Mike Alvarado says he is in a better place in his life than he has been in years and he is excited to continue his boxing comeback.

The former junior welterweight world titleholder will take on Josh Torres (15-4-2, 7 KOs) in the eight-round welterweight main event on Top Rank’s “Solo Boxeo Tecate” card Saturday night (UniMas, 11 p.m. ET/PT) at the Bomb Factory in Dallas. It will be Alvarado’s second fight since he bottomed out in a miserable third-round knockout loss to Brandon Rios in their rubber match in January 2015, which he followed with a 14-month layoff as he tried to get his life together.

Alvarado returned on March 18 and stopped journeyman Saul Corral in the third round in Houston and takes on a similar opponent in Torres, 26, of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Alvarado (35-4, 24 KOs) would like to work his way into another major fight, but he will have to impress people, earn their trust again and stay clean to get one. He is lucky that Top Rank, bitterly disappointed by his lack of preparation and effort against Rios, did not release him.

He barely trained for the fight with Rios and showed nothing, embarrassing himself with a non-performance in front of his Denver hometown fans and a national television audience on HBO.

He had come into the fight facing legal issues stemming from a gun charge and in the throes of an alcohol problem. He clearly did not care about the fight. Alvarado and Rios had previously split two epic battles, but not long after the rubber match, Alvarado checked into a rehabilitation center and claims he has been sober since.

“I am a different person now. I am not the person you knew before,” Alvarado said. “I surrendered myself to God to turn my life around. My life has been saved. And we had a son, Michael Jr., born on Father’s Day. I have a new passion for boxing. I want to win, as does all of my team around me.

“People know I can fight. I’ve always been a warrior. On Saturday night against Josh Torres, I want to stay on my game, be disciplined, use what I have that works for me and show my skill set.”

Alvarado, who is 2-4 in his last six fights, mostly against elite opposition, has been one of the most consistently exciting fighters in the past several years. He has given his all in the ring fight in and fight out, other than that third fight with Rios. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said he thought about releasing him after the Rios debacle but decided to give him another chance.

“We didn’t drop him. We believed he was a real talent who was his own worst enemy and he wanted another chance,” Arum said. “I thought it was worthwhile giving him another chance. Do I know if [his sobriety] is going to last? Who knows? I hope that it is going to take, but he may never get back to that [world title level].”

Arum said that if Alvarado stays clean and continues to win, he has opponents for him for a major fight.

“We have big fights for him,” Arum said. “We can put him in with [junior welterweight titleholder] Terence Crawford if he can make 140. At 147 we have Timothy Bradley. There’s Manny Pacquiao if he comes back, and there’s [welterweight titleholder] Jessie Vargas after he beats Kell Brook.

“A lot of it is hope. Do I hope there’s a future for Mike Alvarado? Absolutely, yes.”

Whatever becomes of the rest of his career, Alvarado, 35, said he is grateful to have a second chance.

“I’ve been through bad times. Some people gave up on me,” Alvarado said. “Top Rank stayed with me, thank god. And so did my team. I am happy with my life now.

“This is what makes Saturday night so important — to go into the ring against Josh Torres and show everyone the fighter that I am.”