@ thatkick - yes Ishida is the guy who got Kirkland
@ McAllister - He did much better from the outside. I wanted to call an early one for Rios but with the toughness of the last one I gave Alvarado some more credit
KevinMcAllister - Yeah Alvarado actually looked solid early on when he kept the range. He seemed to fade and let Rios walk him down though by the mid rounds.
Rios quote from earlier this week: "Once Alvarado gets hit, he'll fight".
Slapsymaxi - Wasn't Ishida 'developmental talent' heading into the Kirkland fight?
Has he looked good in subsequent fights?
Max
He was supposed to be a easy win for Kirkland. Howver the tables were turned and normally feather fisted Ishida Ko'd Kirkland in the first. Promoters have since used Ishida as a stepping stone once again. Expect this time it worked, Paul Williams and Pirog picked up fairly routines Dec against him. GGG will beat what is left out of his body and name.
Agreed with above. Ishida did have a couple recent stoppages but the Williams and Pirog losses did not look good. Many believe this will be the last time a named opponent is possible for Ishida if he loses here. I think he's also up around 37 years old now.