Boxing: Marquez dominates Alvarado, now the mandatory challenger of Pacquiao's world title

Juan Manuel Marquez has proved yet again why he is one the best fighters of this generation, dominating and beating the tough and game Mike Alvarado by unanimous decision, 117-109, 117-109 and 119-108, over 12 rounds Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

The win gave Marquez the WBO International Welterweight title.

Marquez started the fight with jabs in round one. Alvarado, for his part, was very cautious, seemingly waiting for a chance to counter, but it was Marquez who landed cleaner shots with his right hand.

Alvarado started to throw more punches in round two but Marquez was still the busier fighter by throwing more combinations. Alvarado managed to land a hard left hook to the body in the last 10 seconds of the round.

Alvarado started to be more aggressive in round three, throwing looping rights, but was terribly missing. Marquez simply boxed the way he did in the first two rounds, landing repeated right straights before the round ended.

Marquez boxed and moved from the opening bell of round four, making Alvarado seem lost and very ineffective.

Alvarado was back to his vintage form in round fivr as he pressed and banged on the inside as soon as he closed the distance. Marquez took advantage of his aggression, though, heavily outlanding Alvarado when he leaves himself open after an attack.

Marquez stunned with a three-punch counter in round six after slipping a lousy jab from Alvarado. Marquez jabbed and moved before both fighters traded hard shots in the last 10 seconds.

Marquez was still jabbing, boxing and counter-punching effectively in round seven. Alvarado only came alive after getting tagged with hard shots by Marquez.

Alvarado was falling terribly behind in round eight, getting outlanded at will and even getting dropped by a Marquez right cross in the dying seconds of the round.

Alvarado quickly responded from the previous round's knockdown by sending Marquez to the canvass with a right hand in round nine. Marquez rose up and beat the count, punishing Alvarado with clean and hard combinations until the round ended.

Both fighters took a breather in round 10. Marquez stole the round by landing hard combinations on Alvarado that put him on his bike in the last 30 seconds.

Alvarado was told by his corner that he needed a knockout to win, but still didn't put pressure on Marquez in round 11. Marquez handily moved and outboxed Alvarado, before nearly getting dropped by a combination.

Alvarado switched his stance to southpaw for a number of times in round 12, looking like he was trying to guard the cut below his left eye. Marquez boxed and countered the puzzled Alvarado until the round ended.

The 40-year-old Marquez improved his record to 56-7-1, 40 KOs while Alvarado dropped to 34-3, 23 KOs. The victory also placed Marquez as the mandatory challenger of Pacquiao's WBO world welterweight title, but the victor simply answered "I don't know at the moment" when asked if he wants a fifth Pacquiao showdown during a post-fight interview. - RAF, GMA News