The Juan Manuel Marquez-Mike Alvarado showdown was finally made official Thursday, as it was announced the bout will take place May 17 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. More than pride will be on the line in the fight, as the winner will face the victor of the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley rematch April 12.
Marquez is coming into the fight off a loss to Bradley last year and will be looking to earn a shot to avenge that defeat or to face Pacquiao for a fifth time.
Marquez failed at obtaining an immediate rematch against Bradley, when he opted to face Pacquiao for a second time with a bigger paycheck involved.
Alvarado on the other hand is 1-2 in his last three bouts and but will always leave everything in the ring, giving his opponent, win or lose, a nightmare of a night.
Alvarado was beaten into submission his last time out against Ruslan Provodnikov, as he chose not to come out of his corner following the 10th round. He was knocked down several times in the bout and never really got anything of real substance going in the bout and will need to have a strong showing on May 17 to keep his name in the mix for bigger fights such as this.
The bout will be a clash of styles as Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs) is a fighter who likes to come forward, pushing the action, while Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs) is at his best when he is more defensive, relying on his excellent counter punching abilities.
The bout will be held at a catchweight of 143 pounds as Alvarado is coming up from 140 pounds and Marquez is used to fighting at the 147-pound welterweight limit.
