By Vivek Wallace: It was Saturday, January 6th, 2007, at approximately 730pmEST, and roughly a couple hundred fight fans filled the 5,500 seat arena at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Sitting in a quiet media section, fighting sleep through a bevy of weak under card fights, I decided to take a walk and call my son who had just turned 2 a few days prior. Rarely does anything distract me when talking to the ‘Champ’, (as I like to call him), but this particular moment, lets just say it wasn’t the child whose attention span began to wonder adrift! Seconds later, the only thing I recall was disconnecting, telling my spouse “I have to go”, as I sat totally amazed at the skillset of a relatively new fighter who reminded me strongly of Floyd Mayweather jr., yet stood from a southpaw stance, like Manny Pacquiao..
She would later view my reason for hanging up mid-sentence as shallow at best, but the reality of what I sat there witnessing that night was actually quite deep. The jabs, the feints, the defense, the combinations; all a very extensive display of skills that you just don’t see regularly from rising prospects. The remainder of the evening was fairly intriguing as heavyweight Samuel Peter defeated James Toney, but the true story that night, in my mind, was “that Alexander kid”.
Fast-forward a few years and suddenly it appears I’m not the only one looking out for “that Alexander kid”, as Saturday night on HBO, several people around the country, and perhaps even the globe, will be watching as he takes on Andriy Kotelnik (31-3, 13KOs) to help solidify himself as perhaps the ultimate leader of the pack in what has become one of the best divisions in the sport.
The jr. welterweight division is also arguably the deepest division in the sport, and what makes it such a global attraction is the fact that several countries have fierce competitors in the mix representing them. Alexander and Bradley (U.S.A.), Khan (England), Maidana (Argentina), Kotelnik (Germany), Guzman (Dominican Republic), Ortiz (America/Mexico), and Colombian Juan Urango, all reside somewhere in the top 10, with a host of others eager to crack the lineup behind them. A few of these contenders will be squaring off within the coming months to state their case, but while the others jockey for space, some view the consensus to be a storyline defining Alexander as the premiere man to beat.
Oddly enough, such a belief is quite premature. Despite the zero losses, 20 fights and only 106 pro rounds boxed against a few highly notables hardly etches this feat in stone. In an era of the sport that often appears desperate to locate the ‘next best thing’, having Mayweather-esque talent and a Pacquiao southpaw stance, (even with a near identical KO ratio), doesn’t quite hit the mark. What Alexander must do now is script out the same hard-fought resume these men have created, along with their uncanny ability to perform-to-perfection under the ‘bright lights’. For 6 years now he remained beneath the shadows, but this defining moment could be the elevation this rising star needs to shine for all to see. To many fight fans, he’ll enter the night as “that Alexander kid” once again, but when the headlines go to print Sunday morning, I think you’ll all know his name!
(OFFICIAL PREDICTION: DEVON ALEXANDER/KO RD10 – TAVORIS CLOUD/SPLIT DECISION)
(Vivek Wallace can be reached at vivexemail@yahoo.com, 954-292-7346, Youtube (VIVEK1251), Twitter (VIVEK747), FaceBook, and Myspace).