Former Champ Devon Alexander To Return, Will Be Trained By Roy Jones Jnr.

By James Slater - 03/12/2019 - Comments

All-time great Roy Jones Junior may or may not have a fight of his own before too long, yet another one, this time with MMA veteran Vitor Belfort, but the former multi-weight champ has another assignment all set. Jones will train former 140 and 147 pound champ Devon Alexander. ESPN.com reports how Alexander, last seen dropping a close split decision to fellow former champ Andre Berto, will face TBA at 150 pounds on May 25th, the fight to go out on Fox Sports 1.

Alexander, 27-5-1(14) is still reasonably young at age 32 and if he’s matched right who knows, maybe he can win a couple more big fights, maybe even another belt. So why did the classy southpaw pick Jones Jr. to train him and replace long-time coach Kevin Cunningham? Alexander spoke about the change with Dan Rafael.

“I made the change because I just felt like it was time for me to try something different, and when I talked to Roy Jones Junior, a future Hall of Famer and living legend, he said he can help with my comeback,” Alexander said. “I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to see what we could do together. After speaking to him, I really felt like it was a perfect match. He truly understands what it’s like for a fighter, like myself, who is making a comeback at this stage of his career.”

Whether he campaigns at 147 or at 154, there could be some good fights out there for Alexander. With his vast wealth of experience – picked up during big fights with the likes of DeMarcus Corley, Junior Witter, Juan Urango, Tim Bradley, Lucas Matthysse, Marcos Maidana, Amir Khan and Shawn Porter (indeed Alexander has some impressive resume) – Alexander could possibly be a real handful for a number of top fighters at either weight.

Alexander has not won too many lately – two of his last seven – yet he has never been stopped and with this new addition to his team he could still have a lot left to offer. How great a trainer is Jones, though?