Junior Welterweight

This Saturday night, live from the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, perhaps the best action fight possible will take place when Brandon "Bam-Bam" Rios takes on Mike "Mile High" Alvarado. It's a matchup between two undefeated fighters that's sure to be a barnburner. 

So, while we know it's going to be exciting and will definitely be a thriller, who's going to win? Here's the fight breakdown. 

When you talk about Rios, the first thing that comes to mind is that he's a wildly entertaining brawler who cares little for defense and always comes forward. While this isn't that far from the truth, Rios has shown improvement in recent years in the defensive category. 

He's very adept at fighting on the inside and getting his head into his opponent's chest and banging away with combinations to the head and body. And he's certainly not afraid to take two to give one. His basic strategy doesn't really change: He's going to put pressure on you and keep coming forward until you break. 

There's not much in terms of lateral movement with Rios. This showed when he won a highly controversial decision earlier this year against Richard Abril. While he was awarded the decision, Rios clearly lost the fight, as he was outboxed by a fighter who utilized a good jab to neutralize Rios, and held him when he got inside so he couldn't throw his trademark combinations. 

Fortunately for Rios, he probably won't have to worry about this, as Alvarado isn't much of a boxer. 

Mike Alvarado is really a similar fighter to Rios, which is what makes this fight highly exciting and a likely fight of the year candidate. Alvarado, like Rios, likes to fight on the inside, and he brings constant, relentless pressure. 

Alvarado may be the harder hitter of the two, and he'll need to get to Rios early to earn his respect, because if Rios can just walk him down, it's going to be a long night for Alvarado. 

The key for Alvarado is to frustrate Rios. If he can take Rios out of his game plan and force him to make adjustments, it could confuse him enough to make him make enough mistakes for Alvarado to pull out the victory. 

So who's going to win? 

You can really go with other guy, but I'm going to take Alvarado in the mild upset. Rios is moving up in weight, and it remains to be seen if his power will go up the scale with him. Alvarado won't be discouraged if he falls behind early, and he's not averse to scoring a late, dramatic knockout, as he showed in his fight against Breidis Prescott. 

Either way, it's going to be an awesome fight, so don't miss it. 

Follow Me On Twitter: @RalphLongo

According to ESPN.com's UK outlet, former junior welterweight champion Amir Khan and current welterweight contender Kell Brook were involved in a heated face-to-face exchange that culminated with both men assuring they would knock the other out if an all-British showdown to materialize.

The dispute over who got the better of whom when the two used to spar—while Khan was training for the Olympics and Brook was in the junior ranks—began the pointless exchange, which escalated as Khan (26-3, 18 KO) asserted that he is simply operating at a higher level than Brook (28-0, 18 KO):

"I still think I'm a league above [Brook] but if I have to step back a league to knock him out, I might have to do that. I think he's bitter about the treatment he got in sparring."

Naturally, Brook promised that he would knock Khan out in what essentially amounts to smoke-blowing between two fighters who already have their next bouts scheduled. Interestingly, Khan did say he would fight Brook if the current WBA Inter-Continental and IBF International welterweight belt-holder would fight Timothy Bradley, a bout Brook and his team have already rejected, as reported by ESPN's Dan Rafael.

All of this trash talk and hypothetical proclamations have Khan and Brook diverting their respective focuses from important tasks at hand. Khan, of course, is preparing to embark on a comeback after a two-fight losing streak, while Brook is finally stepping up to fight an IBF elimination bout.

Khan, who recently hired reigning Boxing Writers Association of American Trainer of the Year Virgil Hunter, needs to exclusively direct his focus on Carlos Molina (17-0-1, 7 KO), the career lightweight handpicked as an opponent to help rebuild Khan's confidence after the former WBA/IBF junior welterweight champion suffered a devastating fourth-round knockout loss to Danny Garcia.

While some might suggest that Khan should easily steamroll the smaller Molina, Khan's focus is paramount because the bout offers him the chance to work on the new aspects of his craft that Hunter is likely to instill during their first training camp together.

One can speculate about the areas where Hunter will help Khan improve, but if Hunter's star pupil Andre Ward is any indication, expect Khan to exhibit more poise, patience and a better adeptness at in-fighting against Molina. A measured approach, however, is most beneficial to Khan, and verbal sparring or emotional trash-talking with other fighters is not beneficial to his comeback.

Given Khan's marketability and past championship success, expect him to be in notable fight which he will defeat Molina decisively. That said, at this juncture, Khan is a former champion and fighter who has not technically won a bout since July of 2011.

Regardless of whether Brook started their war of words, Khan should adopt the reclusive mindset of a fighter on the mend, hone his craft with Hunter and be sure to make a statement against Molina.

As for Brook: Be careful what you wish for.

Khan's punch resistance is somewhat exaggerated, though it is, of course, obvious that he can be hurt and knocked out. That said, Khan has stood up to Marco Maidana's onslaught, so Brook's assurance that he could knock Khan out, given his limited resume, seems like false bravado.

Brook is a skilled and quality contender who desperately needs a genuinely meaningful and challenging fight. In Brook's last outing, he was desperately hanging on against the rugged, but limited, Carson Jones in a fight where Brook appeared to be cruising for the first six rounds.

Jones deserves full credit for pushing Brook, but the fact that Brook struggled so mightily in that fight suggests that he has his own flaws to correct before calling out a former unified champion who has been operating at the world level since 2009.

Considering that Brook has yet to fight a world-class opponent, he should withhold his criticism of Khan. Were the two ever to fight, little promotion would be required for the all-British fight to sell out in the UK and likely get HBO coverage. As of now, Brook saying he could knock Khan out reflects poorly on him when one considers that both Brook and Khan have fights scheduled.

While it seems easier to call someone out when there is no immediate threat of having to fight them, Brook's next move is not without purpose. Slated to face the obscure Hector David Saldivia (41-2, 32 KO) in an IBF elimination fight, a victory will put Brook in line to face the winner of the upcoming Randall Bailey-Devon Alexander welterweight title fight.

That said, one could argue that Brook and his team are navigating the back-door route toward a title shot. For all the criticism Khan receives, one has to acknowledge that he has been willing to fight the best. Brook has made his choice to pursue the IBF title instead of fighting Timothy Bradley; now, in order for Brook to save face, he must win that belt or risk Khan genuinely laughing at him.

Khan, however, must also be careful. An upset loss to Molina would send his career into a tailspin, and it is crucial that his latest comeback go well. A Khan-Brook fight could be interesting at some point, but at this juncture, both men need to focus on regaining some leverage; then, the war of words can rightfully resume. 

UPDATE: According to an article written by respected boxing journalist Lem Satterfield of RingTv.com, the fight will be broadcast on the Showtime network not HBO, whose contract with Khan recently expired. .

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told Lem the following:

This morning, we finalized the deal that Amir's fight against Carlos Molina is going to be on Showtime. We're finalizing the date. I should probably have that in the next 48 hours, but it will definitely be on Showtime.

Amir Khan will be facing Carlos Molina in his next bout, according a recent report by Jake Donovan of boxingscene.com. While the venue and date haven’t been solidified, the U.S. is the likely location for the fight, and December 1 and December 15 are the potential dates. It is still unknown which network will broadcast the fight, but HBO seems the likely candidate. 

The Carlos Molina that he will be fighting is not the man who was robbed of a victory over James Kirkland earlier this year, but a lightweight prospect moving up to face the much bigger Khan. 

Molina sports an impressive record of 17-0-1 with seven knockouts. The split-decision draw on his record came against Juan Montiel whose record was a mediocre 5-4-2. Montiel was stopped in last bout against lightweight Abner Cotto. 

With Khan coming off a knockout loss, it is understandable to want to give him a soft touch for his first fight back, but this fight seems a little too soft. Molina, although he has never lost, has never faced a fighter of any note and the only undefeated fighter he has ever fought was making his pro debut. 

If Khan wants to win back fans after such a devastating knockout loss he should be facing a fighter the fans have heard of, not a fighter who has been buried on undercards and only fought on Spanish language TV. 

If HBO approves this fight it will only be because of the influence that Golden Boy Promotions has at the network and not on the merit of this matchup. 

Rugged veteran fighters like DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley or Humberto Soto would have both been much better opponents. 

This will be the first fight for Khan under the tutelage of his new trainer Virgil Hunter.

During the past couple of weeks there has been a lot of speculation about who IBF junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson will be fighting next. Zab Judah is the mandatory challenger for Lamont’s IBF title, and if the two parties cannot agree to terms soon the fight will go to a purse bid on October 2. 

A purse bid is essentially an auction where promoters bid for the right to promote the fight. If the fight does go to a purse bid, Top Rank and Golden Boy would seem to be the most likely entrants. 

The two promotional companies have already locked up dates TV dates on HBO and Showtime for virtually every Saturday night for the months of November and December. 

A Peterson vs. Judah matchup would be a great addition to any of the upcoming cards on the premium cable networks, but the fight makes the most sense on the East Coast where both fighters would draw a much better crowd than they would out west. 

Peterson vs. Judah could be a huge draw in Peterson’s native Washington, D.C., where the fighter had a strong turnout for his last fight. 

A great deal of the attendance could be attributed to his opponent Amir Khan; the Washington, D.C., metro area boasts a large Pakistani population, which no doubt helped the live gate. Peterson did draw a large crowd, however, Khan’s help not withstanding.    

Judah, a native New Yorker who many boxing observers believe is on the downside, is still a draw in the New York City metro area. Besides his loss to Amir Khan in Las Vegas last year, most of Judah’s recent fights have been staged in New Jersey and New York. 

Had the two sides been able to come to an agreement back in August when the IBF ruled that Peterson would maintain his title despite testing positive for synthetic testosterone, the fight may have had a chance to land on the October 20 card to be held in Brooklyn at the soon-to-be-opened Barclays Center. 

Golden Boy Promotions may still be harboring some bitterness toward Peterson after having to cancel his rematch with Khan in May. But a unification bout between The Ring Magazine, WBC and WBA champion Danny Garcia and Peterson could be a big matchup for the first half of 2013 should both fighters retain their respective titles in their upcoming bouts. 

With Adrien Broner’s November 17 HBO date said to land in Atlantic City, N.J., a Peterson vs. Judah matchup would also make sense. The upcoming Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout card scheduled for December 1 at MSG would be another Golden Boy-promoted card to which a Peterson vs. Judah matchup would be a great addition. 

Top Rank promotes Tim Bradley, who is rumored (per Mike Coppinger of The Ring Magazine) to be making his New York debut on December 15, and is need of an opponent. A rematch with Peterson has been mentioned as a possibility. 

The Peterson camp has made it clear, though, that defending the title of the organization that stuck by him throughout his recent trials and tribulations is their priority. 

If Bradley is able to secure another opponent for his New York debut, a Peterson vs. Judah matchup would provide strong support for the live gate and could lead to a showdown between the winners of the two bouts. 

No matter where this fight lands, Peterson vs. Judah is a compelling matchup and would be a highly competitive fight that deserves to be broadcast by either HBO or Showtime.

Lucas Matthysse put the rest of the elite junior welterweights on notice Saturday night when he registered a devastating 10th-round knockout over the previously unbeaten Olusegun Ajose. 

Matthysse sports a fantastic record of 32 wins against only two highly controversial losses that came in his opponents’ backyard. The heavy-handed Argentine has a knockout percentage of over 90 and has put every man he has ever faced on the canvas. 

Last night there was certainly no controversy as Matthysse put a beating on the former Nigerian Olympian over the 10-round bout. Coming into the fight, Ajose was the No. 1 rated contender according to the WBC. 

Matthysse is still an undefeated fighter in my opinion, although his record says otherwise. Both Zab Judah and Devon Alexander were lucky to escape with gift decisions and neither is looking to get back in the ring with him anytime soon. 

The question facing Golden Boy Promotions is, who is next for Matthysse? 

Now the interim WBC champion, the most likely scenario for Matthysse would be a fight with the winner of the Danny Garcia-Erik Morales matchup scheduled for October 20. A fight with either Garcia or Morales should be easy enough to make, as all three fighters are promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. 

A fight with either man would most likely be a war in the ring. Matthysse’s style would mesh perfectly with both men and would make for an exciting all-action fight until ultimately someone is knocked out.

In my opinion, Matthysse would get the better of either Morales or Garcia. 

If the winner of that fight chooses to duck the Argentine slugger, who should be the mandatory opponent for a safer looking fight, I think the next logical choice would Marcos Maidana.   

The all-Argentine matchup would be a war for as long as it lasts, as both men are big punchers who are always looking to knock their opponent out. Personally, I think that Maidana would get stopped, as his crude style would be no match for the more skilled Matthysse. 

Another option that would have fight of the year written all over it would be a matchup with Brandon Rios. 

One huge potential roadblock in making the fight would be the ongoing cold war between rival promoters Golden Boy and Top Rank. Also, Rios would need to be victorious in his fight with Mike Alvarado next month for this matchup to get the proper attention it would deserve. A matchup between the two all-action fighters would have boxing fans salivating.  

Other possible candidate’s include the brash Adrien Broner or Juan Manuel Marquez. Both fights would be  toss-ups in my opinion and too close to call. 

A Broner-Matthysse fight makes sense because they have the same promoter, and Broner is looking to move up in weight after losing his WBO super featherweight title on the scale. Broner is also in desperate need for an opponent for his next fight after HBO canceled his October date on the network. 

A win for Broner would silence his critics and make him a legitimate pound-for-pound list candidate. 

If Matthysse were to win against the hugely popular Broner, it would elevate him to superstar status. 

Marquez is still angling to get a fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao, but if that fight doesn’t get made, a fight with Matthysse could be a real barn burner. Marquez’s counterpunching could give Matthysse serious problems, but at 39 who knows how much the Mexican icon Marquez has left in the tank. 

Hopefully, one of the aforementioned fighters will step up and fight Matthysse sooner than later.

Saturday is an action-packed day for boxing fans as several big name fighters will take to the ring in various areas of the world, but the WBC junior welterweight interim title fight between Lucas Matthysse and Olusegun Ajose has the makings to be the most exciting fight of the day.

With Vitali Klitschko defending his WBC heavyweight title against Manuel Charr, Tomasz Adamek facing Travis Walker and the most hyped bout of the day between super middleweight title holder, Andre Ward, and light heavyweight title holder, Chad Dawson, Matthyse's pure knockout power may give us the best finish of the night.

Matthysse (31-2, 29 KOs) has amassed an incredible 29 KOs in his 31 victories, making a KO almost guaranteed, especially against Ajose (30-0, 14 KOs), who is willing to mix it up in the ring.

Ajose is no stiff in the ring. He was supposed to be the mandatory challenger for newly crowned junior welterweight champ, Danny Garcia, but was skipped over. Instead, Garica will face Erik Morales on October 20.

Although the co-main event, Randall Bailey vs. Devon Alexander, was called off due to Bailey suffering a back injury, the Showtime event is still a must see for boxing fans.

With a convincing victory Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Matthysse should set himself up to land a big name fight, someone along the lines of Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson or Marcos Maidana to name a few.

With the boxing world's eyes all on Ward-Dawson tonight, Matthysse could easily be the talk of the sport if he knocks out Ajose after a busy day of boxing is complete.

Former IBF lightweight champion Paul Spadafora, aka "The Pittsburgh kid," kept his unbeaten streak intact and ran his record to a very impressive 46-0-1 with 19 knockouts in a win over Humberto Toledo Saturday night.

Spadafora looked like he hadn’t lost a step after 21 months out of the ring.

The Pittsburgh fighter won the matchup with his slick defense, ring generalship and devastating body attack. His opponent Humberto Toledo, who came into the bout sporting a record of 42 wins with only seven losses and two draws, was no pushover. Yet, Spadafora won by unanimous decision, with scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 79-73.

Spadafora’s trainer Tom Yankello thought that his fighter put on an A-plus performance in the fight. “He’s sitting down on his punches more, his reflexes are still there. There is no decline in reflexes or his speed,” an elated Yankello told B/R after the fight.

Yankello would like to see Spadafora get a chance to fight one of the big names in either the junior welterweight or welterweight divisions. “I am just hoping that these promoters out there will work with TNT Promotions. The big dogs: Golden Boy, Top Rank, they got all their superstars. Let them give Paul Spadafora a chance against one of their superstars and we will see what happens,” said a supremely confident Yankello. “I want to see who can beat this guy when he is on top of his game.”

Spadafora believes there is no need for any tune-up fights and that he’s ready for the top fighters in the world now. “The better the competition is, the better I am going to get. I am 46-0. I am ready now. That’s how I feel,” Spadafora said in an post-fight interview conducted by B/R. 

“I want to fight the best in the world, whoever the best is. Here’s how I looked at it: whoever is supposed to be an animal, I want to fight them. If it’s (Danny) Garcia (WBC and WBA Jr. welterweight champion) I want to fight him. If it’s(Paulie) Malignaggi (WBA welterweight titleholder), I want to fight him. Anybody who is supposed to be that dude, I want to fight him,” Spadafora said.

Spadafora’s promoter Roy Jones Jr. was very impressed with Spadafora’s performance. “Spaddy looked wonderful, he got me inspired. He got me to want to go home and get back to the gym Monday,” said the happy promoter to B/R.

According to Jones, the plan is to have Spadafora back in the ring again in early October and then again in late November. 

If Spadafora wants to be considered for an eventual shot at the Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes, he will need to get a couple more impressive wins under his belt. 

A good test for Spadafora could be the recently rejuvenated junior welterweight gatekeeper and former WBO titleholder DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley. With an impressive win over Corley, Spadafora could serve notice to the boxing world that he is indeed back. 

“Listen ‘Chop Chop’ is a great fighter, like I told you, anybody that they tell me to fight, I’ll fight,” said Spadafora. “If it’s ‘Chop Chop,’ if it’s Godzilla, it doesn’t matter who it is, I am ready to fight.”

Michael Walters is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

You can follow Michael Walters on twitter @MWalters202

With November 10, 2012 now confirmed as Manny Pacquiao’s next fight date, it is time for Manny to decide his next opponent. Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley are all the best options.

Thus far, while expressing mild interest in fighting Pacquiao again, Cotto has not been mouthing off and digging his teeth into that fight. He is calm about his career, and is planning on fighting in New York at Madison Square Garden sometime this year.

Juan Manuel Marquez, on the other hand, has always been Pacquiao’s top rival. He has always made it public that he wants to fight Pacquiao, and thinks that he was robbed in his previous fights against the Filipino champion. Millions of fans say that they want real, definitive closure on that fight, but have not yet seen it.

Bradley, knowing that Pacquiao has a few lucrative options, wants to be the top one of them all.

Recently, in an interview with The Desert Sun, Bradley voiced his opinion about team Pacquiao and their likely fear of facing The Desert Storm again:

To be honest with you, I think a lot of people on that side are scared. He couldn't knock me out with two peg legs. Me healthy, I'm going to beat him worse. If Manny wants to do it, let's do it. It's been a circus around here. I've been sitting around here waiting. I want the fight, but he hasn't decided yet.

I am not convinced that, based on Bradley’s last performance against Manny, anyone from camp Pacquiao should be scared of anything. Bradley performed real well, but was nowhere near intimidating. Both fought a great fight, and, in my honest opinion, Bradley fought his heart out and did better than most against Manny.

Having said that, most saw him lose to Pacquiao, despite the fact that the judges decided otherwise.

Before stating that he would beat Pacquiao worse, he would first need to beat him once. This is exactly why it all turned out to be a circus; because Bradley likes to dig a hole for himself via his unnecessary statements. It is always better to do the talking in the ring, especially when facing a very formidable and dominant champion.

I don’t expect Pacquiao to pick Bradley as his opponent for this coming November, but I do believe that Bradley will, at some point in time, get to face Pacquiao one more time.

If not, there are plenty of good fights out there for the guy who supposedly took the belts away from Pacman.

 DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley (39-19-1 23 KO’s) has been in with the very best the Jr. Welterweight division has to offer. The former WBO champion has faced off with the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, and Zab Judah to name just a few of the world class fighters he’s fought. 

Most people in boxing thought that his time as a top contender had come and gone after he suffered six straight losses. It seemed he would forever be relegated to journyman status.

DeMarcus was not discouraged by the losses and kept in shape and in the gym, so when he got the call to face rising prospect Gabriel Bracero (19-1 3 KO’s), he was ready.

DeMarcus seemed to turn back the clock that night in January of this year and the 37-year-old fighter looked more like a 27-year-old. He dropped his much younger and favored opponent three times en route to a unanimous decision win.

Next up for the Washington, D.C., native Corley was Ireland’s Paul McCloskey (23-2 12 KO’s), a slick fighter whose only loss was suffered at the hands of Amir Khan. McCloskey, who coming into the fight was the odds on favorite to win, was riding high after defeating Amir Khan conqueror Breidis Prescott.

From the onset of the match, it appeared to be Corley’s night. Although he was fighting in McCloskey’s backyard, it had no effect on the former champ who has grown accustomed to fighting on the road.

Throughout the fight, Corley was in control busting up his opponent with right hooks and overhand lefts. In the 10th round, without having been dropped, the fight was stopped as McCloskey was out on his feet.

Now it seems the man who promoters were eager to have their young prospects fight can’t find an opponent.

When fellow Washingtonian and IBF titleholder Lamont Peterson failed his pre-fight drug screen prior to his Amir Khan rematch, Corley volunteered his services but was denied. “I ain’t got no problems with going right (back) to the gym tomorrow if they want to do the fight,” Corley told Boxingtalk.com in May.

Soon after he offered to step in to fight Karim Mayfield, who was in need of an opponent for an August 17th date on ESPN. “I am hearing and reading that this Mayfield guy is looking for an opponent, “ Corely said in a July press release from his promoter Dibella Entertainment. “If he wants the fight, let’s make it happen. It’s that simple.” Mayfield apparently did not want the fight and pulled out of the card with an injury.

There seems to be a logjam of talent in the Jr. Welterweight division with everyone in the top 10 positioning themselves for a title shot. It may be awhile before Corley gets his chance at another championship.

It also may be long time before another promoter is willing to put their prospect in with the seemingly resurrected Corley. 

You can follow Michael Walters on Twitter @MWalters202