Alvarado Gets Past Torres / Korobov Tops Vera

By Marc Livitz at Ringside in Dallas, TX: "Mile High" Mike Alvarado showed grit and spirit Saturday evening as his road to a comeback didn’t come easily to him at The Bomb Factory in downtown Dallas. Rather, he found an eight round, split decision win over game and ready adversary in Josh Torres of Albuquerque, New Mexico would be no walkover.

The Solo Boxeo card from Top Rank Promotions gave a fun night of fights at the sold out venue. For a short time in 2013, Alvarado held the WBO World Super Lightweight championship and he never backed down thereafter from the likes of Ruslan Provodnikov, Juan Manuel Marquez and a trilogy against Brandon Rios.

The two fighters sized up the other in the opening round. Alvarado held a high guard as Torres (15-5-2, 7 KO’s) looked for a breakthrough by using his left jab. The Colorado (Alvarado) versus New Mexico affair was an early chess match with each man landing a few connects. Throughout the first four rounds, "Mile High" Mike’s experience began to take shape as he opened up with more and more meaningful shots which eventually resulted in Josh bleeding from the nose. Alvarado began to gain ground in the sixth as he had his foe from Albuquerque backed up more and more.

Torres absorbed hard shots to the head in round seven as Mike continued to try to wear him down. Despite his best efforts, the bout made its way to the last round. In the eighth, Alvarado would begin to look even more for the knockout. Torres would answer at times with punches of his own, yet they didn’t hold nearly the same weight his opponent from Denver’s did. Josh saved his absolute best flurry for the final ten seconds of the fight.

The ringside judges turned in the following scores for announcer Lupe Contreras 76-76, 78-74 and 77-75. Mike Alvarado earned his second win of 2016 after having lost his last three in a row. He improved to (36-4, 24 KO’s) with the majority decision win.

Co-Main Event Report - Korobov Pushes Past Vera

In the evening’s co-main event, Matvey "Matt" Korobov trudged his way to a hard earned, hard fought win over Brian "The Warrior" Vera, who survived three early knockdowns as well as a late one to make it to the final bell.

The first knockdown came within the first thirty seconds of the contest as Korobov (26-1, 13 KO’s) caught Vera with a right hook as the Central Texas fighter charged in. Brian quickly rose to his feet and the bout continued. Matt kept on bringing the punches and caught Vera flush once again halfway into the round with a looping overhand right to send him crashing to the floor. As before, the game Austin boxer regained his stance. Korobov was not letting up by any means. Brian tried to establish his jab and use his left glove to ascertain a preferable target on the Russian southpaw.

Two left hooks a minute into the second set up the contest’s third knockdown. Korobov tagged Vera (23-11, 14 KO’s) with a hard left which sent him to one knee on the canvas. As before, the brave veteran kept pushing forward. Matt delivered a hard left hook in the jaw to close the round.

Brian continued to take punishment from his foe from Orotukan, yet all it would illicit from him was a sly grin. Vera was showing the heart which made him a fan favorite, although it remained to be seen if the bout could go the full eight rounds. He had a few moments in round three, yet Korobov showed the evasive skills expected of a former Olympian fighter with close to three hundred amateur victories.

Vera looked to get his jab going in the fourth, yet Matt was able to answer with straight lefts directly to the face. A hard scrum ensued midway into the period which delighted the sold out crowd at the Bomb Factory. A hard left hook to the body sent Korobov into a slight stumble backward and as before, the people roared with delight. He was gaining ground in comparison to the earlier rounds, but his Russian opponent remained calm and popped his left jab. He landed his best shot of the bout in the fifth by way of a straight right which jostled Korobov’s head.

Each fighter appeared worn to the core in the sixth. Matt caught Brian flush with hard shots, yet Vera would walk right through them....and smile. The Texan had his moments, although Korobov proved elusive as usual. He tagged Vera with three to four successive head shots to commence round seven. "The Warrior" had perhaps taken his best punches but was still looking to come forward. The contest would indeed make it to the eighth and final round.

Brian complained to referee Laurence Cole on more than one occasion that he was being head butted. The fourth knockdown came from a left uppercut a minute in and per the norm, Vera shook it off. He appeared to be going for the home run punch and Korobov seemed aware of it. He blocked a few of the shots thrown. Brian would get in a few last shots as the fight came to a close. In the end, the three ringside judges would all see the contest in favor of Matt Korobov with one score of 78-70 as two read 79-69.

Further Undercard Results From Dallas

Erick DeLeon TKO 6 Carlos Varcarcel - Super Featherweight

Joey Alday, Jr. TKO 2 Justin Henderson - Jr Middleweight

Arturo Marquez TKO 4 Nubian Houston - Jr Middleweight

Alejandro Guerrero (Pro Debut) TKO 2 Luis Caballero - Jr Middleweight

Arnold Alejandro (Pro Debut) UD 4 Porfirio Arellano – Featherweight

Amon Rashidi TKO 1 Banjamin Vasquez – Welterweight

Janelson Figueroa (Pro Debut) UD 4 Anthony Hill - Welterweight

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June 25, 2016