Rene Alvarado vs Vildan Minasov Preview September 8th, 2023
Former WBA World Junior Lightweight Champion Rene Alvarado of Nicaragua heads to Russia for his next fight as he takes on Vildan Minasov this Friday, September 8th, in a 10-round lightweight clash. Alvarado last fought in March when he stopped Ricardo Cortez in the third round to snap a five-fight losing streak, Minasov last boxed in May when he halted Arslan Magomedov in the third round.
Alvarado vs Minasov Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Rene Alvarado +400
- Vildan Minasov -500
My Pick
The 34-year-old Alvarado climbs through the ring ropes with a record of 33-13 with 22 Ko’s and lost five consecutive fights by unanimous decisions before stopping Cortez. He lost his WBA World Title in his first defence in January, 2021 by scores of 113-112 across the board to Roger Gutierrez even though he dropped him twice in the third round and once in the final stanza. Gutierrez also beat him in a rematch by a close unanimous decision seven months later. The two first met in 2017 when Alvarado won via a seventh-round TKO after Gutierrez suffered a cut eye and his corner threw the towel in.
Alvarado has boxed 291 rounds since turning pro in 2008 and has pretty good power as 66.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. He stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 72-inch reach and had won eight fights in a row with five of them coming by stoppage before losing his crown to Gutierrez. Before that, he had lost six of his previous nine contests so is quite a streaky fighter. Alvarado’s been stopped just once in pro career in 13 defeats though so has a solid chin.
The only man who stopped him was Andrew Cancio in the eighth round of their first meeting in 2015. Alvarado then stopped Cancio after seven rounds in their 2019 rematch to win the WBA belt. His best wins have been against Cancio, Jayson Velez, Denis Shafikov and Juan Pablo Sanchez. He’s also lost decisions to Yuriorkis Gamboa, Orlando Rizo, Jezreel Corrales, Rocky Juarez, Eric Hunter, Joseph Diaz, Manuel Avila, Lamont Roach, William Zepeda and Mark Uranov.
Before winning the title, Alvarado was basically considered a solid journeyman who had taken on some good opponents and had been competitive against them. He didn’t have much luck in the past when stepping up in class other than against Shafikov. Since turning pro he’s also won the WBC Silver Featherweight and WBC International Silver Super Featherweight Crowns.
As for Minasov, he’s 26 years old and climbs into the ring with a perfect mark of 11-1 with 7 Ko’s and has 51 rounds of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2018 following his amateur career. He also carries pretty good power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 63.6 per cent and has stopped four of his last five opponents. He measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with an unlisted reach, so is an inch taller than Alvarado.
The lone loss on Minasov’s record came at the hands of Bakhodur Usmonov by way of a six-round majority decision after Minasov had a point deducted for spitting out his mouthguard. In 2020, he captured the vacant WBC Asian Silver Lightweight Title by stopping Ivan Skripachev in the fourth round. He’s never fought as a pro outside of Russia or been more than eight rounds and his most recognizable opponent was former world champion Moses Paulus, who he beat by an eight-round unanimous decision last November after dropping him in the fourth round.
Prediction…
Minasov is taking a bug step up in class this weekend as Alvarado has tone of experience and is a former world champion. Regardless of his record Alvarado is a handful for anybody out there. Minasov is fighting at home in Russia though and is just 26 years old. Alvarado has lost five of his last six fights though so i think the best bet here is to go with Minasov.
Minasov is eight years younger than Alvarado and fighting at home in Russia.
Play: Minasov -500 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Rene Alvarado betting • Vildan Minasov betting