By Mark Vester

According to the Denver Post, hard punching junior welterweight Mike Alvarado will face Mexico's Gabriel Martinez in a hometown return on July 30th. Alvarado (30-0, 22 KOs) vs. Martinez (27-2-1, 14 KOs) will take place outdoors at Softball Country in north Denver. The fight will be televised by Fox Sports as part of the "Top Rank Live" series. Alvarado last appeared on the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley undercard on May 7, and stopped Ray Narh in three rounds.

"Mike's clearly in a position to step up," said Carl Moretti, vice president at Top Rank. "We want him active. We wanted to bring him home and keep him fresh for another fight in the fall. He's in one of boxing's best divisions. When you look at premium cable possibilities, there's a lot of guys fighting with big names (at 140 pounds). And Mike fits right in there."