by Geoffrey Ciani – Undefeated unified WBC/IBF junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs) successfully defended his titles against former WBA champion Andriy Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs). All three judges scored it 116-112 for the champion. I had it a bit closer for Alexander, 115-113. Most observers expected an easier win for Alexander following Kotelnik’s lackluster effort last summer when he lost his title to Amir Khan. Kotelnik had other plans, however, and caused a great deal of difficulty for Alexander in various spots during the fight.
Alexander was the busier of the two from the onset. He was faster, more active, and appeared to be the heavier-handed fighter inside the ring. Kotelnik was having some success timing Alexander and countering with his jab, but for the most part, Alexander was landing more often and more effectively. Alexander picked up where he left off in the second and began mixing in some nice straight lefts to the body. This pattern continued in rounds three and four, although Kotelnik started finding the mark with more consistency.
Kotelnik seemed to take charge of the action in the fifth by outworking Alexander. He was starting to look very comfortable whereas Alexander seemed a bit baffled. This pattern continued in the sixth and Kotelnik really began hitting his groove. He was finding holes in Alexander’s defense and landing flush. Alexander picked up the tempo in the seventh, but Kotelnik was still having a great deal of success. Alexander was again the busier fighter, but Kotelnik was still landing the crisper shots which made for a very close round.
Alexander seemed to regain control in the eighth round but Kotelnik was doing well in spots. For whatever reason, Alexander was not throwing a lot of hooks. It was mostly straight punches, where he would throw a series of jabs before mixing in a left hand. Kotelnik blocked a good deal of these shots, but some of them were still getting through. Alexander was not throwing any uppercuts, either, which was strange because this was the punch he had so much success with when he became the first boxer to stop Juan Urango back in March. Beyond that, it appeared as if Alexander had opportunities to split Kotelnik’s guard when they found themselves in tight quarters.
The final four rounds were close and competitive. Alexander was generally the busier guy, but Kotelnik seemed to exhibit better defense and was landing the better punches. This was a difficult fight for the 23 year old champion. Despite his troubles, he clearly deserved to win the fight. This was mainly due to the fact that Kotelnik started slowly and did not establish his rhythm until the fifth. Even still, this was not the same Devon Alexander fans grew accustomed to seeing. He was showing some major flaws defensively, and his was punching variety was lacking significantly.
Where does Alexander go from here? As HBO commentator Max Kellerman duly noted after the contest, Alexander’s subpar performance might just enable him to land some of the bigger name opponents because of his less than spectacular outing. Unification bouts against WBO champion Timothy Bradley or WBA champion Amir Khan probably represent the most interesting options for various reasons. If trainer Freddie Roach had any doubts that Khan was ready for someone like Alexander, he may have changed his mind watching Alexander tonight. A fight with Bradley would also be interesting because Alexander is a bigger puncher, but Bradley is a versatile athlete who knows how to adapt and should be able to exploit some of the very same weaknesses that Kotelnik exposed tonight.
Wherever Alexander goes from here, it will be interesting to see what he can learn from this fight and whether he can adjust his game to bounce back strong following this sub-par performance.
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