By Francisco Salazar

The last time boxing fans saw Mike Alvarado in a ring was in January of last year on the receiving end of a third round knockout defeat at the hands of Brandon Rios.

After spending time away from the ring to assess his personal life, Alvarado returned to the gym recently in anticipation of a ring return.

That ring return will take place on March 19 in Houston, Tex., Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman told Boxingscene.com on Saturday night.

"Mike is scheduled to fight at 148 pounds that night," said Goodman.

Also fighting on the Top Rank card will be lightweight Juan Diaz of Houston.

No opponents have been announced yet for Alvarado or Diaz. Both bouts will be scheduled for eight rounds and will air on UniMas.

Alvarado (34-4, 23 KOs) has lost his last three bouts in a row and four of his last five bouts. Alvarado. A boxer-brawler who makes for exciting bouts, Alvarado has made headlines in recent months with brushes with the law and alcohol abuse outside of the ring.

Word amongst boxing circles is the 35-year-old Alvarado has cleaned up and is looking to make one more run at a world title belt.

The Denver-area resident will likely compete at the welterweight limit.

While Alvarado will return almost 14 months after his last fight, Diaz will fight for the first time since September of 2014.

Diaz (40-4, 19 KOs) has been on the shelf since March when he tore the rotator cuff in his left shoulder during sparring in preparation for a world title shot against Takahiro Ao. Diaz had successful surgery and needed to months to rehab afterwards.

The Houston resident has won his last five bouts in a row against modest opposition following his loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2010.

Goodman told Boxingscene.com Diaz will weigh 136 pounds for the March 19 bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing