Alexander vs. Bradley: A Good Fight

People seem to be surprised that the Devon Alexander vs. Timothy Bradley fight is not sparking all the fireworks that they imagined. Some writers view this fight like the modern version of Thomas Hearns vs. Marvin Hagler. If people got off their opium of hype and took a reality break maybe they would understand why this fight isn’t the super fight that it’s been hyped up to be. Don’t get me wrong, this should be and probably will be a good fight, but it’s not a super-fight like some hype spinners would like to make it.

Devon Alexander hasn’t really done much to merit the title of being called a great fighter; he is actually an average boxer. He was able to knockout Juan Urango, which indicates Alexander has punching power. Yet Alexander went on to really lose his fight against Andriy Kotelnick, although the judges gave Alexander a gift. In his bout with Kotelnick, Alexander was exposed for the limited fighter he is. Alexander is not able to control a fight; he has few ring generalship skills. Once you negate Alexander’s power he is helpless because his boxing skills are average to say the least. Alexander simply doesn’t have the skills to control a fight against a decent boxer.
Timothy Bradley looks like a weight lifter and he fights like one. Bradley has no power in his punches. He throws pitty patty punches because he cannot extend his arms fully to put some explosives into them. You could say that Bradley touches not punches. Although Bradley is fast he lacks true rhythm. Bradley’s style of fighting is not a good one to watch, it is not fan friendly; it is like the sound of finger nails scraping a blackboard.

When you put these two styles together, Alexander and Bradley, it may turn out to be just a stare contest. It can turn out into two guys posturing in front of each other with no one really taking a risk. To make it a good fight, they are going to have to become aggressive and go for the knockout. Alexander has not shown that he has the spirit necessary to walk down a boxer like Bradley and knock him out. Bradley will try to make it a chess match and win the decision. Alexander cannot win a decision; it is up to Alexander to make this an exciting fight by cornering Bradley and knocking his head off. Alexander has to exert pressure on Bradley for twelve rounds to make this a good fight.

What is commendable about this fight between Alexander and Bradley is that they are willing to fight each other. We live in a time when marketing has taken over boxing and good old fashion fights don’t happen that regularly. Alexander and Bradley are willing to face anyone you can place in front of them, they aren’t running or hiding like most boxers today. That is what fans appreciate from these two champions. If these two fighters go for the knockout and don’t spend twelve round staring at each other, this will be a good fight.

I would like to see the winner of this fight face Marcos Maidana or Victor Ortiz if he is still hanging around this division (Ortiz is probably already a welterweight), those will be exciting matchups and will really fill up stadiums. Because of Amir Khan’s style of running I don’t think he would make a good fight with either Alexander or Bradley. Bradley would just out speed him and Alexander doesn’t have the fire to go after runners.

Devon Alexander calls out Juan Manuel Marquez, slams Khan

With a fight against World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley scheduled for January 29th, one would think St. Louis’ Devon Alexander would be focused on his unification affair.

Take into consideration that fellow Examiner Michael Marely reports that less than 400 tickets have been sold to the fight, which is being held at the Silverdome in Detroit, Michigan, and my guess would be that the World Boxing Council champion could take any opportunity to talk up his fight with Bradley.

But like most modern fighters, Alexander is already looking ahead to his future beyond Bradley, and has Mexican lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on his mind and choose to slam World Boxing Association champion Amir Khan..

“Marquez wants to move up to 140 pounds [the junior welterweight limit],” Alexander told Univision.com.  “A fight with him would be better, and more important than one with Khan.”

It has been speculated that the winner of Bradley-Alexander would then face Khan later in 2011.

“Khan is a good boxer,” stated Alexander, “but he is no big thing.”

Bradley – Alexander will be televised in the United States by HBO, and there are plenty of tickets available to the live event.

Ring Life: Devon Alexander by HBO Boxing

Get a look inside the life of Devon Alexander as he prepares for his highly anticipated bout with Tim Bradley. You can also watch the latest issues and fighters challenges for the incoming fight in HBO 24/7 Alexander vs. Bradley Face Off with Max Kellerman.

Watch Ring Life: Devon Alexander Video

Devon Alexander vs Tim Bradley: The Undefeated

HBO’s President of Sports Ross Greenburg, called it “a signature fight,” adding “we think that we have a real gem” in the Jan. 29 junior welterweight (140 pounds) battle featuring 23-year-old southpaw WBC titlist Devon Alexander and 27-year-old WBO belt-holder Tim Bradley.

“This is a hot division, and these are the two, very best. They are two of the very best fighters at 140 pounds. They’re in their prime. We haven’t seen this kind of a match up since, you know, Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor, or Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello,” said Greenburg. “I mean, it’s not quite on the level of a Chavez-Taylor or a Pryor-Arguello, but it’s the most significant 140-pound match up since those two great fights.”

Nicknamed, “The Great,” Alexander (21-0, 13 knockouts) is promoted by Don King and hails from St. Louis, Mo., and Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs), who is called, “The Desert Storm,” is promoted by Gary Shaw and is from Palm Springs, Calif.

“We’re going to have some very, very heavy marketing muscle behind this fight between two Americans fighting for a unification of their 140-pound titles,” said Greenburg, hoping to make Alexander-Bradley the first major spark of the year 2011. “So, internet, print, radio, television — we are going to basically blast the American public with this fight.”

Their match up, to be contested at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., is featured in the HBO 24/7 Alexander vs. Bradley Face Off with Max Kellerman video.

The NFL’s Super Bowl is being held on Feb. 6 at The Dallas Cowboys Stadium, a week following Alexander-Bradley, a notion that was not lost on Greenburg when he spoke to FanHouse in July, being that their clash is part of the boxing’s deepest and most talent-rich weight class.

“It’s newsworthy that HBO wants Bradley and Alexander to fight on that big date, which is Jan. 29. It’s the biggest HBO date,” said Greenburg in July. “It’s one of the biggest of the year because it sits right in front of the Super Bowl.”

Despite the promotion of Alexander-Bradley, the fight has some big excitement to live up to, thanks to a strong finish by HBO over the final portion of 2010.

In an HBO pay per view televised, Top Rank Promotions bout on Nov. 13 from the Dallas Cowboys Stadium, eight-division king Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) scored a lopsided, unanimous decision rout over ex-titlist Antonio Margarito (38-7, 27 KOs), adding the vacant junior middleweight (154 pounds) belt to the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) crown that he already owned.

On Nov. 20, Sergio Martinez (46-2-2, 25 KOs) knocked cold southpaw three-time champion Paul Williams (39-2, 27 KOs) in the second round in the sensational first defense of his crown, avenging a disputed, December, 2009 majority decision loss by Martinez during which both fighters were floored in the first round.

On Nov. 27, WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) champion Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs) rose from a third-round knockdown to score a ninth-round stoppage over WBO interim king Michael Katsidis (27-3, 22 KOs).

Then, on Dec. 11, WBA junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KOs) dropped WBA interim titlist Marcos Rene Maidana (29-2, 27 KOs) with a pair of first-round body shots, and, later, survived a near-knockout in the 10th round to win a unanimous decision in their Golden Boy Promotions sponsored clash.

Alexander is coming off of August’s disputed, 12-round unanimous decision over Ukrainian-born former WBA titlist Andriy Kotelnik (31-4-1, 13 KOs), a narrow decision that has drawn criticism from some who believe that Alexander either lost or is not ready for the prime time.

Alexander dethroned England’s Junior Witter in August of 2009 by eighth-round stoppage for the WBC crown, and did the same by eighth-round knockout over Colombian-born southpaw Juan Urango in his next fight in March.

Both Witter and Urango were stopped for the first times in their careers by Alexander, who also owns a unanimous decision over former world champion DeMarcus Corley.

In August, the 36-year-old Corley went toe-to-toe in a dogfight with Maidana, rocking him on occasion. And Corley, like three-division, five-time titlist, Shane Mosley, remains one of the few men to have stunned unbeaten six-time titlist Floyd Mayweather in a fight.

Urango had gone the distance with England’s Ricky Hatton over the course of a unanimous decision loss in January of 2007, and, in May of 2009, rose to 147 pounds, where he went toe-to-toe with unbeaten WBC king Andre Berto (27-0, 21 KOs) before losing another decision.

Urango returned to the 140 pound class in August, where he rose from the canvas in the sixth round to stop knockout artist, Randall Bailey in the 11th round of the first defense of his crown.

Witter owns a unanimous decision victory over Kotelnik, who, in turn, has beaten Maidana but lost to Khan and Alexander. Witter also owns decisions over former world champions Corley and Vivian Harris.

In addition, Witter has gone the distance during a May, 2008, split-decision loss to Bradley as well as during a June, 2000 loss to Zab Judah (40-6, 27 KOs), a former holder of the WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight belts, as well as a former champion with IBF and WBO junior welterweight crowns. .

Bradley has proven himself a tough fighter in his own right, particularly, in demonstrating courage while overcoming adversity against both Witter and Kendall Holt (25-4, 13 KOs), rising from two knockdowns to dethrone Holt as WBO champ in April of 2009.

Witter was 36-1-2, with 21 knockouts, and had lost only the decision to Judah when Bradley traveled to Witter’s home venue of Nottingham, England, and earned a hard-fought split-decision along with the WBC’s crown before the Englishman’s partisan fans.

Nine months later, at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, Bradley rose from knockdowns in each of the first, and, 12th rounds, to take the WBO belt from Holt, who entered their match up with a record of 25-2, with 13 knockouts.

In his next fight four months later in August of 2009, Bradley’s third-round knockout of former undisputed junior welterweight titlist Nate Campbell was changed into a no-contest, owing to the decision that an accidental head butt had caused a cut over Campbell’s left eye and led to a premature stoppage.

In December, Bradley won a clash of unbeatens in dominant fashion over Lamont Peterson (28-1-1, 14 KOs), dropping his rival for the first time in Peterson’s career in the third round on the way to a clear-cut, unanimous decision that earned honors as FanHouse’s Most Dominant Performance Of The Year for 2009.

Bradley is coming off of July’s HBO-televised unanimous decision over welterweight Carlos Luis Abregu (29-1, 23 KOs) of Salta Salta, Argentina, in a non-title bout before his hometown fans at Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley Greatest Hits Video (HBO)

Jim Lampley takes a look at Devon Alexander and Tim Bradley’s Greatest Hits Video. It features the best boxing fight of both like to name some Alexander vs Urango, Bradley vs Abregu, and Alexander vs Kotelnik. Also includes the heated challenges of both. Don’t miss Alexander vs Bradley Saturday, January 29th at 10pm ET/7pm PT on HBO.

Watch Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley Greatest Hits Video

Devon Alexander vs Timothy Bradley bout hits Silverdome

Not that its promoters are likely to pay much attention, but there is probably a cautionary message implicit in the fact that the roof at the Minneapolis Metrodome caved in less than a week after Gary Shaw and Don King announced that the Jan. 29 Devon Alexander vs Timothy Bradley live fight would take place at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich.

We’re not exactly comparing apples and oranges in pointing out that the principal differences between the two venues is that the onetime home of the Detroit Lions is slightly older and has an even more sordid history of weather-related calamities than its sister dome in Minneapolis, which was one reason the Lions considered it a smart business move to pay $26 million not to play there once Ford Field was completed eight years ago.

King has a well-documented history of fleecing would-be entrepreneurs hosting his fights, but in this case The World’s Greatest Promoter was occupied with the funeral arrangements for his wife Henrietta, who passed away the week before last, and it was Shaw who struck the deal with Andreas Apostolopoulos, the Greek-born Canadian financier who bought the Silverdome at auction earlier this year. He then offered Shaw and King a site-fee deal in which the Silverdome actually outbid a couple of Las Vegas casinos, as well as sites in St. Louis, Southern California and Atlanta for the right to host the fight.

“He’s bought this place dirt cheap, and it’s zoned so that he can’t do anything else with the property,” said a boxing promoter with no vested interest in the Bradley-Alexander bout. “Whatever he paid for this fight is a cheap advertisement that says to the world, ‘Hey, I’ve got a domed stadium here ready to host your event.’ ”

The Silverdome will be configured to seat 15,000 on fight night, but with HBO bankrolling the bout to the tune of $3 million, actual paid attendance is a matter of scant consequence to either of its promoters.

Although it has not officially been labeled a tournament, Bradley-Alexander was envisioned as the other bracket in a junior welterweight series, the first half of which was last weekend’s Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana

Victor Ortiz-Lamont Peterson card. Plainly, the hope had been that with sufficiently strong showings, Khan and Ortiz might establish themselves as credible opponents, if not for the Bradley-Alexander winner, then for each other. Khan, after scoring a quick knockdown, had to weather a late Maidana barrage in which he was all but knocked out himself, and was fortunate to squeak out a win. Ortiz, after having Peterson all but KO’d, escaped with a majority draw. The upshot is that all Khan and Ortiz probably deserve is rematches with Maidana and Peterson.

The Key to victory

Breidis Prescott, the author of Khan’s lone professional defeat, has been added to ESPN2’s Jan. 14 card in Key West, Fla. A pair of New Englanders — Peter Manfredo of Providence (vs. Daniel Edouard) and Worcester’s Edwin Rodriguez (vs. Aaron Pryor Jr.) fight in the principal bouts on what will be the second “Friday Night Fights” telecast of the new year. …

Irish middleweight Andy Lee remains the leader in the clubhouse as the next challenger to WBC middleweight champion (and likely 2010 Fighter of the Year) Sergio Martinez. Martinez promoter Lou DiBella had the match all but made 10 days ago, but encountered some resistance from HBO, which would presumably televise the March 12 bout. DiBella countered with a proposal to stage Martinez’ mandatory (vs. “interim” champion Sebastian Zbik) on the same date, with Lee-John Duddy in the co-feature) but HBO was even less enthusiastic about that idea, putting the Emanuel Steward-trained Lee back in the lead. Martinez is not under contract to either network, so DiBella could in theory shop the title fight to Showtime, but if he does he’ll probably have to find a new date and DiBella said that Foxwoods and even Boston remain possible venues. …

Don’t know if you were paying attention, but the date penciled in for Manny Pacquiao’s next fight has quietly shifted from April 16 to May 7. Ostensibly the date was changed because Freddie Roach thought Pacquiao needed more time to rest up from what was a taxing performance against Antonio Margarito, but it’s hard to see that three weeks makes much difference. The name most often bandied about is still Shane Mosely’s, but May 7 happens to be the weekend of Cinco de Mayo, leading us to suspect that Pacquiao’s next opponent could turn out to be old amigo Juan Manuel Marquez. …

While the overall selection process for the International Boxing Hall of Fame is still a work in progress, this time the system worked. No one will quarrel with the three inductees — Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez and Kostya Tszyu — elected from the “modern” category last week. We would question the wisdom of the decision to include Sylvester Stallone in the Class of 2011 that will be installed next June.

We’re not saying Stallone doesn’t belong. Some will say, “If you’re going to put ‘Rocky’ in the Hall of Fame, what about Joe Palooka?” Stallone isn’t being honored as a fictional character, but as the screenplay author of an iconic boxing film. The late Budd Schulberg, who wrote “On the Waterfront,” is in the Hall. “Rocky” debuted 35 years ago. Stallone could have been inducted last year (when his presence would have augmented a comparatively weak group of moderns) or next year (though Thomas Hearns’ name will appear on the ballot for the first time). …

Devon Alexander vs Timothy Bradley on January 29th

WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KO’s) has an important fight coming up against World Boxing Council (WBC) light welterweight champion Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KO’s) on January 29th at the Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan. This was supposed to have been a unification bout but Bradley wasn’t interested in paying the sanctioning fees for the WBC title, so if he beats Alexander, the WBC title will go vacant but it won’t go to Bradley. It seems that Bradley doesn’t care about winning one more title because it would likely slow him down by forcing him to fight uninteresting contenders from time to time.

Watch Devon Alexander vs Timothy Bradley Live Online Stream!

Bradley and Alexander have bigger things on the horizon. The winner of this fight will take on the winner of the Marcos Maidana vs. Amir Khan fight sometime next year for a unification bout, which will get a lot of attention and make a big star out of the winner of that fight. All of this could in theory end with the winner of those fights possibly facing someone like Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr. It would be hard to see those fighters ignoring the eventual light welterweight winner, because of how popular they will be. But at the same time, the eventual winner of all these fights won’t necessarily need to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao to make good money. They’ll do fine against other opponents like Saul Alvarez, Andre Berto and Shane Mosley.

Alexander looked bad in his last fight against Andriy Kotelnik last August. Alexander, while fighting at home in Saint Louis, won the fight by a 12 round unanimous decision but the bout ended up being very close and Alexander got hit a lot in the fight. This wasn’t the kind off performance that boxing fans were expecting from Alexander when he signed on for the Kotelnik fight. Alexander was expected to win the fight with ease, but instead he went life and death with him. Kotelnik exposed Alexander as being vulnerable to getting hit with jabs and counter shots. This obviously won’t escape the attention of Bradley, who has an excellent jab is good at firing back at his opponents when hit.

Alexander vs. Bradley on January 29th Live on HBO

One of the most anticipated fights in boxing — and the biggest bout of a young 2011 — will take place when undefeated world champions DEVON ALEXANDER “The Great” and TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY duke it out at the 140-pound weight limit on Saturday, January 29 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

Boxing fans have been waiting for years to see these two young world champions collide. The St. Louis phenom Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs), who will put his unblemished record and World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight championship at risk while Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs), from Palm Springs, Calif., enters the bout with a similarly perfect record and his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight crown on the line.

Tickets, priced from $25-$400, will go on sale This Friday! December 10, and can be purchased at the Silverdome box office, by calling (248) 338-2500 or online at www.silverdometickets.com. The event is being promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, Don King Productions and Thompson Boxing Promotions..

“I’m extremely excited about this fight being announced,” Alexander said. “The fans will finally get to see what I believe is going to be one of the best fights in boxing, the two best 140-pounders going head to head. Tim Bradley is considered No. 1 at 140 and I’m considered No. 2, but anybody that knows me will say that I don’t like being second best at anything. Come January 29, the whole world will know I am the best 140-pounder in boxing.”

Not surprisingly, Bradley sees it differently.

“Devon Alexander is a skilled southpaw that lacks championship fight experience,” Bradley said. “There has been so much talk in the past about me avoiding him but I have never passed the opportunity to beat any other former champions. Now the time has come to prove who the best junior welterweight in the world is and I hope that Devon is ready for the can of whoop ass I’ll be serving him on January 29th.”

Alexander, 23, had two career-defining wins in 2010: a scintillating eighth-round knockout via right uppercut of then-International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Juan “Iron Twins” Urango on March 6, and, in his most recent defense on August 7, Alexander held back a strong challenge from Andriy Kotelnik to win a unanimous decision by identical scores of 116-112.

Alexander won his first title, the WBC super lightweight championship by stopping the former holder of that crown, Junior Witter when they met on August 1, 2009, in Southern California. (Ironically, it was Bradley who had vacated the WBC crown.)

Alexander has successfully emerged from behind the shadow of fighting most of his career out of the Cory Spinks camp. He has elusive defensive skills – no doubt picked up from his mentor – but has shown enough firepower to become a legitimate knockout threat.

Bradley, 27, won his first world title in 2008, travelling across the pond to dethrone the defending WBC super lightweight champion Junior Witter in the Englishman’s backyard of Nottingham, England. Bradley’s sixth-round knockdown of Witter shocked the hometown crowd as Bradley won a hard-fought split decision.

One year later, in his second championship defense, Bradley unified the title by dominating then-WBO champion Kendall Holt. Bradley weathered a first-round knockdown, and showed his trademark heart and determination during the remainder of the match, to win by unanimous decision.

Bradley opted to keep the WBO junior welterweight title. He has successfully defended that title twice. In August 2009 he dominated former world champion Nate Campbell before an accidental clash of heads near the end of round three led to the fight later being ruled no contest when Campbell could not continue due to a nasty gash over his left eye.

Bradley followed that with a December 2009 schooling of undefeated interim WBO champion Lamont Peterson, which included a third-round knockdown, the first time Peterson had ever hit the canvas in his 27-bout professional career.

With no worthy contenders available to defend his title against, Bradley moved up to 147 pounds and won a 12-round unanimous decision over undefeated Top-10 welterweight contender Carlos Abregu on July 17.

“If Alexander vs. Bradley doesn’t get your heart pumping then you aren’t alive,” said Bradley co-promoter Gary Shaw. “This isn’t just a title unification fight, this is for the whole ball of wax — the class of the junior welterweight division colliding head-on to determine the world champion. One thing I admire about both these men. When a challenge is made, they don’t make excuses, they make fights.”

Bradley co-promoter Ken Thompson has a similar view.

“This fight has been long awaited by boxing fans since in fact it’s a battle between the best junior welterweights on the planet,” Thompson said. “Two undefeated fighters will decide the future of the division and what better neutral ground than the Motor City – Detroit. I have known Tim Bradley since he laced gloves for the first time as a professional, and he has never stopped amazing me with his talent and charisma inside the ring. Alexander will have his hands full on a great Motown boxing night.”

Alexander promoter Don King is excited to see his young world champion entering the biggest match of his career.

“I have promoted Devon Alexander’s entire professional career, and I couldn’t be prouder of this fine young man,” King said. “He’s a model citizen in St. Louis and the world’s treasure as a fighter. Devon and Timmy are two of the best American fighters we have, and, most important, they are two of the best people we have in the sport. Boxing fans and the sport will be the winners for this world championship unification.”

Alexander vs. Bradley will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing, beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT

“We believe Alexander vs. Bradley is a spectacular way to launch a new season of boxing on HBO,” said Kery Davis, senior vice president of programming, HBO Sports. “Fight fans have the date circled on their calendars and sports fans everywhere should do the same.”