Alvarado beats Rios in brutal rematch

Brandon Rios (L) of the U.S. takes a punch from compatriot Mike Alvarado during a super lightweight bout for an interim 140lb WBO title at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada March 30, 2013. The fight was a rematch from an October 13, 2012 fight which Rios won. Photo by Steve Marcus, Reuters.

MANILA, Philippines – Mike Alvarado avenged the first loss of his career, outpointing Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios after 12 brutal rounds in their rematch Saturday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, and likely paving the way for a trilogy bout.

In a Fight of the Year contender, Alvarado outboxed Rios down the stretch to gain a unanimous decision victory and earn the interim World Boxing Organization (WBO) light-welterweight belt.

The judges scored the fight 115-113, 115-113 and 114-113.

It was sweet revenge for Alvarado, who was stopped by Rios in the seventh round when they met for the first time in October 2012.

Alvarado was stunned by a jab from Rios in the second round, but turned the tables in the third round, where he punished Rios with several right hands.

Although Rios kept moving forward and tried to turn the fight into another war on the inside, Alvarado stuck to his game plan and established space from Rios.

"I moved around a lot, that was the game plan, and my mile-high training helped," Alvarado said, as quoted by RingTV. 

Alvarado's manager, Henry Delgado, told RingTV that their high altitude training made the difference.

"We knew he would need better legs this time," Delgado told RingTV.

Alvarado landed several huge right hands throughout the course of the fight, but Rios showed tremendous chin despite sustaining heavy damage.

After the fight, Rios said he wants to fight Alvarado a third time, pointing out that he gave his foe an immediate rematch. "I gave you a rematch. I deserve a third fight," Rios said.

RingTV reported that both fighters were sent to a nearby hospital for precautionary CT scans.