He glided effortlessly around the ring, making him inconspicuous, the mark of a good referee. (This post ran on May 15, two days after the fight.)

Folks at the Nevada State Athletic Commission were also paying attention. Dock was back in Las Vegas the following week to referee the lightweight title fight between Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko and before the year was out, he would be tabbed to referee the biggest non-heavyweight fight of the year, the July 29 match in Las Vegas between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

The Haney-Garcia fight wasn’t Harvey Dock’s best hour, I’ll concede that, but a closer look at his full body of work informs us that he is an outstanding referee.

—

While the Haney-Garcia bout was in progress, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman threw everyone a curve ball, tweeting on “X” that Devin Haney would keep his title if he lost the fight. Everyone, including the TV commentators, was under the impression that the title would become vacant in the event that Haney lost.

Sulaiman cited the precedent of Corrales-Castillo II.

FYI: The Corrales-Castillo rematch, originally scheduled for June 3, 2005 and aborted on the day prior when Castillo failed to make weight, finally came off on Oct. 8 of that year, notwithstanding the fact that Castillo failed to make weight once again, scaling three-and-a-half pounds above the lightweight limit. He knocked out Corrales in the fourth round with a left hook that Las Vegas Review-Journal boxing writer Kevin Iole, alluding to the movie “Blazing Saddles,” described as Mongo-esque (translation: the punch would have knocked out a horse). After initially insisting on a rubber match, which had scant chance of happening, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Mauricio’s late father, ruled that Corrales could keep his title.

Whether or not you agree with Mauricio Sulaiman’s rationale, the timing of his announcement was certainly awkward.

Haney’s mandatory is Spanish southpaw Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KOs), a cutie best known for his 2021 upset of Mikey Garcia. A bout between Haney and Martin has the earmarks of a dull fight.

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In a Shocker, Ryan Garcia Confounds the Experts and Upsets Devin Haney

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

David A. Avila

In-a-Shocker-Ryan-Garcia-Confounds-the-Experts-and-Upsets-Devin-Haney

Its good to be crazy. Like a fox.

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia knocked down WBC super lightweight titlist Devin Haney three times to remind everyone of his fighting abilities in winning by majority decision on Saturday.

“I just knew what I could do,” Garcia said.

Fans will not forget the lanky kid from Victorville, California now.

Garcia (25-1, 20 KOs) fooled everyone in playing crazy weeks before the fight, then showed shocking power to hand Haney (30-1, 15 KOs) his first loss as a professional at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Haney’s WBC super lightweight title was not at stake for Garcia because he weighed three pounds over the limit.

After Garcia seemingly acting out of control on social media, Haney’s guard must have slipped in the first round during the first few seconds as Garcia connected with that hellish left hook and Haney, with a look of shock in his eyes, almost went down. He barely survived the first round.

“He caught me with it,” said Haney.

During the next few rounds, Haney proceeded to advance toward Garcia seemingly fully aware of the lethal left hook. He used feints and rights to score with a busier approach as Garcia seemed cocked and ready to counter with a left hook.

In the fourth round it seemed Haney was confident he had regained control of the fight, but every time he opened up with more than a two-punch combination Garcia reminded him whose hands were faster and more dangerous.

Though Garcia seldom jabbed he seemed bent on looking for the right moment to unleash his deadly left hook. And every time the Southern California fighter opened up with a combination he scored and Haney dare not exchange.

A few times Haney smiled as if signifying he escaped.

In the seventh round Haney looked to punish Garcia’s body and instead was met with a three-punch combination included a left hook to the chin and down went Haney slumped on the ground. He managed to beat the count and as soon as Garcia came within reach Haney wrapped his arms around him with a python grip. Despite the warnings by referee Harvey Dock, the fallen fighter would not release and Garcia impatiently fired a weak punch during the break. The referee deducted a point from Garcia though he could have deducted a point from Haney for not obeying his instructions to release his hold. Haney actually went down three times in the round but only one was counted by the referee.

From that point on Haney was very cautious but still looking to win by decision.

Though Garcia kept using a shoulder-roll defense that left his body exposed, he would retaliate with three and four punch combinations that usually Haney could defend against other fighters.. But Garcia’s blazing combinations were too fast to defend.

In the 10^th round Haney looked to attack and was countered by Garcia’s right and a blinding left hook to the chin and another two blows that sent the former undisputed lightweight champion to the floor again.

It didn’t look good for Haney to survive.

Garcia walked into the 11^th round still composed and never out-of-control He dared Haney to exchange and when within striking distance Garcia unleashed another lightning combination and down went Haney again with a defeated look.

Both fighters had fought each other as amateurs six times so there were no surprises between them. But Garcia’s power and speed were superior and that was the difference in a professional fight.

In the final round both were cautious with Garcia’s combination punching proving too dangerous for Haney to open up. Garcia celebrated early as the round ended confident of victory.

After 12 rounds Garcia was seen the victor by majority decision 112-112, 114-110, 115-109.

“You really thought I was crazy,” Garcia told the interviewer and the crowd. “You guys hated on me.”

Other Bouts

Arnold Barboza (30-0) won a curious split decision victory over United Kingdom’s Sean McComb (18-2) in a 10-round super lightweight fight. McComb’s long reach and busy southpaw style gave Barboza trouble. But he managed to win the fight though the crowd was not pleased.

Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) defeated France’s Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1) by technical decision after eight rounds due to a cut on his eye from an accidental head butt. It was a very competitive super middleweight fight.

Costa Rica’s David Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked John “Scrappy Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round scrap to upset the Los Angeles based fighter. After a few close rounds Jimenez simply bullied his way inside and forced Ramirez against the ropes and unloaded his guns.

After 12 rounds two judges saw it 117-111 and 116-114 all for Jimenez.

“I’m a hard-working man from Cartago I come from nothing,” said Jimenez. “My corner told me I had to work inside.”

Charles Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) stepped on the gas early with vicious body shots and uppercuts and blasted through the resilient Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs) for several rounds. After a brutal fifth and sixth round the referee halted the one-side beating in favor of Conwell who was fighting for the first time under the Golden Boy banner.

Another winner was Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5) by decision over Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1) in a super middleweight match.

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