Juan Diaz and Mike Alvarado return on Saturday night

Mar

How much do Juan Diaz and Mike Alvarado have left in the tank?

Better yet, do they have another run in them to fight for another major title belt?

Diaz and Alvarado might be on the decline of their careers but that does not mean they do not have redemption on their minds.

Both fighters have separate appointments on Saturday night at the Arena Theatre in Houston, Texas.

Diaz will fight Fernando Garcia in the 10-round main event, while Alvarado faces Saul Corral in an eight-round welterweight bout.

Both fights will be televised on UniMas, beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

It was not that long ago when Diaz and Alvarado were at the top of their game, collecting world title belts and significant purses in the process.

However, there were responsibilities and distractions out of the ring that took their attention away from boxing. Diaz completed law school and begin a budding trucking business, while Alvarado had to deal with substance and alcohol abuse, along with local authorities.

It seems as though the itch to fight was too great for the popular Mexican-American fighters.

Diaz (40-4, 19 knockouts) has not fought in over 18 months, mostly because of a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder he suffered, in preparation for a title bout.

The 32-year-old Diaz has won his last five straight bouts since his decision loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in July of 2010.

This will be Diaz’s first fight in his hometown of Houston in over six-and-a-half years.

Garcia (30-7-2, 18 KOs) has not fought in almost a year-and-a-half, when he was stopped by Sharif Bogere in the fifth round.

Alvarado (34-4, 23 KOs) has not fought since January of last year, when he was stopped by Brandon Rios between their third and fourth rounds. Alvarado took time away from the ring to deal with personal matters and the hope is the Denver-area resident can use boxing as a means to stay out of trouble.

It has worked so far but when Alvarado could fight in a meaningful bout will remain to be seen.

Including the loss to Rios, Alvarado has lost his last three bouts in a row, and four of his last five.

Corral (19-6, 10 KOs) has won his last seven straight but against soft opposition.

In the non-televised undercard, 2012 Olympic silver medalist and unbeaten middleweight Esquiva Falcao will fight Joe McCreedy in an eight-round bout.

Junior lightweight and former amateur standout Jesse Garcia from nearby Kingwood will fight Christopher Turton in a four-round bout.

Both are signed with Top Rank Promotions.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since Oct. of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.