On paper, there’s no denying that Vito Arujau is a favorite over Sammy Alvarez. Vito is a two-time age level World silver medalist and already has an All-American finish under his belt. However, it’s not incredibly outrageous to be picking the Bull in this match. Hear me out.

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There are two main reasons Sammy Alvarez will beat Vito Arujau.

1. His confidence

2. His training

Confidence

Alvarez has no problem putting out a match prediction, and his prediction is bold.

I made a return to twitter to tell you (@vArujau) I am going to tech fall you bud... @FloWrestling JERSEY vs RUSSIA

— Sammy Alvarez (@sammyal17289751) July 13, 2020

How can you not love that confidence? Now, I’m not going to go as far as to say that Sammy will 10-0 Vito, but Sammy’s confidence has me fired up. Skip to the 4:00 minute mark in the video below to dive further into what fuels and motivates Sammy.

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Some will consider this confidence irrational, and although it is exulting, it is not irrational. Alvarez is extremely self-aware. Skip ahead to the 4:00-4:40 and 12:00-12:30 minute marks of the video below to see him discuss being an underdog.

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That is the mindset you love to see. Alvarez understands he’s an underdog, but loves it because he gets to prove people wrong. 

Training

At the 12:30 mark in the video above, Alvarez goes into the levels he’s jumped both in the past year and since quarantine has started. The improvements were shown in the NCAA season. Alvarez went from losing to Michigan State’s Garrett Pepple 6-2, to beating him in overtime, to winning in regulation and not giving up a point. Sammy says that the little bit of time off at the beginning of quarantine allowed him to improve his mind, diet, and technique by watching a lot of video.

Don’t just take it from Sammy, at the 4:52 mark of the video below Rutgers wrestling director of operations Joe Pollard discusses the improvement Alvarez has made throughout the past year.

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During quarantine one addition to the Rutgers room has been huge for Alvarez - Sebastian Rivera. Rivera announced his transfer to Rutgers back in June and has been training with Alvarez leading up to this match. Rivera is 2-0 against Vito with a total point advantage of 14-5. Having someone to train with that already has a feel for Vito is a big advantage for Sammy.

Watch over 17 minutes of Sammy Alvarez and Sebastian Rivera training below.

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