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Alvarado eager to impress against Herrera

It was all slipping away for Mike Alvarado -- the unbeaten record, the potential world title shot, everything.

The 31-year-old junior welterweight from Denver was being dominated by Breidis Prescott on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden and appeared to need a miracle to keep his dream alive.

During the 10th and final round, Prescott, who had begun to fade in the eighth and ninth, got careless and Alvarado knocked him down with a big uppercut. Prescott got up, but another uppercut had him wobbly and referee Jay Nady stopped the fight with 1:07 left.

"I learned a lot about myself that night," Alvarado said. "I proved I had it when I needed it, and it made me feel good about myself that I could come back."

Alvarado (32-0, 23 knockouts) returns to Las Vegas on Saturday to fight Mauricio Herrera (18-1, seven KOs) on the undercard of the WBA lightweight title bout between Brandon Rios and Richard Abril at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Alvarado said he needs a better performance if he is to realize his dream of fighting for a world title this year.

"I need to win and look good doing it," said Alvarado, who is ranked No. 3 by the WBO and No. 9 by the IBF. "I know I'm ready for that next level, and I would love to fight the winner of (Amir) Khan and (Lamont) Peterson. But to do that, I have to win this fight."

Khan and Peterson will meet May 19 at Mandalay Bay for the IBF and WBA junior welterweight belts that Peterson won from Khan in December. But for Alvarado, that's not where his focus is.

"I've been working on my footwork and my movement," said Alvarado, who switched his training camp from Denver to Montebello, Calif. "I've had great sparring partners, which was a big reason I left Denver. I wasn't getting the kind of quality sparring in Colorado I was able to get in California.

"I feel great. I'm strong. I'm staying on top of my game, and I'm avoiding distractions. I think you'll see the difference."

■ MARQUEZ NEARLY QUIT -- Juan Manuel Marquez said he was so frustrated after losing a majority decision to Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden that he seriously contemplated retirement.

But Marquez, 38, had a change of heart and hopes Pacquiao will give him another chance in the fall. In the meantime, Marquez (53-6-1, 39 KOs) will fight Sergey Fedchenko (30-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday in Mexico City as part of an HBO pay-per-view card.

Marquez and Pacquiao have met three times. They fought to a draw in 2004, and Pacquiao also won a split decision in 2008.

"I considered retiring because everybody knows I want to fight Manny again, and that I won the last fight and I feel very angry about that decision," Marquez said. "The main reason for me to continue is that I want a rematch with Manny."

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum didn't rule out the possibility of a fourth Pacquiao-Marquez fight this year. But he's also interested in matching Marquez against Rios on July 14 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, should both fighters win Saturday.

"Everybody would certainly agree that Juan Manuel deserves a rematch," Arum said. "I got the sense from Manny that he would do a rematch with Juan Manuel, but not as his next fight."

Pacquiao will meet Timothy Bradley on June 9 at the Grand Garden.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.

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