Denver’s Mike Alvarado, an undefeated contender in the junior welterweight boxing division, will likely face a hostile crowd when he fights Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi on June 27 in Atlantic City, N.J.
The fight was made official by promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank.
Alvarado (26-0, 18 knockouts) has shot up the world rankings in the past 18 months. He is ranked as high as No. 7 by the WBO after coming off a unanimous, eight-round decision over Oakland’s Juaquin Gallardo on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight in Las Vegas this month.
Malignaggi (26-2, five KOs), long a favorite of New York and New Jersey fight fans, is a former IBF junior welterweight world champion, a belt he held for 17 months. His two losses came at the hands of Hatton last November and a 12-round decision to Miguel Cotton in June 2006.
Alvarado has won eight of his past 10 fights by knockout, including a vicious 10th-round knockout of Emmanuel Clottey in Denver on March 7.
But Malignaggi, who last earned an unanimous decision victory over Christopher Fernandez on April 25, figures to be Alvarado’s toughest test to date.
Former Buff leads qualifiers.
Broomfield’s Pat Grady, who just completed his senior season on the University of Colorado men’s golf team, and Highlands Ranch’s Jason Preeo shared medalist honors after each shot a 6-under-par 66 to win a U.S. Open local qualifier Monday at Lone Tree Golf Club.
Grady and Preeo led a group of five who qualified for the sectional qualifying round, before the U.S. Open starts June 18 at Bethpage in Farmingdale, N.Y. Caine Fitzgerald of Aurora (67), amateur Jacob Lestishen of Lone Tree (67) and Air Force Academy junior Tom Whitney (68) also qualified.
Whitney chipped in on a second playoff hole for the final spot, topping CU’s Tom Gempel, who is the first alternate.
