Rios vs Alvarado: Mike Alvarado says Rios is tailor-made for him

Mike Alvarado faces Brandon Rios on October 13, live on HBO as the co-feature to the Donaire vs Nishioka main event. It's a fight that already has potential Fight of the Year contender written all over it, and is one of the most highly-anticipated bouts of the year for diehard fans.

Alvarado discussed the fight with Brandon Spano of The Brandon Spano Show on Wednesday.

On the matchup:

"He stands there and he fights the way I love to fight. I love to just fight, even if I don't have to, but I'm going to make this fight easier this time around. I'm gonna step around, I'm gonna make it frustrating for him. If we have to fight in the middle of the ring, we will. I'm the stronger man. I hit harder, I'm bigger, I'm more talented than him, stronger, faster, everything. He's tailor-made for me. I just hope he's preparing 100%. I hope he's ready for this."

On making weight:

"It's not really a heavy task. It's not very easy, either. The science of it, I've learned how to calculate my calories and break it down gradually. My strength conditioning, my nutrition, is something I've always been good with. My weight's good right now. Everything's on schedule. I'm comfortable where I'm at. I've learned how to maintain and cut my weight the right way. I'm comfortable, totally."

On his approach to fighting Rios:

"I'm gonna go in there with my game plan. I'm always ready to go the distance. I train for 15, 20 rounds, so the later rounds are not an issue for me. Stepping right to him, is what I'm gonna do. My game plan is just to get him and skyrocket his heart rate as quick as I possibly can, and see if he can maintain that pace throughout the whole fight. I'm gonna jump right on him and make him fight the whole time. There's not gonna be a second where he ain't gonna having to worry about a situation that he's gonna have to get himself out of."

On Rios' weaknesses:

"I see a lot of weaknesses. I've already seen a lot of things that he needs to work on. Working on our boxing skills is just gonna open them up. He's gonna throw, he's gonna be right there. He thinks I'm gonna come right at him. I just might sit there and fight with him, because I might just edge him on his game plan. I'm gonna step around, I'm gonna use my footwork, my speed. The world still hasn't seen me at my best with my boxing game. My skills are yet to show even more."

On what's next with a win over Rios:

"We pretty much know, this is a title eliminator fight. I'm the No. 1 ranked guy in the WBO. So there has to be something big, no matter what, after this fight. We told them, 'We're ready for the best. We're ready for whoever we have to show that we're on that level as the best in the world.' And this fight should catapult me to that level. I'm ready to do this, get this fight out of the way, and prove that I belong up there with Pacquiao, Marquez."

On criticism that he gets hit too much:

"It's boxing, man! ... Yeah, I've gotten hit. I get hit. It's because most of the time, I like to fight. I could make the fights boring, and step around, and box, and use my jab, and stay outside more often, but I don't like a boring fight like that. I like to be in the mix of exchanges. I like to be in the mix of close fights. I just like to entertain and show that I'm a true fighter, and not just in there to get by a fight. I wanna close the show, and close the deal, and get them out of there as soon as I can. Sometimes fights don't go the way you want them, but it's just how it is."