René Alvarado and Roger Gutiérrez will feature the first title fight of the year this Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The Nicaraguan will defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Featherweight belt against the Venezuelan and on Thursday they held their last press conference before their fight.

Alvarado and Gutierrez will meet in a rematch after their fight in 2017, with a victory for the Central American due to the withdrawal of the South American. The “Gemelo” will once again meet the same opponent, this time in the first defense of his belt.

“First of all, I am very proud to be here. The first fight (against Gutiérrez) I think was a very good fight and it favored me. We have the same goal in this second one, to be world champions in 2021 and we are very happy and grateful to be part of this great event,” said Alvarado.

For his part, Gutiérrez was asked about his great victory against the prospect Rocky Hernández last year and how it had influenced his career in the short term.

“It was a fight that opened the door to great things, as you can see, to a world title fight, and for me it was a fight like any other, all fights are difficult and exciting when you win them. I am thankful to God for this opportunity and I have to take advantage of it because these are opportunities that sometimes come up only once in the life of a boxer”, assured the native of the Zulia state, in Venezuela.

While the rest of the world celebrates the arrival of the new year, Alvarado and Gutiérrez will be preparing themselves for their weigh-in ceremony this Friday, January 1st. Both must hit the scales at 130 pounds to be able to fight.

Alvarado has a record of 32 wins, 8 losses, and 21 KOs. Gutiérrez, on the other hand, has a record of 24 wins, 3 setbacks, 1 draw, and 20 KOs.