Rigoberto Alvarez (26-2, 19 KOs), brother of hot welterweight prospect Saul Alverez, claimed the vacant WBA Interim Super Welterweight championship by twelve round split decision over current interim beltholder Nobuhiro Ishida (22-6-2, 7 KOs) on Saturday night at the Palenque de la Feria in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. It was a very close fight with a seventh round knockdown supplying the margin of victory for Rigo. Scores were 114-113, 115-112 for Alvarez and 114-113 for Ishida.
It was Alvarez’ first bout in the 154lb division after campaigning most his career at super middleweight.
