SOMETIMES it takes more than one fight to settle a score.

A questionable scorecard or merely just the celebration of how good the first fight was can leave fans desperate for more.

But in some cases, a rematch simply isn't enough.

Legacies can often be defined by rivalries some of which stand the test of time as part of a trilogy.

And when all is said and done this Saturday in Denver, Colorado we may be talking about one of the greatest trilogies in the last decade as welterweights Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios and Mike "Mile High" Alvarado duke it out for the third time.

The score is currently tied at 1-1 after Rios, 28, won the first fight (the 2012 Fight of the Year) in October 2012 and Alvarado, 34 was victorious in the March 2013 rematch.

The first two fights were scintillatingly savage, the third could be even better. But while a WBO bauble and the interim world title were on the line in the first two fights, there's only one thing at stake in the third act...pride.

The winner of this fight can ultimately claim to be winner of the rivalry itself. But don't be fooled into thinking that trilogies are built on hatred and disdain.

They may be set to go to war for another 12 rounds but the Americans share a visible admiration for each other. A mutual respect mirroring that of Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti.

Gatti and Ward fought three times in just over a year between 2002 and 2003.

And after they brutalised each other in the squared circle in their second fight (they never fought for a title I might add), the pair struck up a friendship in the hospital waiting room united by the punishment they inflicted on each other.

Only in boxing.

But let's not forget some of the hate-fuelled trilogies that have left us hanging on every punch. Muhammad Ali's iconic showdowns with Joe Frazier, Evander Holyfield's slugfests with Riddick Bowe, Mexican great Erik Morales' brutal battles with Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao, the list goes on.

Rios Vs Alvarado III is an early treat for fight fans in 2015. I fancy Alvarado to wear Rios down towards the later rounds. Rios was unconvincing in his last outing against Diego Gabriel Chaves last August and Alvarado looks the more comfortable at the weight.

But no matter whose hand is raised, the fight fans are the real winners. ​