Mike Alvarado is his own worst enemy. He is more dangerous to himself than anyone he will ever face in the ring, including Brandon Rios, who he is still set to fight on January 24th in Broomfield, CO despite his continued legal problems. According to the Denver Post, Alvarado was arrested in the early hours Saturday morning at 4:15 a.m. in Downtown Denver. Denver police say they found a handgun in the glove box of his Hummer during a traffic stop. Alvarado was reportedly the passenger of the vehicle which had expired registration (really Mike! In your own vehicle?). Denver PD is very aware of Alvarado and his propensity for run-ins with the law and continued criminal behavior. It is such careless, irresponsible, and inexcusable behavior that has historically been an issue with him since his high school wrestling days. In talking to those that have closely followed his career, it was the same back then. When the Colorado State Wrestling Tournament would come around (Alvarado being a top ranked wrestler) people would be like, “Where is Mike Alvarado?” Similar to now, he was his own worst enemy; threatening, even ruining great opportunities in his life.
Fast forward to this past weekend. At the time of the traffic stop for the current arrest, police found he already had a felony warrant out of Adams County, CO for a similar weapon charge from just over a year ago right around the time he fought Ruslan Provodnikov in his hometown. That case is yet to be resolved. Unfortunately and very troublesome is that he already has a significant criminal history. Now, with two more felony convictions pending, he is likely facing significant time in jail or prison unless he has a crafty attorney and a soft district attorney willing to offer a plea agreement of lesser charges and lesser penalty such as probation which would allow him to keep fighting.
No matter what happens, his repetition of very bad choices goes much deeper than what trainer Henry Delgado indicated as just being “with the wrong people in the wrong places sometimes.” He was already facing a very small window in what is left of his career which in the last two to three years has been financially kind to him. That window has just gotten smaller.
Although his trainer and Top Rank Promotions indicate the fight is still on given Alvarado posted a $41,500 bond and is currently able to train; should he stay out of trouble over the next few weeks leading up to the fight, it is very unclear as to what is in store for his life and career after January 24, 2015. The likelihood is that these cases will be tied up in court for quite some time and the majority of the next year. Subsequently, he will probably get another decent fight option from Top Rank during that time. A good friend of mine and avid boxing fan said it best; “Alvarado has been the same person since high school. He hasn’t changed. People’s expectations of him have changed but that’s about it!”
Fans and those closest to him can only hope that he will get it together someday. Either way, his troubles and disappointment continue; although sadly enough, it almost brings more interest and intrigue to the fight for HBO and fans watching at the 1st Bank Event Center in Broomfield, CO just two weeks from now.