Focus on Devon Alexander
Despite holding both the IBF and WBC junior welterweight titles, Devon Alexander has trouble getting respect. In fact, more people might know Alexander for the hard-luck story of his rise to the top of the junior welterweight division than do for his actual boxing skills. Alexander grew up in a rough section of St. Louis and saw many friends and family members die in tragic circumstances or wind up in prison. The fact that he has made it to where he has in the sport is a testament to his perseverance and personal strength.
No one questions that Alexander has the drive and the desire to excel in the sport. The issue is whether or not he is as talented as some of the other big names in the division like Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan. Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach was recently quoted as delivering a verbal broadside against Alexander.
“Who is Devon Alexander anyway?” Roach was quoted as saying by Telegraph Sport. “We’ve seen him on TV, I’ve seen him once and I didn’t see anything special.”
One of Alexander’s main advantages is his speed. Even against exceptionally quick fighters like Junior Witter, Alexander showed that he has a distinct speed advantage. He’s almost certainly the fastest of the major champions within the division – even someone like Amir Khan would have trouble dealing with Alexander’s exceptional hand speed.
The one element of Alexander’s game which is somewhat lacking is his power. He’s not someone who can hurt you with just one punch. Instead he relies on his ability to throw a high volume of punches and wear down his opponent. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the ability to knock out someone with one punch. He’s hurt people quickly in the past – such as when he stopped Cory Peterson in the first round in October 2007 or when he defeated Christopher Fernandez in three rounds in December 2008.
For many people, the turning point in Alexander’s career came on March 6 when he stopped Juan Urango in the eighth round. Urango came into the fight making his first defence of the IBF junior welterweight title he won last August when he stopped Randall Bailey in the 11th round. Urango is considered one of the toughest fighters in the sport – even though he had lost twice coming into the bout against Alexander, he had never been knocked out or even knocked down.
However, Urango was in a world of trouble from the opening bell against Alexander. Urango could not deal with Alexander’s speed and looked overmatched and overwhelmed. Alexander took control of the fight in the middle rounds. The fight ended in the eighth round after Alexander knocked Urango down twice and the referee refused to let Urango continue. The fact that Alexander was able to dominate the tough and universally respected Urango so easily sent a message to the rest of the division that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Alexander has apparently come to understand that the only way he will rise to the top of the junior welterweight division is to continue to impress against top level opposition. When he couldn’t secure a fight against a top name like Bradley or Khan, he decided to schedule a bout against Andriy Kotelnik on August 7 in his hometown of St. Louis. In many ways, it’s a no-win fight for Alexander to take on the former world champion. Kotelnik is the type of fighter that Alexander will be expected to beat but Kotelnik has more than a puncher’s chance of pulling the upset.
If nothing else, Alexander has shown that he has the moxie and will to win to become a major force in boxing.
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