Former WBO junior welterweight champion and Denver native Mike Alvarado continued his comeback effort with a win against Josh Torres, a fighter almost ten years his junior, on Saturday night in Dallas.

After a public and unfortunate battle with alcohol over the past several years, the 35-year-old Alvarado has now won his last two fights to improve his record to 36-4 (24 KO) with an eight-round majority decision despite still showing signs of age and his past. At one point Alvarado had lost three straight decisions, including an embarrassing loss to Brandon Rios in a fight that could have set the stage for a Vegas fight with Timothy Bradley.

Alex Ramirez and Joe Rico of The Final Word on Mile High Sports AM 1340 and FM 104.7, longtime supporters of Alvarado, broke down the fight on Sunday morning.

“I thought that Mike needs to sharpen his skills a little more before he’s ready for some big-name competition,” Rico said. “There’s still some rust there, but there were some flurries.”

THE FINAL WORD LIVE STREAMAlvarado was thought at one point to be on a fast track to face names like Manny Pacquiao or a earn a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Is he ready for a big fight right now?” Ramirez asked. “No. But a win is a win at this point.”

Alvarado likely needs one more eight-round fight, and a strong showing in that fight, according to Ramirez and Rico, before he’s ready to take on a stronger challenger.

Catch The Final Word every Sunday from 10a-12p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from the biggest sports talk lineup in Denver.

Featured Image Credit: Ruben Cortez | Top Rank