By James Slater – In what was a very slow weekend for the sport of boxing, one big news story emerged: one that tells us the eagerly-awaited light-welterweight showdown between unbeaten talents Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander will go ahead as planned on January 29th.
For a time it looked like the WBC/IBF/WBO 140-pound clash might not happen, but yesterday, Kevin Cunningham, trainer of Alexander, told Fightnews.com that his man has indeed signed to fight the WBO champ, and that the fight will take place at the end of January in either Las Vegas or Miami. Neither fighter will get hometown advantage then..
A great match-up that will surely lead to a superb fight, perhaps of the chess-match variety, the winner of Bradley Vs. Alexander will emerge as the number-one of the talent-rich light-welterweight division. WBA ruler Amir Khan is sure to say something on this claim, if he can get past Argentine banger Marcos Maidana in December, and the ultimate plan is for the Khan-Maidana winner to square off with the Bradley-Alexander victor. Great times indeed for the 140-pound division!
Bradley, currently 26-0(11) and four years older than Alexander at age 27, has shown how good he is. Earning wins over tough foes like Junior Witter, Kendall Holt, Lamont Peterson and, last time out up at 147-pounds, Luis Carlos Abregu, the man known as “Desert Strom” can box and he can bang, he can fight on the outside, he can fight on the inside. Thus far, Bradley really has looked like a fighter who can do it all.
Alexander, currently 21-0(13) has also proven his worth along with his talent. A slick southpaw who can also hit with authority, “The Great” has picked up fine wins over the likes of Junior Witter (who Devon stopped, whereas Tim won on points), Juan Urnago (another sensational stoppage) and, in his last fight, Andriy Kotelnik. This last fight for Alexander, back in August (a month after Bradley beat Abregu) was of a controversial nature, with some people feeling Kotelnik was hard done by with regards to the scoring. In some ways one of Alexander’s least impressive showings, the win certainly led Bradley to feel he has the beating of him.
Still, Alexander – and Bradley himself – will surely enter the January 29th fight with a perfect mindset, and both men will be up for this fight like no other. Indeed, the upcoming battle should bring out the best in both men.