Terms were finally agreed upon for an HBO-televised bout against Ruslan Provodnikov on Oct. 19, and WBO junior welterweight titleholder Mike Alvarado celebrated by running 8.5 miles in the mountains of Colorado.

“Denver just got its Super Bowl in boxing. I’m so excited,” said Alvarado, who, at 33, is four years older than Provodnikov, 29. “I’m going to adjust my training, because there are different challenges compared to fighting (Brandon) Rios.”

Alvarado (34-1, 23 KOs) was last in the ring for a unanimous-decision win over Rios that avenged his seventh-round stoppage loss in a Fight of The Year-caliber bout in October of last year.

Provodnikov (22-2, 15 knockouts) is coming off a unanimous decision loss in March to the WBO’s 147-pound beltholder Tim Bradley, whom Provodnikov dropped in the 12th round.

Provodnikov said during an earlier intervieiw with RingTV.com that he expects his bout with Alvarado to surpass the action in their previous outings.

“I think Mike Alvarado is a great fighter. Bradley and Alvarado are different style fighters, and it’s hard to compare them. But I think Alvarado and I will have a much better fight than I did with Bradley,” said Provodnikov.

“If people are saying that my fight with Bradley and the Alvarado-Rios rematch are runners-up for Fight of The Year, I’m pretty sure my fight with Alvarado will easily overcome both of those fights.”

Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]