Alexander beats Kotelnik in controversial decision
At the end of the Saturday night card in St. Louis, hometown fighter Devon Alexander was able to say that he kept his two junior welterweight titles and his record unblemished with a loss. But if all of his hard work paid off, it didn’t come without its share of criticism. Various boxing sources dissented with official opinion and had Andriy Kotelnik ahead on points for the win.
The official main event scores were 116-112 from all three judges after 12 rounds, each giving Alexander the first four. But Kotelnik along with others felt the judges were influenced by the almost 10,000 people that came out in support of Alexander. The popular online website Bad Left Hook scored the bout 117-111 for Kotelnik, despite others like leading HBO analyst Harold Lederman giving it to Alexander at 117-111.
Less than a minute after the decision, trainer Kevin Cunningham put a t-shirt on Alexander that read ‘Bradley U Next,’ indicating the team’s desire to sign a bout with 140lb undefeated champion Tim Bradley.
Scoring dissent for the fight came from differing philosophies on judging a winner, as well as official compubox numbers, which tallied that Alexander landed 202 punches of a whopping 1113 (18 per cent), while Kotelnik landed 225 of 763 (29 per cent). Throughout most of the fight there was little doubt that Alexander was busier, but his lower landing rate demonstrated his inability to get clean shots off on Kotelnik. Kotelnik, on the other hand, seemed to get the better shots in for many, but was unable to make a lasting impression, despite having the higher landing percentage for every single round of the bout. The official decision, which suggests higher out-put is more important than landing rate, aligns with a philosophy of scoring that has long been the norm in the sport.
Alexander slowed down slightly in the later rounds, and could be seen huffing and puffing. In Kotelnik he found the kind of veteran competition saved up for all newcomers, and that can so often upset (officially or unofficially) the rhythm of a younger challenger. While Alexander’s physical skills were on display, his jab was terribly ineffective, scoring at a 10 per cent rate, and he was consistently frustrated by Kotelnik’s pressing counter attack.
“It was an OK performance,” Alexander said after the fight. “I think I did enough to win. I trained for 12 rounds and got the victory. That is what I came here to do.”
Alexander likewise suffered the first significant cut of his career, which was inflicted by Kotelnik in the fifth, and re-opened in the 10th.
Kotelnik, a 2000 Olympic silver medallist, won three of the last four rounds on one of the judge’s cards, and clearly stated afterwards he felt entitled to the belts. "I want the belt, I deserve it," he said through an interpreter. "If the fight happened anywhere but here, I would be the champion. I have no words to describe what happened. That guy has something that belongs to me."
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