Roger Gutierrez annihilates Rene Alvarado in the Ryan Garcia’s night
2 min read
Last January 2, it was not only the night of Ryan Garcia. Before the fight of the new WBC “interim” lightweight champion against Luke Campbell, the star of the Venezuelan boxer Roger Gutierrez shines as well in the sky of Dallas.
It has been an exciting battle with three knockdowns that one between Roger Gutierrez (25-3-1, 20 KOs) and the Nicaraguan Rene Alvarado (32-9, 21 KOs) valid for the WBA super feather title held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas last Saturday. All three judges gave identical cards with a 113-112 in favor of Gutierrez, who won the bout by a measure despite the knockdowns in his favor. The Venezuelan Gutierrez won his first world belt at the first attempt, avenging the defeat suffered in the first bout against Alvarado in July 2017, when Gutierrez was defeated by KO in the seventh round. Rene Alvarado had won the WBA super featherweight title on November 23, 2019, when he forced Andrew Cancio to retire in the 7th round.
Alvarado’s reign as world champion is therefore shattered at the first defense. The Nicaraguan boxer suffers since the first round the long reach of his opponent, who sets the pace from middle distance using a high number of very well loaded blows. The first three rounds are then dominated by Roger Gutierrez, who in the first one almost knockdown Alvarado, and then thanks to an always increasing rhythm in the third round unleashes all his fury knocking down his opponent twice in about a minute.
After the lightning and promising start, Gutierrez commits several defensive ingenuities that allow Alvarado to gain space in the ring and to score several shots that begin to mark the Venezuelan boxer’s left eye. The Nicaraguan’s rhythm is decidedly pressing, and he finds the distance more congenial to him and imposes himself in the central part of the match. However, in order to annul the lengthening of his opponent, Alvarado is forced to shorten the distance, often exposing himself to Gutierrez’s blows, always very powerful. The match is definitely in the balance until the last round in which Gutierrez takes advantage of a defensive mistake and punishes his opponent with a devastating left hook to the tip of the chin that bends his legs and forces him to the count once again. Despite the blow, Alvarado manages to get up and continue until the last bell rings.
Roger Gutierrez has therefore achieved the first upset of 2021, becoming WBA “regular” super featherweight champion against the predictions of insiders and bookmakers. At the end of the fight, the new world champion remembered and dedicated the victory to his recently deceased mother in an heartfelt statement.
