Rios vs. Alvarado matchup expected to be all-out war

• Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado have never lost in the ring
• Rios lost his lightweight title on the scales when he failed to make weight in his last two fights
• Nonito Donaire's only loss came in his second professional fight nearly 12 years ago

Saturday night's matchup between Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado should be the kind of all-offense war you would expect from a guy known as "Bam Bam."

In reality, it's what Brandon Rios desperately hopes for: a train wreck disguised as a boxing match. Those who view the Sweet Science as blood and guts and dramatic knockouts will consider it must-see TV.

When "Bam Bam" Rios takes on "Mile High" Alvarado in a 12-round battle of unbeaten junior welterweight sluggers under the stars at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., (HBO, 10 ET), well, you can unload all the cliches.

Toe-to-toe slugfest, bangers, coming forward, dynamite, heavy hands and iron chins. It all fits. Rios and to a lesser extent, Alvarado, are fighters whose idea of defense is "hit 'em first and hit 'em harder," who have no problem taking a punch or two to dish out two or three.

Let's leave it to Rios (30-0-1, 21 KOs) to describe, as only the hard-hitting, hard-headed Kansan can, what he hopes for:

"The fight I see is we both come forward and I strike him and it is a bloody massacre of a fight. It's going to be one of those fights that people are going to be on their feet the whole time. I told (trainer) Robert (Garcia) since I started boxing I have been waiting for that type of fight and I hope this is that fight."

Rios, 26, a former lightweight champion who couldn't make weight in his last two fights and surrendered his 135-pound belt not in the ring but on the scales before moving up to 140, wasn't done.

"I am ready to take a punch from a heavyweight pounder. I don't do it just to do it. I love my job. I love to fight. I love hitting people in the face and I love getting hit," he said during a recent conference call. "If a heavyweight punches I will still love it and still have a smile on my face. There is no difference from a lightweight to a junior welterweight to a welterweight to a heavyweight."

Alvarado (33-0, 23 KOs) knows a thing or two about hitting, too. His bloody battle against Breidis Prescott last November, on the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez III undercard, was a thing of beauty. He stayed upright after being bloodied and battered and finally put his opponent on the canvas.

Prescott appeared to have beaten Alvarado, who had to wipe the blood away from his eyes to see his opponent. But the Denver native reached down for something extra and stopped his Argentine opponent in the 10th and final round.

While Alvarado is certainly capable of standing toe-to-toe and exchanging with Rios, he also takes pride in his boxing skills and has hinted, along with his trainer Henry Delgado, that he might have a few surprises in store for Rios.

"The fight (against Prescott) never took a toll on me," Alvarado says. "It was a good war and has only made me that much stronger. I have the skills and I am ready to do this.

"My boxing skills are underrated. I am going to keep (Rios) at bay. He is going to be right there in front of me so I can do anything I want with him. I can fight his fight. I can bang with him. I can do whatever I want with him. It will be my fight. I will control the pace."

Then he said what most believe: "In my heart I know this fight is going to go toe-to-toe."

But Delgado is not so sure.

"I think Mike makes the fights tougher than they are. He is a gladiator . . . a warrior," Delgado says. "And he has a lot of skills that we haven't even seen yet.

"For this fight, we have a different kind of game plan going. We are going to try and stick to our game plan but like I said, the warrior always comes out. He's going to be in position to dominate the whole fight. We have some surprises coming."

If Rios-Alvarado doesn't provide enough excitement to sate the appetites of the expected crowd of about 7,000 at the HDC and the HBO audience, one of the sport's top knockout artists, Nonito Donaire, "The Filipino Flash," will put his IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles and 29-1 (18 KOs) record on the line against Japan's 36-year-old Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KOs) in the co-feature.

While Donaire is known for his heavy hands (there's that cliche again), he has gone the distance in his three previous fights, after his stunning second-round KO against Fernando Montiel in 2011. And he has not exactly resembled the power puncher boxing fans have come to know and expect.

"The last three fights were experimental," Donaire said. "This fight we are going back to boxing and being unexpected. We relied on the power in the last three fights, but this fight we will come out throwing lots of punches."

Donaire, who is known to take great care over what he puts into his body and may be in the only fighter in the world who is on a voluntary 24/7, 365-day random drug-testing program, works with former BALCO boss Victor Conte, who has taken a 180-degree turn from his infamous steroid connection with top athletes such as Barry Bonds. Conte works with Donaire on a nutrition and training program, and Donaire says he trusts the man explicitly. He has no problem with the random testing.

"A couple of days ago they showed up at my door and took four tubes of blood – the last time they only took two," Donaire says about the random testing. "You never know when they'll come in. I really believe in it. It's good for boxing – it's random so you really can't hide anything at all."

Nishioka, meanwhile, has not lost in eight years and 16 fights. But the southpaw has not fought in more than a year, since his unanimous decision against Rafael Marquez for the WBC super welterweight title last October.

Garcia, who also trains Donaire, knows what his fighter is facing.

"Nishioka is a great fighter and the best in the division. He is ranked as the best super bantamweight in the world," Garcia says. "It's going to be a really tough fight, but Nonito has been training really hard and he has to come out and perform and do what he's been doing so far."

And that's just win, baby. Donaire has not lost since his second professional fight more than 11 years ago. The Filipino-born, California-raised fighter is supremely confident.

"Nishioka has power and he knows how to set it up," Donaire says. "He's a veteran and knows the tricks that can frustrate a fighter — that's what we don't want to fall into.

"We have a great game plan and we are ready for whatever it is."