Interview with Eddie Alvarez

Bodog's Former Welterweight Champ Wants His Belt Back

July 14, 2007

Sovereign Bank Arena

Trenton, New Jersey

 

 

Philadelphia has long been a fertile breeding ground for some of the world's best fighters, both real and

fictional - boxers like "Smokin" Joe Frazier and Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, not to mention

Sly Stallone's Rocky Balboa.

 

These days, the "City of Brotherly Love" is home to some of America's toughest mixed martial arts fighters,

like Eddie Alvarez.

 

With movie-star looks and lightning fast hooks, the 23-year-old product of Philadelphia's Fight Factory is one

of the most marketable young fighters on the MMA scene.

 

Eddie Alvarez

"I think I was born to fight," says Alvarez. "I grew up in Kensington,

which is a working class neighborhood in Philly known for fighting, so it's

been around me my whole life." A two-time All-American wrestler in high

school, Alvarez wrestled with life after graduation.

 

"Trouble seemed to find me, and I wound up getting into fights on the

street, so I decided to take it a little more seriously and really learn how

to fight.  I went to a class at Steven Haigh's Fight Factory and got

hooked on MMA."

 

Alvarez began his pro career in December, 2003 with a first round KO over Anthony Ladonna in Ring of

Combat 5 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

 

"I'd fought on the street so many times I was very composed in the ring," he recalls. "I just felt comfortable,

like I was in there doing what I was supposed to be doing."

 

Alvarez continued to vanquish his opponents with devastating punching power, amassing a record of 6-0 with

five KO's, before finding himself in Atlantic City for a Mixed Fighting Championship event in June, 2006.

 

With Pride heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko looking on, Alvarez faced off against veteran fighter

Derrick Noble for the MFC welterweight title belt.

 

"I had about seven hundred fans that came to see me fight," remembers Alvarez. "I didn't want to disappoint

them, so I came out swinging."

 

The fight lasted exactly 61 seconds, with Alvarez pummeling Noble into his corner to earn the title by

knockout.

 

"Being able to knockout a guy who had only been knocked out once in 25 fights made people sit up and

really take notice," says Alvarez.

 

He would go on to defend his title in Tokyo, Japan, where he knocked out Hidenobu Koike a minute and a

half into the 1st round.

 

Alvarez then challenged the iron-jawed Aaron Riley in December of `06 for the vacant Bodog Fight

Welterweight Title at Bodog Fight: USA vs. Russia in Vancouver, Canada. Riley lasted 65 seconds before

succumbing to the powerful strikes of Alvarez, who despite his impressive knockout record and chiseled

physique, says he doesn't focus much on strength training.

 

"I believe in speed more than anything, which is why I drifted away from my weight lifting at the beginning of

my fight career and began thinking about speed more than strength. With four-once gloves, in MMA it's not

who hits the hardest. It's who gets there first that usually wins."

 

Alvarez landed early and often against his next opponent, Scott Henze, whose corner mercifully threw in the

towel at 3:56 of round one at Bodog Fight: Costa Rica Combat.

 

With the Philly brawler improving his record to 10-0, Alvarez traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia for Bodog

Fight: Clash of the Nations, where he was matched up against Nick "The Goat" Thompson - whose

nickname refers to an animal notorious for losing consciousness when frightened.

 

Easy pickings for the undefeated Alvarez, right? Not quite.

 

Using his reach advantage to keep Alvarez at bay, the larger Thompson floored the champ with a left hand

late in the second round to become Bodog Fight's new welterweight champion.

 

Now, the former undefeated champ wants his title back.

 

Fortunately for the Philly fighter, the road back starts in his own back yard, with Bodog Fight: Eddie Alvarez

vs. Matt Lee set to take place in nearby Trenton, New Jersey on Saturday, July 14th.

 

With thousands of his friends and fans in attendance, Alvarez plans to prove the heart of a champion doesn't

stop beating without a belt. He's also got a score to settle with Boston's Matt Lee (9-5-1).

 

"He won a decision over my trainer (Stephen Haigh) last year," says Alvarez. "So, on behalf of the Fight

Factory, I'm gonna pay him back."

 

In addition to the headline fight between Alvarez and Lee, the event card also features two championship

bouts - a middleweight title fight between Trevor Prangley and Yuki Kondo, and a women's 135-pound

championship bout between New Jersey's Tara LaRosa and New York's Laura D'Auguste.

Other bouts include:

Yves Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal

Chael Sonnen vs. Amar Suloev

Yoshiki Takahashi vs. Mark Burch

Roman Zentsov vs. Branded Lee Hinkle

Nick Agallar vs. James "Binky" Jones

David Love vs. Eben Oroz

Dan Hawley vs. Blair Tugman
 

Tickets available through www.comcasttix.com.

 

For more information, visit www.BodogFight.com.

 

About Bodog Fight

Since its inception in 2006, Bodog Fight has become one of the heavy-hitters in the world of mixed martial

arts. Created by billionaire entertainment mogul and longtime MMA enthusiast, Calvin Ayre, Bodog Fight

offers viewers a unique combination of action and allure from exotic locations throughout the world. Bodog

Fight can be viewed in more than 90 million homes across the United States on ION Television and around

the world on Bodog.TV. Some of Bodog Television's other programs include: a poker lifestyle and reality

show, Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker I and II; and a million-dollar indie band search competition, Bodog Battle

(BodogBattle.com). For more information, contact Media Relations at 1-866-892-3371, or press@bodog.tv.

BODOG is a registered trademark of Bodog Entertainment Group.
 

 

- from BodogFight with a little editing from us (color, etc...)

 

(7/3/07)