It took Rios almost nine months to come to his senses before taking his comeback fight against Diego Chavez in August 2014 following his loss to Pacquiao in Macau, China.
Rios failed to please fight fans with his average performance against the tough Diego Chavez who nearly handed him his third straight loss if not for the disqualification meted by referee Vic Drakulich on Chavez in the ninth for throwing an elbow to the face after a series of warnings from previous rounds.
Now Rios has trained hard for his rubber match against Alvarado in his effort to get back to his glory days when he went unbeaten in 31 pro fights.
Rios must show fight fans that he has fully recovered from his two straight losses and an unpopular win over Chavez since his last winning fight against Mike Alvarado during their first encounter in 2012.
RiosRios (32-2-1, 23 KOs) should look impressive on Saturday in a rubber match against Alvarado (34-3-0,23 KOs) or his career will suffer another snag that could lead to a probable early retirement.
“I am ready for anything Mike Alvarado brings to the table. I know all his tricks. He can’t surprise me this time. For both of us it’s do-or-die. If I lose this fight I may just call it a day as a fighter. I’ve been at this a long time,” said Rios.
But arch rival Mike Alvarado is equally hopeful that he will be victorious on Saturday despite training distractions that he is experiencing following his recent encounter with the police for unauthorized use of firearm in which he was required to post substantial amount for his provisional liberty.
Alvarado has served jail terms from past offenses and the most recent infraction could put him back in jail for a longer period.
But the Denver brawler said he isn’t distracted by recent events and assured fans that he is focused on his rubber match against Rios.
“There have been no distractions,” Alvarado said this week. “I am used to something always going wrong in camp. When it is going too good and perfect, I know something bad is going to happen because that’s the way it has always been.
“I have been dealing with adversity my whole life,” he added.
Despite Alvarado’s denial that he isn’t distracted, fight fans believe otherwise and it will show in his performance over Rios this Saturday.
But one situation going in his favor is the fact that he is fighting in his own hometown and obviously he will get the support of the home crowd.
Still, Rios is seen to be far more determined to bounce back and in a make or break fight that involves his own future in the sport, chances are he will prevail over Alvarado this Saturday in Colorado.