BROOKLYN, NY–There was a a lot of doubt weather the fight would go on as scheduled but Danny Garcia left no doubt by scoring a spectacular fourth round knockout over future hall of famer Erik Morales to retain the WBA/WBC/Ring Magazine Super Lightweight title that highlighted the first ever boxing card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Morales showed some spunk and craftiness in the first round but Garcia started getting his shots especially ti the body. At the end of of round three, Garcia landed a big right that rocked Morales to the point that he walked to the wrong corner. Garcia landed a vicious left hook that spun Morales around and crashing into the ropes that had Morales father/trainer Jose jump into the ring and stop the fight at 1:23 of round four.

Garcia, 139.8 lbs of Philadelphia is now 25-0 with sixteen knockouts. Morales, 139.2 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 52-9.

The fight almost did not come off after a failed drug test for a diuretic was discovered that Morales and it took last minute negotiating weather the fight would go through

“That left hook, I got that from my mom,” said a jubilant Garcia after the fight. “Her side of the family is all left handed.”

The 36 year old Morales was dejected and humble after the fight. He graciously accepted the loss and said (through a translator), “Time goes by. This is a sign that the end is near.”

“He’s a crafty veteran,” said Garcia of his opponent, a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. “I really thought we’d go 12 rounds. He hit me with a couple of good shots, but I came back strong.

“In our first fight, I laid back a little too much. In this fight, I was more confident and I knew I could set up my punches and land some big shots.

“You know I’ll fight anyone. I never duck anyone and I know those guys want all these belts. They have to come get them from me.”

Paulie Malignaggi won a twelve round split decision over Pablo Cesar Cano to retain the WBA Welterweight championship.

Cano was not able to win the belt as he weighed in a pound over 147 pound weight limit in Friday.

It was a tactical fight that saw Malignaggi box in his patented style by jabbing up and down and moving. He caused a cut over the left eye of Cano. That did not deter Cano as he started to come forward and the overhand right was his punch of choice.

The two traded rounds with Cano landing the harder blows until Cano landed a huge booming right that sent malignaggi to the canvas. The made the action heat up in the twelth with both guys cut and giving as good as they received.

Malignaggi won two cards by 114-113 tallies while Cano grabbed a third card at 118-109.

Malignaggi is now 32-4. Cano is now 26-2-1.

Peter Quillin dropped reigning champion Hassan N’Dam six times en route to capturing the WBO Middleweight championship via twelve round unanimous decision.

N’Dam showed some sneaky boxing skills over the first three rounds that may have befuddled Quillin. In round four, Qullin landed a booming right hand that sent the champion to the canvas. Clearly shaken, N’Dam tried to fight fire with with but was being bounced all over the ring until he ate a massive left hook that put him on his back at the end of the frame. After steadying himself in round five, Quillin dropped N;Dam from a big left hook in the corner a second knockdown in round six came from a right which could have been ruled a slip.

The second half of the fight saw some terrific back and forth action with the champion showing a tremendous heart after being rocked and coming back. In the final round, Quillin sealed the deal by dropping N’Dam twice and came home with a 115-107 win on all cards.

Quillin, 159.2 lbs of New York is now 28-0. N’Dam, 159 lbs of Pantin, FRA is now 27-1.

Devon Alexander wrestled the IBF Welterweight championship with a lackluster twelve round unanimous decision over champion Randall Bailey.

The fight was void of action with the exception of round two where Bailey landed a big right hand. ALexander boxed and moved and threw more punches and cruised to the 117-109, 116-110 and 115-111 victory.

Alexander, 146.8 lbs of St. Louis, MO is now 24-1. Randall Bailey, 147 lbs of Miami, FL is now 43-8.

Former world title challenger Dmitry Salita pounded out a six round unanimous decision over Brandon Hoskins in a Welterweight bout.

Salita bloodied the left side of Hoskins face and won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55.

Salita, 150 lbs of Brooklyn is now 35-1-1. Hoskins, 147.2 lbs if Hannibal. MO is now 16-3-1.

In the past year Danny Jacobs knocked out cancer, tonight Jacobs knocked out Josh Luteran in sixty-nine seconds of theire scheduled eight round Middleweight bout.

Jacobs landed a hard right hand that sent Luteran down with his has pounding off the canvas and the fight was stopped.

Jacobs, 161.2 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 23-1 with twenty knockouts. Luteran, 161.8 lbs of Blue Springs, MO is now 13-2.

Former world champion Luis Collazo scored a eight round unanimous decision over Steve Upsher Chambers in a Welterweight bout.

Collazo repeatedly beat Chambers to the bunch and landed hard combinations on the ropes and picked Chambers apart in the center of the ring. Chambers put up a valiant effort and landed some good shots but Collazo won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75.

Collazo, 146.8 lbs of Brooklyn is now 32-5. Chambers, 148.6 lbs of Philadelphia is now 24-2-1.

Hot shot prospect Eddie Gomez scored a second round stoppage over Saul Benitez in a scheduled four round Jr. Middleweight fight.

One knockout was scored and the bout was stopped at 1:23 of round two.

Gomez, 151 lbs of Bronx, NY is 11-0 with eight knockouts. Benitez, 149.6 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is now 2-3.

Boyd Melson & Jason Thompson christened the building by fighting to a six round draw in a Jr. Middleweight bout

Thompson dropped Melson with a hard right hand in round one. Melson got even in round three when he landed a big right hook that sent Thompson to the canvas. Melson boxed well down the stretch and landed some decent punches but it wasn’t enough to offset the quick start from Thompson and the bout was a ruled a draw by scores of 56-56 om cards

Melson, 155 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 9-1-1. Thompson, 151 lbs of Brooklyn is now 5-6-2.

15rounds.com Photographer Claudia Bocanegra was present at the famed Brooklyn Bridge where fighters from this Saturday’s historic fight card at the Barclay Center took part in a photo shoot under the Bridge. The fight will feature four world title bouts and will be shown Live on Showtime
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Kelly Swanson
Thanks, everybody, for joining in. We have a lot of work to do on this call today. This is the first of two conference calls back-to-back, one is set for tomorrow, to talk about the October 20th four world title fight extravaganza. Of course, as everybody knows, this is bringing boxing back to Brooklyn from the new Barclays Center and, again, championship boxing has not been in Brooklyn in over 80 years. The fight will be televised on Showtime.

As you received in your media alert, we have four fighters available today and we’re going to start this call with Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey. He’s joined by his promoter Lou DiBella. And just to give the particulars of the fight and what you can look forward to, I’m going to turn it over to Robert Diaz from Golden Boy Promotions to make the opening statement. Robert?

Robert Diaz

Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you very much. I want to just give you a little bit of insight. This is a very exciting night of boxing that’s going to back to Brooklyn, like Kelly mentioned, after 80 years since the last world title fight and we’re going back with four world title fights.

We’re going with four world title fights to open up the beautiful Barclays Center. In the main event, Danny Garcia and Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Paulie Malignaggi defends his title against Pablo Cesar Cano; Hassan N’Dam will be fighting Peter Quillin and, of course, you’ll be hearing also from former World Champion Devon Alexander and current World Champion Randall Bailey.

Also, a stacked undercard with Brooklyn’s finest, Daniel Jacobs, Luis Collazo, young prospect, undefeated, Eddie Gomez. Dmitry Salita comes back to Brooklyn and Boyd Melson as well. Don’t miss it, it’s on Showtime. The telecast begins at 8 p.m. eastern time.

You’ll have Showtime Extreme beginning at 7 p.m. eastern time. Ticket prices are $300, $200, $100 and $50. So, don’t miss it, a great night of fights at the new Barclays Center. We want to thank also our sponsors, Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T.

I’d like to introduce right now the promoter for Randall Bailey as that fight is in association with DiBella Entertainment, President Lou DiBella. Lou?

Lou DiBella

Thanks, Robert. It’s great to be with you and it’s great to be part of what’s gong to be an historic night of boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. I was born and raised in Brooklyn and the return of boxing to Brooklyn is truly an exciting night. Showtime has put together with Golden Boy, a packed show with four top fights and an undercard that does feature a lot of New York’s finest.

So, I’m looking forward to Randall getting the opportunity to defend his title on the show. Randall is a hard puncher. He can stage a fight with just one punch from either hand. I don’t think there’s anyone in the sport who is a more devastating puncher.

Devon Alexander is a terrific young boxer. He probably will at some point in the fight be ahead in rounds, but if Randall lands one punch, then he retains his belt and I think that’s what brings this fight so much excitement and so much interest.

So, it’s my pleasure to introduce the KO King, the IBF Welterweight Champion of the World, Randall Bailey. Randall, do you want to say a few words?

Randall Bailey

Hello, everybody. I’m glad to be here on this show and I’m looking forward to October 20th. And I just want to thank my promoter, Lou DiBella and Golden Boy for getting this fight done and rescheduled so me and Devon can make this day happen.

Diaz

Thank you, Randall. And with that, I’d like to introduce to you Devon “The Great” Alexander out of St. Louis, Missouri, 23 wins, one loss, 13 knockouts. He’s a former World Champion in the Super Lightweight WBC and IBF Junior Welterweight Champion, no stranger to big punchers as he’s recently beat Lucas Matthysse and Marcos Maidana, two of the biggest punchers in the division. Devon Alexander “The Great”.

Devon Alexander

Good afternoon, everybody. I want to thank everybody for having me. I’m excited. I’m definitely excited to be coming to Brooklyn. This is my first time fighting in Brooklyn. I was ready four weeks ago to get this fight on, but I’m definitely still ready and ready to become three-time World Champion again. So, thanks for having me again.

Q

Randall, can you briefly just kind of touch on what it has taken to re-acclimate yourself to sparring, including the back injury. I know how it happened, you explained how it happened, but what was the recovery process and the transition back into sparring?

Bailey

It just required a lot of rest. I had to sit out and just take the medicine that they had prescribed for me and just relax for a couple of weeks.

Q

And how difficult was it to re-acclimate yourself to sparring, throwing the right hand, which you said was one of the reasons you hurt it? How was that transition?

Bailey

I do that naturally, so there was no fear and feeling pain because when you’re in a fight, whatever you hurt you’ve still got to go on. But just in this situation it didn’t make sense for me to go into a fight injured.

Q

Leading up to the fight with Jones, you were very understated. You came to the podium, in fact, at the press conference and you were very short and sweet. As opposed to then, now as Champion, you’ve been, obviously, very vocal about Devon and a lot of that exchange has come from you and Kevin Cunningham. Kevin Cunningham is used to this. He does this all the time. Is there any notion that maybe you’re being distracted by this, taken out of your game or are you completely focused in spite of all the trash talking?

Bailey

I am completely focused because it’s all a comedy to me, to tell you the truth, because Mike Jones’ trainer was doing the same thing. Vaughn Jackson was doing the same thing before the fight, saying a whole bunch of stuff, talking a whole bunch of smack and now he’s unemployed. So, at the end of the day, on October 20th maybe Devon will be finding him some new employees.

Q

Okay, do you guys, Devon and Kevin, do you guys have a response to that? I’m going to start with Devon first. Devon, as I said before, you’re accustomed to your trainer talking like he does and you going in the ring and doing your work. Can you talk about that relationship and how you just kind of stay back and kind of talk when it’s necessary or ready?

Alexander

Yeah, yeah, me and my coach have a beautiful relationship and whatever my coach says goes for me, too. My coach knows what he says and he knows what he’s doing, so whatever he says I’m right behind him.

For me, I will talk, but the point is, me and Bailey are getting in the ring and these hands will do the talking. I don’t have to talk about what I want to do, who I’m going to do it to, or whatever, because October 20th, actions are going to speak way louder than words. You can say what you want to say, but you’ve still got to get in the ring. So, I’m going to leave it at that.

Q

No pressure for you when Kevin talks like he does?

Alexander

No, not at all, not at all. That’s Kevin. Kevin is part of my team and that’s him. You’ve got to be yourself and I’m going to be myself. That’s how teams work, everybody plays their position and that’s what I’m going to do.

Q

Kevin, you heard what Randall said about you potentially going to be unemployed after this fight. Do you have a response?

Kevin Cunningham

Yeah, I heard what he said, but the bottom line is this. Vaughn Jackson is not Kevin Cunningham. And Mike Jones is not Devon Alexander. Vaughn Jackson doesn’t have the accomplishments that I have as a trainer. Neither does Mike Jones have the accomplishments that Devon has as a fighter.

So, I look at what Randall Bailey says; nothing that comes out of Randall’s mouth has facts to it. He just says things, so, basically it’s part of the hype, but come Saturday night, October the 20th he’s going to realize that he’s in with an elite fighter. And we all know Randall Bailey can punch.

But we also know that Randall Bailey knows how to lose because he’s lost seven times. And every time he steps in the ring with an elite fighter he gets nailed. So, that’s the difference in what this whole conversation and all this back and forth talk is. I’m speaking facts and this dude is just talking out the side of his neck.

Q

You had said that you believe that he was faking the back injury. Do you still believe that? And then also do you believe that he’s out of his element when he personally engages with you as he’s doing?

Cunningham

He’s way out of his element when he engages with me because he doesn’t have the oral skills to even deal with me on that type of level. So, I do my thing. I handle everything on the outside of the ring and Devon handles everything on the inside of the ring. And that’s what a perfect team does. I do what I do, Devon does what he does and that’s what a team does.

When you’re dealing with Team Alexander, that’s what you’re dealing with, a team. Yeah, we all know fight night Devon has got to go in the ring and fight. That’s his job. My job is to handle everything outside the ring, make sure he gets in position to get great opportunities, make sure his career stays relevant, all this type of stuff.

And this is a business as well as it’s boxing. So, America has just got to understand the business aspect of boxing. But, look, in the last few months I promoted Randall Bailey more than he’s been promoted in his whole 16-year career, so he should be a little more thankful and grateful.

Q

Lastly, the question about his back.

K. Cunningham

Oh, sorry. Come on, man. Look, the man just told you he was off resting for two weeks after the injury. He was on Twitter on Monday after the fight. The fight was scheduled September the 8th. On that Monday he’s on Twitter talking about he’s in the gym working hard and he’s feeling good.

So, I mean, he needs to get it together, bro. I mean if you were injured, you’re injured. Stuff happens, but if you’re on Twitter talking about you’re in the gym working hard on Monday, the Monday following the fight, I mean were you on bed rest for two weeks or were you in the gym like you Tweeted? You tell me.

Q

Randall, do you have any retort to all this that they’re talking about?

Bailey

Kevin must have eyes everywhere because he just knows so much. He just knows everything. You can’t tell Kevin anything. Kevin is like a cartoon in his own show.

Q

Thank you very much. Randall, that was very funny about the cartoon. But my question for you, with this fight, is your back now, even though you were just talking about the couple of weeks off, is it 100% right now?

Bailey

I’m good right now. My sparring and everything went well. I did my last day yesterday and I’m good.

Q

Do you feel like in the fight that you’re going to have to be a little bit more active? I saw your fight. I was at your fight with Mike Jones. You scored a great knockout. You basically landed two great punches in the fight, one that knocked him down and one that knocked him out.

The way that Devon seems to fight with his style, I guess, that you might have to have a little bit more punch output and a little bit more activity to do what you have to do against him. Do you feel like you need to be more active when you’re in the ring with Devon Alexander?

Bailey

I keep telling everybody that Devon is not the same size as Mike Jones. They’ve got Mike Jones linked at six feet. He’s at least six one and a half. He’s very hard to reach. Devon is smaller than me. He’s not going to be hard for me to find. And this is what they don’t understand.

Q

Okay. Devon, what’s your reaction to what Randall just said?

Cunningham

October 20th they will definitely see.

Q

Okay. Devon, do you have any remark about what Randall just said, comparing your size to Mike Jones’ size?

Alexander

I don’t see where size matters in boxing. Koto was smaller than you, Urango was smaller than you. You fought a lot of guys smaller than you, so I don’t see-

Bailey

You’re smaller than me, too. I’m going to show you what a big man do to a small man.

Alexander

Oh, okay. But I just don’t see-

Bailey

No, no, no, cat doesn’t have your tongue. Keep talking, don’t stutter.

Q

Randall, let him answer the question.

Bailey

Damn, you’re slow.

Alexander

I don’t see what size has to do with boxing. I could be two feet and still come in there and do what I’ve got to do and win the fight, so I don’t see what he’s trying to say or what he’s trying to come up with. I’m going to put it like this. It doesn’t matter what Randall Bailey is coming to do, and it doesn’t matter what he’s coming to do, what he’s put out, what I have either.

It’s about what I’m going to do to him. I’m going to implement what I’m going to do and we’ll come out of there with the IBF title. That’s the name of the game.

Q

Devon, let me ask you this; when you hear the talk that goes on between Kevin and Randall, you’ve had your say, but Kevin is, obviously, an outspoken person and him and Randall have been engaging, not only in this promotion building up to October 20th, but before the fight was postponed the last time it was scheduled, do you sit back and just kind of laugh because you and Kevin have such different personalities, do you just sort of sit back and kind of are amused by the whole thing?

Alexander

Yes, it’s definitely is funny, but my coach, he definitely knows what he’s doing and I’m definitely with him 100%. So, it’s definitely entertaining and, like he said, this is boxing, this is the entertainment field and you’ve got to entertain people, you’ve got to make people want to see the fight. So, like my coach, he did a great job promoting the fight, people want to see the fight now because of the trash talking. And I love it because he’s part of my team so I don’t mind it.

Q

One other question for both of you guys. This fight was the main event on Showtime, that was supposed to be a few weeks ago, now even though the fight is still happening and the people would like to see it, you’re moving on to an undercard so maybe it’s not going to get as much attention if it was the main event, I think that’s fair to say.

Do you have an opinion about or a thought about not being the main event anymore or does it not make a difference to either of you guys? Randall, maybe you can start.

Bailey

It don’t make a difference to me, it don’t make a difference to me.

Q

Okay, short and to the point. And, Devon?

Alexander

Everybody’s got their own job to do. Of course, with me being the lead fighter I definitely want to be main event all the time, but sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. The fight was scheduled for September, but now it’s October so we’ve got to get on this card. Everything happens for a reason, so we’re not going to worry about that. We’re just going to go in there and do what we’ve got to do.

Diaz

I just want to remind everybody this is four world title fights. Any of these fights could be a main event. You’ve got eight great fighters fighting for a world title, so any fight here on this card could be a main event.

Q

Devon, it was just mentioned you being in a main event last month and to know being basically the fight that opens up the show. Does that give you more motivation to try to take this title next Saturday night?

Alexander

I’m already motivated. I’m already motivated and it does motivate me to go in there and even put on a more spectacular performance. But, like I said, in the last question everything happens for a reason. I’m used to being on top, the top bill, main event, but, hey, this is what happened. When a fight falls off and you’re put on somebody else’s card or whatever, so I’m okay with that. I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do and get back to where I feel comfortable at, which is main event.

Q

Let me ask you this, you’ve been looking real strong at 47 the last two fights. Do you feel as though 47 is the best class for you compared to how you was at 40?

Alexander

Indeed, definitely indeed. Like everybody knows I was able to make 140 and now 147, I’ve got all my power, all my legs, all my energy back and it’s going to be trouble for whoever I fight at 147 because it’s a different Devon Alexander, so it’s going to be trouble for anybody.

Q

Randall, let me ask you this. I know you had trouble with your back, but I have to mention Devon is a smaller fighter. Do you feel as though your size is going to complement you better going into the fight next week?

Bailey

Definitely. I don’t know what they’re talking about. Even in the Marcos Maidana he was barely making it. I’m going to show these fools.

Q

What’s your response to that, Devon?

Alexander

Well, response to what? I don’t even know what he said.

Q

He’s basically saying that even in the Maidana fight you barely made 47, so do you think it will be difficult for you–

Bailey

Actually I was saying even in the later rounds of that fight he wasn’t doing as much and, in fact, Maidana was really keying off on him and he wasn’t the one controlling the fight in the end.

Alexander

Did you see in the last round I did the shuffle?

Bailey

Yes, I saw that fight. I did see that fight. You watch it again.

Q

Hi, Devon. You’ve been in the ring with some pretty big punchers and, obviously, you’re going to be in the ring with another big puncher on the 20th. Can you tell me, of all your fights, who would you say is the hardest that you’ve eve been hit by and by who?

Alexander

Well, I plan my boxing career on not to get hit often. This is boxing, you’re going to get hit, but I… myself not to get hit as often. But if I was to say the hardest puncher I faced, it would have been Matthysse.

Q

Lucas Matthysse?

Alexander

Yes.

Q

Did he ever hurt you in the fight? Do you feel you’ve ever been hurt in a professional fight?

Alexander

Not at all, not at all because in boxing you’ve got to be alert and you’ve got to know what you’re doing in there and I don’t think I have ever been hurt. Of course, I get collar punches or whatever, but nothing to say oh man, wow, so not at all.

Swanson

Okay. So, if everybody could stand by and we’re going to go ahead and thank Randall and Devon for joining us. If we have any last comments from either one of you or you want to go ahead and get back to training, that’s fine. So, Randall, any last minute thoughts there?

Bailey

Thank you all for having me and I look forward to October 20th.

Alexander

Again, thanks for having me. I’m excited about being in Brooklyn to be crowned the new IBF Champion, so I’m excited.

Diaz

Well, when you talk about Erik Morales there’s no introduction needed. You have a multiple world champion, one of the best fighters in Mexico, one of the best fighters in the world, definitely a Hall-of-Famer, with a record of 52 wins, eight losses and 36 knockouts, Erik Morales.

*PLEASE NOTE: Erik Morales was unable to participate in the conference call

Well, everybody, Danny, the WBC/WBA Super Lightweight Champion, Danny “Swift” Garcia, 24/0, fifteen knockouts out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a little known fact that many might not know, he’s also very talented in the music. Danny writes his own songs out there, right, Danny?

Garcia

Yeah, I’m messing around with it. First, I feel blessed just to be headlining on the card in Brooklyn. I’ve worked really hard. I’ve been working really hard for eight weeks for this fight. I’ve been working hard my career for this fight and I just want to give the fans another great fight and I’m training hard to make that happen, so I can’t wait until October 20th. It’s going to be another explosive performance.

Q

Here’s the thing about this fight; now, in the first fight you won a decision. It was a good fight, but I don’t think there was any controversy about the outcome of the fight. You knocked him down, if I recall, I believe in the 11th round of the fight.

So, going into the rematch, would your ideal plan to be to sort of be even more of a run away winner in this fight than you were in the first fight? To look even better in this fight, to maybe be more definitive with your victory, which perhaps would be a knockout or is it you don’t think about that? I know you just want to get the W.

Garcia

I always think about, again, the W, but I feel like the first time around, the first fight, it was my first fight on a big stage. I showed them a lot of respect. Now the tables are turned and I’m the champion, he’s the challenger. I’m confident and I’m ready. I feel like this fight I’m more prepared mentally and physically.

Q

If I understand it correctly, he had the option to have a rematch with you after you had an interim bout, which is what you had when you knocked out Amir Khan and so he invoked that rematch clause and being a person of honor you accepted that, but if there was not a rematch clause in your first fight, would your preference have been to move on to some other contender or some other champion or some other fight or are you just as content to have that other fight with Erik Morales, who, like Robert said, may be older at this point, but someday will be a Hall-of-Famer?

Garcia

You know, me, I really don’t look at who I fight. I just train. I let my manager pick out the fight and, me, I get ready and I’m always ready for whoever they put in front of me, so I just fight whoever they put in front of me, I just get ready for who they put in front of me. I’m not really the matchmaker.

Q

But you didn’t have an opinion about it, though? You didn’t think to yourself, I’d like to fight this guy or I’d like to fight that guy, even though, like you said, you have your management and your promoter that handle the business part?

Garcia

I never really thought about it because they say Khan was the number one guy in the division and when I beat him I didn’t really know who else was out there. There are a couple of tough guys out there, but I was just happy at the moment. I never really thought after that.

Q

Okay. One other thing, then. In the first fight he didn’t make the weight. He had the belt going into the fight, go to the weigh-in, he doesn’t make the weight, the title is vacant. You make the weight, no problem, you then go out there and win the title in the next night. So, are you a little concerned at all in any way that he’s going to not make the weight a second time and cause more problems or are you confident that that was a one-time thing for him?

Garcia

I don’t really know him. I’m not worried about him, but if he comes over weight, then he has to lose weight. It’s got to be fair this time. Say we are sacrificing big weight, he has to do it and that’s a part of the sport.

Q

Right, but last time he didn’t lose the weight.

Garcia

Yeah, because he was the champion, he was, I don’t care. He was making good money, I wasn’t making as much money as him, so it wasn’t really not for him. But this time it’s different, he’s got to make the weight.

Q

Danny, my question to you is this. You are a young fighter. I think there were even some people who thought that Erik Morales would have too much experience, maybe challenge you in different ways, tricks of the trade, all of that, more than you had before and still beat you. The same thing about Khan, there were people, and I’m sure you heard it, that thought you were going to get beat. Those two wins, number one, what were some of the comments that you heard and how were you supposed to, I guess, get beat according to what you heard? And number two, how are you a better fighter from each of those experiences?

Garcia

Those two fights, I was a young kid, nobody knew who I was, so it was only right for people to think what they were thinking, but that only made me hungrier to prove everybody wrong and win the fights. I was an underdog my whole career. It just makes me hungrier to prove people wrong and just to keep winning.

Q

The Erik Morales fight, you had some cuts. Can you talk about the adversity that you overcame in that particular fight and how rewarding was it to kind of put on some steam and knock him down in the 11th round and really pour it on in the end?

Garcia

It gave me a lot of confidence because he’s a smart bet. He tried to get me tired and then finish me off in the later rounds, like he did to the other kid, the one he beat before me. Yeah, I knew I had to be in shape because he tries to play dumb for the first ten rounds and then tries to kick it on late and get the young player out of there.

But I was in great shape and blood and cuts, that’s what happens in boxing. It really doesn’t bother me. That’s what happens when you get hit and you get a cut and you bleed, so that’s a part of boxing. That don’t really bother me.

Q

I thought a crucial moment in the Khan fight was the second round where your father, Angel, really got in your grill about getting out-punched, about not doing certain things, so he really challenged you and I thought that was a crucial moment where you had to respond. Can you talk about that moment and how do you think you responded?

Garcia

He was just trying to keep me focused. We knew Khan was going to come out fast, he’s a fast starter. That’s why they kept talking about how they were going to jump on me early and knock me out. But I knew once I adapted and I started leading my shots, we wanted to see could he take them. And the first clean punch I hit him with, he went down.

Q

Last question for you. I talked to Lamont Peterson and his brother, Anthony, who was his sparring partner before the Khan fight and they said that they were looking to catch Amir Khan during exchanges and when he was pulling out and dropping his hands, that they could hit him squarely and one of the punches they said they thought they could land was the latter, that you landed.

Can you talk about weathering the storm offensively, because he was hitting you with some pretty good shots, but you stayed on the body and then came to the top. Can you talk about how you were able to do that and, obviously, ultimately the landing left-hook was something you wanted to do.

Garcia

We knew he was fast, but he’s reckless. He just throws punches and doesn’t worry about; he just throws punches and doesn’t worry about the other guy coming back. He just puts his hands up and runs. So, we knew he had no defense, so it was time and speed and everything and that’s what we trained for.

Q

Will you be satisfied with a decision against Morales or do you feel you need a knockout to improve on your last performance against him?

Garcia

No, the past is the past. I always go into the fight ready for 12 rounds. I don’t ever go for the knockout because that’s how you get knocked out. But I’m ready for 12 smart rounds and the KO comes then we’re going to take him out.

Q

Your parents are Puerto Rican and you were born and raised in Philly. Those are two areas well known for their boxing history and heritage. Do you think you combine both parts? Philly fighters are very particular, Puerto Rican fighters are also very particular in their styles.

Garcia

Yeah, most definitely, I feel like I have; Philadelphia is a real town of boxing, a lot of smart fighters, so I definitely bring that to the ring, my smarts and my skill. And then I have the Puerto Rican blood, which is my strength and my power. So, I feel like I have the best of both worlds. I have the power and I have the skill.

Q

Also, there’s a history of a sports rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico in the boxing ring. How do you feel, you have been part of that great heritage of Puerto Rico versus Mexico and how do you this second fight with Morales, one of the all-time greats, is going to stack up against that great history?

Garcia

I think it’s going to be another great fight, another tough fight. This time I’m a lot smarter, more confident, and stronger, so I think it’s going to be enough.

Q

And finally, how has your life change after your huge win over Amir Khan? I mean, you were the champion before, but being kind of the underdog and the way you did it must have brought a whole new life and friends to your career. Is that so, has it changed in any way?

Garcia

I mean, it definitely changed. Now I get the respect that I deserve. A lot of people really never respected me. They didn’t think I was a true champion. But now, I proved to the world that I’m the best.

Q

Danny, this fight is a rematch. So, my question is have you had a rematch before and how do you, like going into a rematch how is that different than the first time you face a fighter?

Garcia

I have never had a rematch in my professional career, but there are a lot of rematches in the amateurs. But this time, I expect, I know what he does. I know this time he’s going to come harder than the last time, so I’m definitely more prepared for that. I’m just going to go in there and do what I do best and adapt to a fight and win.

Q

Okay. And do you think, it being a rematch, does it favor either one of you, you or Erik, and why?

Garcia

I think it favors me, because I’m the younger fighter. I learn off my mistakes and this time, you can’t teach an old horse new tricks, so I know he’s going to bring the same thing, but he’s just going to try harder. He’s looking at it like this is his last fight, so he’s going to put everything on the table and try to pull off a victory, but I’m ready for 12 rounds of war and I’m going to get the job done.

Q

And given the fact that you want to perhaps do better in this fight than you did in the first fight and he, obviously, wants to do better, do you think this fight is likely to be an even better fight than the first one?

Garcia

Yeah, I think it’s going to be a better fight because we both know what’s in front of us and we’re both training hard and we’ve both got something to prove. I’m in great shape, man, I just can’t wait to out there and perform.

Q

As a young champion is there anyone in the sport that you look up to or are you kind of past that?

Garcia

I don’t know, I definitely look up to some fighters. I’ve got a favorite fighter. I’ve got one favorite fighter, that’s because he’s not in my weight class. I like Andre Ward. I look up to Andre Ward. He’s a good fighter and we both have the same belt. He’s doing his thing, a real smart fighter. I like him and I like myself, so those are the only two players I like right now.

Q

And Brooklyn is really in the spotlight right now nationally with the new building, the cover of Sports Illustrated this week, it’s kind of a big deal around here in New York. I’m just wondering what it means to you to sort of open up boxing and sort of bring the tradition back to Brooklyn and were you excited about it when you heard you were going to be fighting in the Barclays Center?

Garcia

I’m really excited. This is what I’ve waited for my whole life, to bring a big fight back to the East Coast and there hasn’t been a big fight in Brooklyn in 80 years, so just for me to be headlining that card, man, it’s just a dream come true to me and I’m training my hardest to give everybody a great performance.

Q

Speaking of Amir Khan and rematches, do you think that trainer Virgil Hunter can help Amir Khan and is a rematch something that you’re interested in or was knocking him out once good enough for you?

Garcia

Like I said before, I don’t choose my fights and I don’t really worry about other fighters. If they’re next, they’re next. But right now I’m focusing on Erik Morales and it’s a big fight in front of me and I’ve got to get through this.

Q

Speaking of Morales, what did you think of the shape that Erik Morales was in for the first fight and do you think that he can train himself into a better performance this time?

Garcia

I really don’t know. Only he knows himself, but I’m preparing myself for a war. He’s the Mexican warrior, he has a lot of experience and I’ve got to be ready for all his tricks and whatever he brings to the table.

Q

Assuming you win this contractually obligated rematch, what are your plans moving into 2013? Who would you like to defend your title against, or are you looking for fights outside of your division?

Garcia

I never look past my opponent, so I don’t even think of that kind of stuff. My main focus right now is Erik Morales. I’ve got a tough task in front of me and I’ve got to get past this.

Q

What’s your prediction for the fight, Danny?

Garcia

Danny Garcia win all the way, whether it comes by a knockout or it comes by a decision, I’m ready for 12.

Garcia

I’m just excited and I can’t wait to perform.

Diaz

Take care, Danny. We’ll see you next week. Once again, everybody, thank you so much, the Unified Super Lightweight World Champion, WBA/WBC and Ring Magazine Champ, Danny “Swift” Garcia.

Thank you for being on the call. Thanks to Showtime, our sponsors DeWalt, AT&T and we’ll be bringing it back to Brooklyn after 80 years, October 20th, don’t miss it. Four world title fights.

END OF CALL

World championship boxing returns to Brooklyn with an inaugural night of fights at the new Barclays Center on October 20 headlined by Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia against future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T. In the co-featured attractions, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano, undefeated number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship and Devon Alexander “The Great” faces Randall Bailey for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship in a bout presented in association with DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME® CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com,www.ticketmaster.com, the Barclays Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK (September 19, 2012) – The IBF Welterweight World Championship bout between Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey has been added to boxing’s debut event at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center on Saturday, October 20. An already star-studded fight card now features four compelling world championship bouts with titlists in the 140, 147 and 160-pound divisions defending their belts. An undercard featuring the most promising and talented New York fighters rounds out a historic night as world championship boxing returns to Brooklyn for the first time since 1931.

Alexander vs. Bailey, a 12-round bout for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella Entertainment and will be part of an unprecedented four-title-fight telecast on SHOWTIME. The fight was originally slated for Saturday, Sept. 8 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, but was postponed when Bailey suffered a back injury.

“We are thrilled to not only be re-announcing this hard-hitting matchup, but also to be able to add it to the already powerful night of boxing planned for Barclays Center on October 20,” said Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions. “With four world championship fights and a great undercard to kick off a new era of boxing in Brooklyn, this show is going to be like the Super Bowl of boxing and definitely will be a night to remember.”

“I really didn’t think the Barclays Center event could get any bigger, but that is exactly what has happened,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®. “It’s been our strategy at Showtime to increase the quality and the quantity of our boxing coverage. For this network to televise four title fights on one night, not on pay-per-view, demonstrates the commitment we’ve made to our subscribers and to boxing fans. Thanks to the promoters and to Devon and Randall for bringing this fourth fight to the table. What a special night this will be for these talented fighters, for Brooklyn and for the sport of boxing.”

“We are extremely excited to be apart of this boxing extravaganza,” said Kevin Cunningham, CEO of The Great Promotions. “Brooklyn has produced some of boxing’s biggest stars, so it’s an honor to get this opportunity.”

“Randall is the hardest puncher in boxing and he is a true champion,” said Lou DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment. “If Devon Alexander wants his belt, he is going to have to take it and withstand the hardest right hand in the sport.”

“A night of this magnitude is made for Brooklyn,” said Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark. “Barclays Center is launching its first boxing event with an unprecedented four-title-fights in one night. Brooklyn has raised some of the greatest world championship fighters and it deserves an event of this caliber.”

Devon Alexander “The Great” (23-1, 13 KO’s), no stranger to facing and beating powerful knockout artists as evidenced by his last two wins coming against current World Champion Lucas Matthysse and former World Champion Marcos Maidana, has the skill and will to baffle any opponent he faces. An eight-year professional who held both the WBC Super Lightweight and IBF Junior Welterweight World Titles before losing them via a controversial and close technical decision to Timothy Bradley in 2011, the proud 25-year-old St. Louis native has since reinvented himself at 147 pounds. After his big wins over two of Argentina’s best in Maidana (W10) and Matthysse (W 10), Alexander is looking forward to proving himself once again by beating Bailey and becoming a two-division world champion.

“The opportunity to be a part of this piece of boxing history means a lot to me,” said Alexander. “Randall Bailey and I have some unfinished business and I plan on starting the night off right for all of the fans watching at the new Barclays Center and at home on SHOWTIME. I am going to walk away as the IBF Welterweight World Champion on October 20.”

A veteran of more than 16 years in the professional game, Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KO’s) has not slowed down a bit at age 37. In fact, if his recent one-punch knockout of previously unbeaten Mike Jones in June is any indication, he may be more powerful than ever. The Miami resident has always had a gift for blasting out anyone who stood in his line of fire. Bailey utilized his trademark power to claim his first world title in 1999 when he knocked out Carlos Gonzalez for the WBO Junior Welterweight World Championship in just 41 seconds. In 2002, Bailey won a second title by knocking out Demetrio Ceballos, but his victory over Jones earlier this year for the IBF Welterweight crown, which extended his unbeaten streak to five in a row, may have been the sweetest win yet. Now, he looks to defend that title for the first time on October 20, in Brooklyn.

“I am so happy to be able to get back in the gym and continue to train,” said Bailey. “At my age you can’t take anything for granted and injuries are harder to overcome, but I am totally healed and ready to shock the world again by beating another young fighter like Devon Alexander. I said I would knock Devon Alexander out before and I am going to say it again. It’s going to be a great fight.”

In the evening’s main event, unbeaten Danny “Swift” Garcia defends his WBA Super, WBC & Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Championships as he rematches with legendary Mexican warrior and future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales. In the evening’s other co-featured bouts, also to be televised live on SHOWTIME, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano and undefeated, number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam in a 12-round battle for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship.

The undercard is stacked with a bevy of New York’s best including Brooklyn’s hot middleweight prospect Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs, former World Champion Luis Collazo, the Bronx’s rising star Eddie Gomez, former world title contender Dmitriy Salita and Brooklyn prospect Boyd Melson.

The fights will mark the first event of the previously announced deal between Barclays Center and Golden Boy Promotions under which at least 12 boxing events per year will be hosted at the new sports and entertainment venue.

The inaugural night of fights at Barclays Center is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Box Latino and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T with N’Dam vs. Quillin being presented in association with Asventure Promotion and Alexander vs. Bailey being presented in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are on sale now and available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.barclayscenter.com, http://Sports.SHO.com, follow us on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @BarclaysCenter, @loudibella, @DannySwift, @terrible100, @PaulMalignaggi, @KIDCHOCOLATE, @DAlexandereal, @KOKING_Bailey, @DanielJacobsTKO, @Eddiegomez718, @SHOsports, follow the conversation using #BrooklynBoxing or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, http://www.facebook.com/lou.dibella or www.facebook.com/ShoBoxing.

NEW YORK (Sept. 1, 2012) — Following a back injury that sidelined Randall Bailey for his IBF welterweight world title fight against Devon Alexander, the co-featured Lucas Matthysse vs. Ajose Olusegun bout for the WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship has been elevated to the main event for the Saturday, Sept. 8 fight card from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

The co-featured fight of the two-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast is to be determined.

For the unbeaten Nigerian Olusegun (30-0, 14 KO’s) and the power-punching Argentine Lucas Matthysse (31-2, 29 KO’s), this will be the first time that each will fight in the main event of an internationally televised world championship fight card.

“We’re disappointed that Devon will not have the opportunity to fight Randall Bailey for the title this weekend, but we’re hopeful that Randall will recover quickly so we can reschedule this great fight,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “As every cloud has a silver lining, we’re excited that the explosive September 8 match-up between Ajose Olusegun and Lucas Matthysse will now be in the spotlight headlining a great night of boxing.”

“Unfortunately, Randall Bailey suffered a severe lower back sprain,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “The orthopedic specialist determined that Bailey would not be able to fight on September 8th and requires a period of rest. He’ll be returning to the specialist on Wednesday, but the injury is not expected to sideline him for an extended period of time. We’re pleased that there is a terrific fight between Ajose Olusegun and Lucas Matthysse to move into the main event position. This fight between two of the best 140-pounders in the world will establish the challenger for the winner of the October 20 showdown between Danny Garcia and Erik Morales.”

“This is unfortunate for Randall, Devon and the fans who are looking forward to their fight,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “We would still like to televise Alexander vs. Bailey, but of course we have to wait for further information on Bailey’s injury before we can talk about that. In the meantime, we have a fierce matchup between Olusegun and Matthysse on our hands for next Saturday. These men have been training for months and we all know what they bring to the ring. Now, they have the spotlight all to themselves. I am looking forward to that fight.”

Olusegun vs. Matthysse, a 12-round fight for the vacant WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship taking place Saturday, September 8 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment, Gary Shaw Productions and Arano Box Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will air live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, along with a limited number of VIP suite seats priced at $150, are on sale and may be purchased at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, http://Sports.SHO.com, follow us on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing,@TheJointLV, @hardrockhotellv, @SHOsports, follow the conversation using or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or www.facebook.com/ShoBoxing.

IBF Welterweight champion Randall Bailey will not defend his title this Saturday against Devon Alexander as Bailey injured his back.

“With this one, it’s particularly frustrating because we’re dealing with a guy who has been (difficult) through the whole negotiating process,” Alexander’s manager/trainer Kevin Cunningham told ESPN.com. “He got the money he wanted. We had a date for the fight on Aug. 25 and he said he couldn’t be ready and to make it in September and he would be ready. So we pushed our date back. He wanted to dictate where the fight was going to be held. He wanted it to be in Las Vegas and refused to fight in St. Louis (Alexander’s hometown), so the fight was in Vegas.

“He got the money, the date and the site, and then a week before the fight, he pulled out with this back injury. I don’t think the guy is injured, to be honest with you. I just don’t think he wasn’t ready.”

“We’re still evaluating our options, whether to go forward with what we can or cancel everything. It’s all very new,” said Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza. “I’d like to save the event if at all possible, mainly because it’s so hard on the fighters who have been training for months. We’re working hard to find options that would allow us to save the show.”

“He might have been stuck in celebration mode longer than he should have been and when he looked up and realized the fight with Devon was a week away, he came up with a back injury because he knew he wasn’t ready. That’s what I think,” Cunningham said. “Devon is pissed. He has been training since June.

“Find us another opponent,” Cunningham said. “My kid is at his peak and ready to fight. Randall Bailey is an idiot. I think he’s jerking everybody around. We bent over backwards to make this fight with Randall Bailey happen and he comes up with excuses.”

Said Espinoza, “I’d love to find a replacement opponent for Devon, but given that Devon is an elite welterweight, it is unlikely that we will be able find a legitimate opponent willing to take the fight on short notice.”

Former Jr. Welterweight champion Devon Alexander made a pretty loud statement in his Welterweight debut with an impressive ten round unanimous decision over Marcos Maidana in a fight between two former Jr. Welterweight champions at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Alexander was brilliant as he mixed up his punches with right hooks to the body and straight lefts to the head. Alexander never let Maidana get into any type of groove as his speed and assortment of punches kept Maidana off balance. Alexander had Maidana in trouble on a few occasions and Alexander looks solid both skill wise and physically at this weight.

Alexander won by scores of 100-90; 100-90 and 99-91 and is now 23-1. Maidana, 146 3/4 lbs of Santa Fe, Argentina and is now 31-3.

Adrien Broner defended his WBO Super Featherweight title with a one punch fourth round stoppage over previously undefeated Eloy Perez.

Broner showed the skills and speed that have made him one of the most talented fighters in the world as he landed some solid shots over the first three frames. Perez fought hard and got in a few hooks but he was out skilled by the man known as “The Problem”

Broner landed a perfect right hand that sent Perez down face first in the fourth round. Perez tried to get to his feet but was unable and the fight was stopped.

Broner, 130 lbs of Cincinnati, OH is now 23-0 with nineteen knockouts. Perez, 130 lbs of Salinas, CA is now 23-1-2.

This week brings an ignominious anniversary for our beloved sport. Sunday will mark a year since “The Super Fight” – Timothy Bradley versus Devon Alexander – happened in Pontiac, Mich. The fight itself was inconsequential; neither man has done anything in the junior welterweight division since. But the consequences for HBO Sports were noteworthy, and perhaps more importantly, it still feels as though there is more to impart about the event, its city and arena, and Detroit.

A week or so before “The Super Fight,” sources learned Showtime would broadcast Manny Pacquiao’s next match. HBO had lost Pacquiao. The brass at HBO, who’d ignored the toy department for much of the preceding half-decade, suddenly went on notice. Their antennae went up. And with those antennae erect and tingling, “The Super Fight” went off in an abandoned airport hangar of a building in a depressed city.

What follows is a brief memoir of snow, dilapidated edifices, hidden service elevators, endless concrete expanses, a hopped chainlink fence, more snow, and an encounter in the Southwest terminal of Metro Airport. It will include some boxing.

*

About 10 days before “The Super Fight,” circumstances converged to make my trip possible. I procured a weird tangle of crisscrossed flights and rental car accommodations and wrote a preview of Bradley-Alexander that included a first-person conclusion assuring readers I would be there to see it. In the two days that followed, a goodish number of persons whose minds I admire called or wrote to ask me what the hell I was doing. I had two reasons for my trip to Pontiac in January: To honor Timothy Bradley – who was and remains one of my favorite active fighters – and to see if Detroit could be bad as accounts said it was.

My rental car was a Kia that when loaded with my laptop case and travel bag weighed perhaps a hundred pounds more than I did. The Kia and I set off for Pontiac in quickly accumulating snow. I had learned to drive in snow as a native New Englander, but in the 18 years since my departure for the Southwest I had not improved at the craft. The car slid all over the road, occasionally even working the oncoming side of where the yellow line would be found in April.

Friday morning I arrived on the outskirts of what my phone’s GPS said was Pontiac and surveyed the local FM dial in search of local flavor. One Motown station featured The Supremes followed by a familiar cackle and faux interview in which promoter Don King rattled off a handful of other Detroit-founded groups and invited locals to come to Silverdome tomorrow night for a super fight.

There was King, later that afternoon, in a private club on the end of Silverdome opposite where the ring would be constructed for Saturday’s fight. Or was the ring already constructed? A few of us gathered at the enormous glass wall where the weigh-in was held, and we peered and squinted at what could have been a black pocket square floating in a gray blazer. That was the curtain that both hid Saturday’s ring and marked the nearest point of Saturday’s converted arena – across hundreds of yards of empty concrete. Boxing’s chutzpah is at times extraordinary; who else would prod a hibernating venue to life then cordon off 90 percent of it?

King was alive if tired. When you speak with him he violates personal space till you realize how enormous a man he is. Your ears fit between his eyebrows, and his voice shakes your hair and scarf. He knew you would be there because you appreciate what is great in this sport, nay this land, and it thrills him the love he has for you, my brother, because as Shakespeare said, in his grandiloquence of verbositous garrulity, “If she say I am not fourteen pence on the score for sheer fisticuffs, score me up for the lyingest knave in Michigan!”

Promoter Gary Shaw, shorter and paler and rounder, was there too. A study of contrasts, King and Shaw. King is twice himself in person as he is on television, while Shaw is half. Shaw is softspoken and reasonable and willing to explain his talent lies in logistics more than spectacle. In his prime, King would have treated Shaw as an employee – Alan Hopper as publicist, Shaw as matchmaker – but King was by then far from his prime as he could be and still renew a promoter’s license.

Friday night brought an ill-advised drive to Detroit proper, a few bars, a rave, and an early morning Coney dog at the second-best Coney dog eatery in the city because the very best was being used that night as a set for some cop show starring Tony Soprano’s tequila-sipping protégé. The night is a not a blur for the reasons you think. It is a blur because of what followed: Somewhere just north of 8 Mile Road on I-75, when my phone’s battery died with its GPS and the falling snow became a white wall seen from the driver’s side window as my Kia went sideways toward Pontiac, I became suddenly aware of how easy it would be to get lost, run out of gas and not be found till springtime.

And like that I was lost. Snow was accumulated on the freeway signs. The sky was a dark pillow gently shaking one feather-like flake after the next. I had been driving 30 miles per hour for an hour but knew I had not gone 30 miles. The entire episode was not frightful in its actuality – I located the Marriott village in Pontiac before the gas light went out – but frightful in its manufacturing. A terrible time to have an imagination.

Saturday morning I went looking for downtown Pontiac.

***

Editor’s note: Part 2 will be published on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that an HBO Boxing After Dark doubleheader has been inked for February 25th in St. Louis that will feature former Jr. Welterweight champions Devon Alexander battling Marcos Maidana while the co-feature will pit WBO Jr. Lightweight champion Adrien Broner taking on mandatory challenger Eloy Perez.

“Devon’s like a big brother to me,” Broner said Monday night. “I grew up with him through the amateurs. Feb. 25, you can’t ask for nothin’ better than this card.”

“I have emails from both sides confirming the fights. Everything is agreed on and I have a deal with HBO,” said Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer.

Maidana-Alexander has been in the works for about a month.

“They both feel that they are going to have an even bigger impact on the sport in the higher weight class,” Schaefer said. “Devon, based on what I am hearing, he feels significantly better at 147 than he did at 140.

“For Maidana, I think you can put him in any weight class and he’s exciting as hell. Give or take a few pounds, it doesn’t matter. He is a warrior and he will fight anyone and make it exciting.”

“I think it’s going to be a great fight and fan friendly,” Kevin Cunningham, Alexander’s manager and trainer said. “Devon at 147 will have the speed, snap and energy that allows him to perform at 100 percent. St. Louis is a fight town and has always supported the St. Louis fighters. Devon has a special bond with his community and on Feb. 25 they are going to come out in full force to support him.”

“Eloy is an exciting guy, Broner is an exciting guy, so it’s a fight I am looking forward to seeing. I think it’s a toe-to-toe fight. I think Broner has the talent and charisma we need in boxing. What fighter asks his father to comb his hair during his interview with (HBO’s) Max Kellerman? He is an entertainer and a terrific young fighter.”

Said Broner, “I know a lot that want to see me lose and a lot that want to see me win. Perez will come prepared but I am going to come in the ring fresh, fly and flashy, and I’m going to have my brush with me. He’s good, 23-0 with seven knockouts, but from his record, he can’t punch his way out of a wet paper bag. But he’s obviously good and has always come out on top in his fights.

“Against me, he’s gonna be just like the other 22 I have faced. This is going to be his first ‘L.’ I’m not going looking for the KO, but I just don’t feel he will last 12 rounds with me

LAS VEGAS – Devon Alexander introduced his intentions Friday and made them official Saturday morning with a formal announcement that he has left Don King for Golden Boy Promotions in a move that also signals a move up in weight, from 140 pounds to 147.

“One-forty-seven is where I’ll take over,’’ Alexander said at a news conference that included Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, his trainer Kevin Cunningham and manager Drexel Stith. “I know Richard will put me in a position to do what I’ve got to do at 147. That’s why I made this transition.’’

Alexander’s jump from King to Oscar De La Hoya’s company was evident Friday at the MGM Grand when he was introduced before the weigh-in for Saturday night’s Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Victor Ortiz fight, a Golden Boy promotion.

Schaefer said the negotiations were conducted over two to three weeks.

“It was very easy,’’ Schaefer said. “We wanted him to come to Golden Boy and they wanted to come to us.’’

The signing of Alexander adds further depth to the quality of Golden Boy’s fighters at junior-welter and welterweight. Schaefer said he would approach Showtime and Home Box Office next week about the possibility of staging tournaments at 140 and/or 147. There is a wide-range of possibilities at either weight, he said.

However, it will have to be at 147 for Alexander, who says he won’t fight again at 140. Alexander (22-1, 13 KOs) lost a technical decision in January to Timothy Bradley and won a controversial split decision in June over Lucas Matthysse, has struggled to make the junior-welterweight limit.

Schaefer says the heavier weight could transform Alexander the way it did Ortiz against Andre Berto in a dramatic win that earned him the shot at Mayweather.

“Victor was more aggressive,’’ Schaefer said. “We are convinced Devon will make some noise in the 147-pound class and also become a world champion at 147.’’

There already has been some noise. More of it was heard Saturday several hours before opening bell for Mayweather-Ortiz. Welterweight Paulie Malignaggi, a Golden Boy fighter, sat in the back of the room. He and Alexander already have been involved in a trash-talk exchange via Twitter. It continued Saturday in person.

“I’m not a trash-talker,’’ Alexander said.

Malignaggi, who has never ignored a chance to talk, countered: “You started it. If you don’t want to trash-talk, let sleeping dogs lie.’’

But it sounded as if Alexander wanted to sidestep rhetoric that might be the prelude to an actual fight.

“I’m at the top of my game; he’s on the downslide,’’ Alexander said. “I want to fight the best. He’s not at the top of the division.’’

Alexander said he hopes to fight for the first time under the Golden Boy banner in either December or January. Schaefer mentioned Berto as one possibility. As Schaefer talked early Saturday, he could only wonder whether another one might emerge later that night.

“If Ortiz would lose, then that would be a possibility,’’ he said.

Fresh off his controversial win against Lucas Matthysse this past Saturday night, former Jr. Welterweight champion Devon Alexander will move to Welterweight according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“That’s our last fight at 140,” Kevin Cunningham, Alexander’s manager and his trainer since he first began boxing as a young boy, told ESPN.com on Monday. “He’s killing himself so bad to make the weight. After six rounds, his legs aren’t there because he killed himself to make 140. He’s been making 140 pounds since he was 15 and an amateur. Now he’s a 24-year-old man.”

“Devon didn’t look strong in these last few fights by the mid-rounds,” Cunningham said, referencing Saturday’s fight plus Alexander’s first career loss in a title unification fight versus Timothy Bradley Jr. in January and his unanimous decision win against former titlist Andriy Kotelnik last August.

“Devon never used to weaken in these fights. He didn’t weaken in the (world title) fights with Junior Witter or (Juan) Urango. For those fights, he would get down to 146 and hit a wall at like 145 or 146. It took him a week and a half to get past 145, but he did it. For this fight with Matthysse, he got to 146 and he couldn’t get past it. It took a few weeks and he finally broke through, but it took a lot. A lot.

“I can’t keep putting my fighter at a disadvantage. He’s gotta move up. We’re taking off all this weight and there’s no fat, so he’s been taking off muscle.”

Cunningham already has an opponent in mind — former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi, who moved up in weight last year but is on the shelf recovering from a hand injury suffered in his last fight.

“Our first up at 147, we’d like to fight Malignaggi,” Cunningham said. “I think it would be a great fight. Paulie’s already talking s— about Devon, so there’s some bad blood already.”

Also, Alexander’s promotional contract with Don King expired following the fight, so before he returns to the ring, Cunningham said they will be listening to offers.

“The contract with King is over and we’re free to talk to whoever we want to talk to,” Cunningham said. “So we’ll take a little break and then sit down and see what happens. We’ll see what the best direction is for Devon to go in and then we’ll start talking to people.”

Coming off his first professional loss to Timothy Bradley this past January, Devon Alexander rebounded (sort of) by taking a controversial split decision over Lucas Matthysse in a ten round Jr. Welterweight bout at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri.

Matthysse landed the harder shots as he featured the left to the body and right hands upstairs. In round four, Matthysse landed a perfect right to the head that sent Alexander down for the first time in his career. Alexander fought hard as he mixed up trading with the puncher and moving back to gain room to operate.

Matthysse fought very well in the second half of the fight by landing power shots and causing some tense moments for Alexander. Matthysse had a big round seven as he landed numerous right hands and body work. Alexander followed suit in round nine with some solid left hands of his own.

Both guys tried to impose their will in the final round but it was Matthysse who landed the better shots and even opening up a cut around the right eye of Alexander.

When the scores were announced, it was Alexander who had his arm raised by taking the fight by the scores of 96-93; 95-94 while Matthysse took a card 96-93.

Alexander, 139 1/2 lbs of St. Louis is now 22-1. Matthysse of Argentina is now 28-2.

Tavoris Cloud defended his IBF Light Heavyweight championship with a hard fought eighth round stoppage over Yusaf Mack.

Mack fought very well over most of the fight as he boxed and moved and stuck to his gameplan. Cloud got through with some good power shots that Mack took very well. Mack was actually doing well in the eighth round until he got caught with a left to the side of his face that stunned him. Cloud jumped on Mack and landed five shots that sent him to the canvas over the bottom rope.

Mack was up at referee Sam Williams count of six but was still very dazed and when he was asked to walk towards the referee, Mack stood still and fight was waved off at 2:57 of round eight.

Mack, 175 lbs of Tallahassee, FL is now 22-0 with nineteen knockouts. Mack, 174 1/4 lbs of Philadelphia is now 29-4-2.

Bermane Stiverne made his plea to call himself heavyweight contender with a one-punch knockout over former world title challenger Ray Austin in round ten of a scheduled twelve round Heavyweights bout.

Austin had success early with the jab as he used his 6’5″ height to his advantage. Stiverne rocked Austin several times such as in round two with a left hook as he looked for one shot to end the things. Austin was deducted a point after round three by lunging a shoulder in to Stiverne after the bell. Stiverne continued to land the bigger shots while Austin was looking to box by featuring his jab.

Stiverne was very effective in round’s seven and eight by working the body and landing some nice power shots. In the first minute of round ten, Stiverne missed with a right but connected with a big right that sent Austin to the canvas.

Austin barely beat referee Mike England’s count but the fight was stopped forty-four seconds into the round.

Stiverne, 238 1/2 lbs of Miami, is now 21-1-1 with twenty knockouts. Austin, 238 lbs of Cleveland, OH is 28-6-4.

Devon Alexander: “Matthysse is a rough and tough fighter. I brought the fight out in me because people had their doubts about my abilities as a boxer.

“The knockdown [first of his career] was a flash knockdown [in the fourth round]. I had to pull it out. I was having flashbacks from my last fight with Bradley, and I wasn’t going to lose two fights in a row. As a matter of fact, I’m never going to lose again.”

Kevin Cunningham: (trainer and manager of Devon Alexander) “I didn’t enjoy watching a rugged, tough guy like Matthysse in there with my fighter. I knew it was gonna be tough. I didn’t want to see my fighter trading with a puncher like Matthysse, but because of all the criticism he took after the Bradley fight, he felt he had something to prove in his hometown.

“I think when Devon reviews the tape of the fight, he’ll see that he was at his most effective when he was using his boxing skills to the fullest.”

Lucas Matthysse: “I gave it my all. It was a tough fight but I thought I won. Once again, I was robbed. He’s lucky he won the fight. I thought when I put him down, I’d finish him off but I couldn’t.”

Tavoris Cloud: “Yusaf Mack is a good fighter. I can’t take nothing away from him. I just caught him with some good shots.

“If you noticed, he was tiring down. I heard him breathing hard during the last three rounds. I was telling him, ‘You’re tired, aren’t you?’

“The whole game plan was to go to the body. He wasn’t hurting me. I knew he was a bouncy-bouncy guy, an in-and-out guy. I wore him down with body shots and took him out.

“Jean Pascal is here tonight. If he’s ready, I’m ready. I’m ready for anybody.”

Yusaf Mack: “He kept clipping me on the top of the head. I kept telling the ref about it but he only warned him once. The ref told me to stop holding him.

“I thought my plan was working well.

“The first shot in the corner dazed me but it was on the top of the head. The final punch was on top of the head also.”

Bermane Stiverne: “I knew he was going to try and box me but he often drops his right hand. I kept listening to his corner. Whatever they said, he did. So I started anticipating that. It became a big advantage for me.

“I was a little too lax but I felt good tonight. I was looking for the perfect shot instead of establishing my jab. The perfect shot did come in the 10th round. It was a short shot, a half-hook right hand that did him in.”

I’m on my way to my first world championship. I can feel it. I still have a lot to learn and I can get better.”

Ray Austin: “I was waiting ‘til he [the referee] reached eight [in his count during the 10th round]. In the dressing room before the fight, he told me as long as I am up by nine it would be OK. Then I got up and bounced around to let him know I was ready. So I got up at eight and bounced around on my feet to let him know I was ready and he stopped the fight. How many rounds do you think I won? [Austin was winning on two cards at the time of the stoppage.]

Hype, inevitable as it is dangerous, accompanies Devon Alexander into the ring Saturday against Lucas Mattysse as ally or enemy.

Alexander (21-1, 13 KOs) can use it the way Victor Ortiz did against Andre Berto. For Ortiz, hype became a motivational resource that dramatically restored public credibility and personal confidence. Or Alexander can allow it to intimidate and metastasize, a paralyzing foe powerful enough to leave LeBron James a quarter short and empty every time.

Mattysse’s proven power makes him dangerous, yet it’s hard to believe he would be considered much of a threat if Alexander was not coming off his first defeat. A loss in January to Timothy Bradley tagged Alexander with the kind of criticism that haunted Ortiz after losing to Marcos Maidana, like Mattysse (28-1, 26 KOs) an Argentine junior-welterweight.

Like Ortiz in the wake of Maidana, Alexander’s character was questioned for an apparent surrender in a 10th-round technical decision brought on by a cut Alexander suffered in a head butt.

“People want to criticize everything you do,’’ said Alexander, who went on to say that Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Barack Obama face criticism. “It’s part of the territory. I didn’t read anything after the fight. I just stayed to myself. I knew there was going to be criticism. I just stayed away from it and blocked it all out. I know what I’m capable of doing in the ring and it only motivated me to get back in the gym and get back on top. So it didn’t affect me at all.’’

But criticism comes from all angles and from just about anywhere. One day, it’s on the internet. The next day, it’s in a question during a conference call. It’s there, everywhere, meaning it’s impossible to ignore and a mistake not to use. Eventually, Ortiz did.

During a conference call about 10 days before Saturday’s HBO-televised bout in St. Louis, both Alexander and his trainer, Kevin Cunningham, sounded as if they have acknowledged the questions and taken ownership of the implied lessons.

“I lay the blame on Devon and me and that’s where it should be laid,’’ Cunningham said “When you don’t go out and do what you’re capable of doing, you are going to get criticized. I accept the criticism, he accepts the criticism and we accept full responsibility for coming up short in a great opportunity that was before us.

“But I’m telling you we won’t come up short on June 25, and I believe this fight is going to be a lot tougher fight than the Bradley fight.

Hype portraying Alexander as boxing’s next legend was a factor in the loss to Bradley. It either deluded him, or allowed him to grow so overconfident he cut corners. Whatever it was, he promises there will be no repeat.

“It was all me and what I didn’t do,’’ Alexander said. “…I have to stay focused, no matter how high the stakes are or how low the stakes are. You have to stay focused and follow the game plan.’’

A plan that also includes judicious use of everything there, even the hype.

NOTES, QUOTES
• While wondering whether Mayweather will ever fight Pacquiao and if Mexicans will one day witness Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-versus-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., here’s a question: How is it that fellow Argentines Matthysse and Maidana, both junior-welterweights, have never fought? Matthysse-Maidana sounds as if would do big business at soccer stadium in Buenos Aires.

• With temperatures reaching 110-degrees, the Phoenix market continues to heat up with two cards in July. A couple of weeks after Phoenix super-middleweight Jesus Gonzales (26-1, 14 KOs) faces Henry Buchanan (20-2, 13 KOs) of Maryland at the Suns downtown home at US Airways Center on July 8, former light-heavyweight Rico Hoye makes a comeback at heavyweight at Madison Event Center on July 22 on a card promoted by Michelle Rosado of Face II Face Events.

• And German Felix Sturm has no second thoughts about fighting in the U.S. Sturm hasn’t fought in the U.S. since he was robbed of a decision over Oscar De La Hoya in 2004 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. “No, I’m ready,’’ Sturm said.” I’m always ready to come back to the U.S. …I’m not scared to come back there.’’ Sturm (35-2-1, 15 KOs) defends his World Boxing Association version of the 160-pound title Saturday against Matthew Macklin (28-2, 19 KOs) Saturday in a Cologne bout televised by EPIX.

PART 1

PART 2

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that former 140 lb world champion Devon Alexander will take on hard punching Lucas Matthysse on June 25th most likely in St. Louis

“I made a deal with (Alexander’s promoter Don)King and I made one also with my fighter, so we are in,” said Matthysse’s promoter Richard Schaefer.

“This is one of those crossroads fights,” Schaefer said. “The winner is right back in the mix at 140 pounds, which is one of the most exciting weight classes in boxing. Lucas Matthysse is always in exciting fights.”

“I think it will be a great fight,” Cunningham said. “Matthysse is one of the most dangerous 140 pounders and these are the type of fights Devon wants. He knows he has to bounce back from the Bradley fight. He can’t take some no-name opponent. He has to fight one of the top guys in the division and Matthysse is one of the most dangerous opponents we could have possibly chosen.

“If you want to be considered one of the best in your division, you have to fight the best guys in your division. That’s what you have to do. Devon feels like he blew a great opportunity by not performing up to his potential against Tim Bradley. He feels like Matthysse is a more dangerous fighter than Bradley. Bradley is no puncher and Matthysse is big puncher. Matthysse has punching ability and some skill.”

“Devon Alexander is a great young fighter, but things didn’t really work out for him the Bradley fight,” Schaefer said. “He’s coming back against Matthysse, who many believe won the fight with Judah. For Devon Alexander to do a tune-up fight, that won’t get him anywhere, and for Lucas Matthysse to do another tune-up fight, that won’t get him anywhere either. He could have stayed in Argentina and had another tune-up fight, but he didn’t want that. “He wanted a fight like this because he knows a win will increase his potential to be back in an even bigger fight.”

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that a summer fight between Jr. Welterweight Devin Alexander and Lucas Matthysse is being discussed by promoters Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer and Don King.

“I have to get to back to King with a number, but Matthysse wants to take the fight. He’s OK with going to St. Louis [Alexander’s hometown] as long as there are neutral officials,” Schaefer said. “King said no problem. We just have to work out the numbers, but I have a pretty good feeling about it.”

“I’ve discussed it with King and with HBO and there is interest from all sides,” Schaefer said.

“I think it would be a great fight, just the type of fight that Devon wants,” said Kevin Cunningham, Alexander’s trainer and manager. “He’s disappointed with his lack of execution in the Bradley fight and he wants to go right back in the ring with one of the top guys. We feel Matthysse is better than [Marcos] Maidana, but Maidana chose to go and fight Erik Morales instead of Devon. So Matthysse is there and he is one of the top guys. Most guys feel like he won the fight with Zab. He’s a very tough opponent. That’s what Devon is looking for.

Schaefer said he and King are also discussing a fight between junior middleweight titlist Cornelius “K9” Bundrage and rising contender Erislandy Lara as the televised co-feature.

While hoping for a Super Bowl that doesn’t turn into the stupor left by Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander in a fight preceded by the same advertising adjective, some headlines and counters:

News item: An estimated 16,000 tickets are sold within about three hours for the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight on May 7 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

Reaction: Promoters Gary Shaw and Don King couldn’t give away that many tickets in 16 days or 16 months for Bradley’s technical decision over Alexander at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., where the estimates were like the empty seats. They were all over the place. There are no reports on the number of paying customers. Let’s just say that the Silverdome’s box office has collected more dollars for its drive-in movie business last spring and summer.

News item: Bradley is expected to sign with Bob Arum or Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions after his deal with Shaw expires, reportedly in May.

Reaction: If it’s Arum, don’t expect Bradley to fight for 140-pound supremacy with Golden Boy-promoted Amir Khan. If it’s Golden Boy, don’t expect a Bradley fight against the Arum-promoted Pacquiao.

News item: Bradley says he wants to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Reaction: Get in line. Las Vegas and Nevada’s Clark County already have a couple of mandatories against Mayweather, including a trial on misdemeanor battery, rescheduled for April 25, and a hearing on March 10 for felony domestic abuse.

News item: Bradley says he wants to fight Pacquiao.

Reaction: Break the head-butt habit. It’s a pattern that continued with Alexander badly cut over his right eye, first from a Bradley head-butt in the third and again in the end, the 10th Pacquiao hasn’t lost since 2005 when a fifth-round clash of heads with Erik Morales left him badly cut, also above his right eye. Pacquiao was clearly bothered by blood streaming from the wound for the rest of the 12-round bout, which Morales won with a unanimous decision. Pacquiao might think twice about the threat of a bloody encore if he thinks Bradley can’t break the habit.

News item: HBO will honor its $1.25 million guarantee to Alexander with a possible fight against Marcos Maidana.

Reaction: Save the money, Devon, because it figures to be your last big payday. If the powerful Maidana is in shape, he will win by a crushing knockout, which narrowly eluded him in a scorecard loss to Khan.

News item: Khan fires conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who says he has yet to be paid for his work before a Fight of the Year victory over Maidana in December.

Reaction: Maidana trainer Miguel Diaz, who called Ariza “a fraud,’’ is laughing.

News item: Evander Holyfield’s fight with Brian Nielsen is postponed from March 5 to May 7 because of a Holyfield cut suffered on Jan. 22 in a bout with Sherman Williams.

Reaction: Huh? Holyfield fought Williams? He is scheduled to fight Nielsen, who hasn’t fought in nearly a decade? Holyfield-Nielsen has been re-scheduled for May 7? Won’t everybody be watching Pacquiao against Mosley then? Holyfield-Nielsen in Copenhagen? Not the Silverdome? Must be a night for drive-in movies.

News item: Pacquiao is already 2-0 at Cowboys Stadium, which means he has competed there two more times than the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers.

Reaction: Pacquiao will get some company in that unbeaten column. Steelers, 27-24.

On Saturday night, forty-five minutes before Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander did battle in Pontiac, Michigan, I got this text from one of my few friends who enjoys boxing.

“I forgot this fight was on till a little while ago. Who do you think is going to win?”

Presumably, his second sentence was to aid him in a potential gambling proposition.

I replied, “Bradley by decision, but I think he’ll have to come from behind in the second half to win a close fight.”

I then texted my 28 year-old brother and reminded him the fight was about to start. He responded by saying, “I don’t get Showtime.”

I told him it’s on HBO, to which he said, “In that case I’m going to watch it.”

My friend is much more of a boxing guy than my brother, but brother, who is a lawyer, watches pretty much every HBO fight and is extremely opinionated about certain fighters.

In December he was literally screaming for Marcos Maidana to knock out Amir Khan in the tenth round of their Fight of the Year bout. At some point in the last year and a half, he decided he didn’t like Khan. Nor is he a fan of Floyd Mayweather, Zab Judah, or Chris Arreola, apparantly. He likes Tomasz Adamek, Paulie Malignaggi, and Manny Pacquiao — and Buboy Fernandez, though. But for whatever reason, there is no in-between with him.

There was a point in time where I was almost certain that myself and another writer-friend of mine were going to make the trip from North Jersey, drive the length of the Keystone State, through Ohio, to Pontiac. Plans fell through, and I watched it from my bedroom.

But during the interim, I talked up this fight, I was excited. I thought what most people thought: these were easily two of the best three fighters in one of boxing’s deepest divisions. The fight matters, so it had to be good.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Bradley outclassed Alexander from beginning to end. Alexander “The Not-so Great” didn’t use his height or reach to his advantage, and all but once unleashed an uppercut (the punch that so viciously knocked out Juan Urango last year). Not sure why he kept it on the shelf. Flustered, perhaps.

Bradley was constantly charging forward, throwing wild at times, but never letting Alexander fight his fight. Bart Barry summed it up well, writing about what he saw from his ringside perch, “Alexander was out of his depth, discomfited throughout. Bradley was too far away, too near, and never where he wanted him. The rounds were close, but you could argue Alexander didn’t win any of them. Then head butts took his mind away.”

So when the fight was stopped and Bradley’s hand deservedly raised, my phone buzzed again with texts.

The first came from my friend. It simply said, “Fight is over…that’s shitty.”

Then came my brother’s. After expressing his opinion that Alexander legitimately couldn’t continue, he proclaimed, “That fight was dumb.”

He concluded with, “Bad for boxing…in my opinion.”

Well, it certainly wasn’t good for boxing. But we must remember this is a fight that everyone wanted to see, and I’m glad HBO made it. I am not so glad about the concessions HBO made in order to make this fight, however.

In his latest column about Pacquiao’s move to Showtime, Thomas Hauser addressed the details of the Bradley-Alexander fight by writing, “Each fighter (in tandem with his respective promoter) has been guaranteed a second fight for a license fee of at least $3,000,000. This means that, unless their first encounter warrants a rematch, three fights involving these two boxers will command almost 25% of HBO’s license fees in 2011.”

Further, according to John Chavez of The Boxing Truth fame, Bradley-Alexander drew 1.345 million live viewers. Sad to say, but I’m almost certain that number will decrease for Alexander’s next bout. To put things in perspective, the Manfredo-Eduard fight on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, drew 788,000 live viewers, and they paid a hell of a lot less than the $4 million HBO paid for this fight.

While I’m glad HBO made Bradley-Alexander happen, they grossly overpaid and made too many concessions. Then again, I would definitely not be writing any of this if it turned out to be a twelve round thriller.

That wasn’t the case, however, and head-butts and Bradley’s determination and grit earned him the title as world’s best junior welterweight.

But unfortunately for boxing fans like my brother, there’s a good chance that both Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander ended up on their ‘dislike’ list. The next time Alexander is on HBO I’ll try to get my brother to watch, but I don’t think he’ll take the bait. I have a better shot at getting him to watch Bradley fight again.

When he said, “Bad for boxing…in my opinion,” — that’s the way I feel about 25% of HBO’s 2011 license fee’s being linked to these two fighters.

We wanted the fight, we got it. Most likely, we won’t want to see Alexander against a bounce-back opponent. Too bad, we’re getting it.

We’ll just take the good with the bad I guess. That’s boxing.

Kyle Kinder can be reached at Twitter.com/KyleKinder & KyleKinder1@gmail.com

PONTIAC, Mich. – There’s a reason it’s hard to get in the major leagues with a hitch in your swing. St. Louis’ Devon Alexander may have made it to the majors, but Saturday night he ran into a first-rate pitcher in Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley and got struck out.

In the main event of “The Super Fight,” boxing’s debut in the Silverdome, California’s Bradley (27-0, 11 KOs) defeated Alexander (21-1, 13 KOs) by technical-decision after fewer than 10 rounds – when the fight was stopped because of an accidental head butt – and did so by scores of 97-93, 96-95 and 98-93, establishing himself as the world’s premier junior welterweight.

The 15rounds.com ringside scorecard concurred, scoring the match a lopsided 99-92 for Bradley.

While both fighters began tense and nervous in the opening rounds, Bradley loosened up, catching Alexander with one decisive right hand in each stanza, and bullying Alexander with ineffective aggressiveness. Alexander appeared overwhelmed, never finding his range or setting a successful trap.

As the fight progressed, Bradley detected the massive hitch in Alexander’s proverbial swing: Alexander cocks his every combination. Once Bradley deciphered this, he hit Alexander awkwardly and often. Alexander had begun to fade when the two fighters’ heads collided severely enough in round 10 to disrupt Alexander’s vision and cause the ringside doctor to advise a stoppage.

After the fight, Bradley graciously called Alexander a warrior, promising the St. Louis native would one day be champion again. Bradley then quixotically called-out Manny Pacquiao, a junior-middleweight titlist who would likely whup him.

VERNON PARIS VS. EMANUEL AUGUSTUS
Vernon Paris (24-0, 14 KOs), the undefeated Detroit junior welterweight the largest number of Saturday’s fans came to see, might have reviewed his opponent’s record and smirked during training camp. But Emanuel Augustus (38-34-6, 20 KOs) proved to be a humorless test for Paris, who, despite being roughed-up, frustrated and worn-down, won by unanimous-decision scores of 76-73, 77-72 and 77-72.

Augustus, a veteran of 77 fights who now calls himself “The Outlaw,” would not be run out the ring. He resorted to a large number of the tricks in his substantial bag to take the younger and faster crowd-favorite off his game. Once Augustus had Paris distracted, he began talking to him, dancing between rounds and fouling him wherever the referee couldn’t see.

The referee did see enough antics, though, to penalize Augustus two points for a fraction of the indiscretions he committed.

But whatever the final tally, Augustus proved he can still teach a young fighter, and Vernon Paris still has plenty left to learn.

UNDERCARD
The penultimate undercard match of the night saw its most-devastating knockout as Miami heavyweight Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne (20-1-1, 19 KOs) rocked then ruined Trinidad and Tobago’s Kertson Manswell (19-1, 15 KOs), stopping him at 1:52 of the second round – with a 1-2 followed by four left hooks – to take the ‘0’ from the loss side of Manswell’s ledger.

In the evening’s sixth and dullest fight, Marcus Oliveira (21-0-1, 16 KOs), an undefeated Kansas light-heavyweight, decisioned Detroit’s Demetrius Jenkins (21-18-1, 16 KOs) by unanimous scores of 60-54.

The evening’s second-most-lopsided mismatch came in its fifth bout, as New Jersey’s Kendall “Rated R” Holt (26-4, 13 KOs) made an NC-17 mess of Florida welterweight Lenin Arroyo (20-15-1, 4 KOs), knocking him cold at 1:50 of the first round and causing the few knowledgeable fans in attendance to wonder why a prizefighter of Holt’s caliber would even be making eight-round tilts with 14-loss journeymen.

New York welterweight Allen Conyers (12-4, 9 KOs) calls himself “Dream Shatterer,” and in the fourth fight of Saturday’s Silverdome card, formerly undefeated Texan James De La Rosa (20-1, 12 KOs) learned why. Dropped thrice and made to look like a lousy Zab Judah impersonator, De La Rosa dropped the first decision of his career, losing a 10-round fight by three scores of 95-92.

Saturday’s most-lopsided mismatch came in its third bout, when Philadelphia’s Julian Williams (5-0, 4 KOs) blew directly through Indiana’s Alan Moore (2-10, 2 KOs) in 28 seconds to win a first-round technical knockout. Moore’s shaky legs at the opening bell and complete want of competitiveness raised questions of how he was even able to attain a license from the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission.

Before that, in an entertaining eight-round super middleweight scrap, Detroit’s own “Son of a Preacher Man” Darryl Cunningham (22-2, 10 KOs) outclassed Dominican Alberto Mercedes (16-15, 10 KOs), dropping him in the final round and winning by three, unanimous-decision scores of 60-53. Despite absorbing punches and being hurt at the 1:30 mark of round 8, though, Mercedes stayed game throughout, even dissuading the onrushing Cunningham in the fight’s final minute.

Saturday’s opening fight, California welterweight Julio Diaz (38-6, 26 KOs) versus Tijuana’s Pavel Miranda (16-7-1, 8 KOs), ended in an eighth-round TKO for Diaz when a disappointing Miranda could not continue.

Doors for “The Super Fight” opened at 6:00 PM, and the opening bell rang on an empty arena at 6:15. The event’s promoters announced an attendance of 6,247.

PONTIAC, Mich. – Junior welterweight champions Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander shared a lot of similarities Friday at Silverdome. Both were dark, muscular and respectful to one another and those gathered round a makeshift stage in a glass-paneled sports bar overlooking the arena. If it was a study in contrasts you were after, then, the place to look was backstage.

That was where Alexander’s indefatigable promoter Don King plied his syrupy cackle and unpredictable vocabulary in a final publicity push for Saturday’s “Super Fight.” And in a corner across the room stood Bradley’s promoter, Gary Shaw, quietly prepping for an upcoming rules meeting.

Friday afternoon Bradley and Alexander took to the scale and made 139.5 pounds and 140, respectively. Both looked excellent. Neither looked ready to relent. Each looked a righteous foil to the other.

Meanwhile, their promoters acted more in complementary roles than adversarial ones.

King is, and has been for decades, more famous than the fighters he promotes. The shocked hair, the bedizened jean jacket, the exploding voice; all contribute to a presence round which even confident public figures orbit like tiny moons. Regardless of the merits of his product, King is the spectacle that fills the tent. Few bring to any job the mastery and joy King brings to public self-edification. And yet.

There’s an easily missed humility in the access he affords every promotion. He is not a wind-up toy; were he that, writers would have stopped quoting him 30 years ago. Rather, he is a robust cult of personality hurling himself on the mercy of a crowd.

“You want them to buy what you’re selling!” King said Friday, when asked about an appearance schedule this week that has put his distinct voice all over local Michigan airwaves. “Give them what they want. People are my most important asset!”

But are they buying what he’s selling this time, and just how many assets will be in seats Saturday night?

“Make the economy rise!” King thundered, when asked about his choice of a city 30 miles north of Detroit. “The spirit of Detroit is alive! Detroit is a model for the rest of the country.”

That it is. To most of the rest of the country, though, Detroit is a model of what an American city should not become. While the reports of Detroit’s death are indeed exaggerated, there’s no doubt the area is wanting in both capital and hope.

“The people need you here,” said King. “This is a commercial for three or four hours for Detroit. This (fight) is an infomercial.”

Standing in a hallway 50 feet away – but by no means outside the range of King’s voice – Gary Shaw contrasted his style with that of his co-promoter’s.

“Don is a self-promoter, he’s the marketing,” Shaw said. “I am more operationally seasoned.”

When asked if he thought the two made a good team, Shaw nodded.

“Don’s a legendary name,” he said. “That’s not who I am.”

How good a team the two men have made will be challenged Saturday at Silverdome. Friday’s view of the arena afforded a glimpse at how ticket sales are going. With the ring tucked in a far away corner, blue curtains indicated fewer than a fifth of Silverdome’s 80,000 or so seats will be on sale.

A strong walk-up crowd is predicted. Any service person in uniform will be given a free seat. But whatever the actual gate, you hope for a good throng of committed boxing fans. Detroit and Pontiac need it. Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander deserve it.

Doors to “The Super Fight” open Saturday at 6:00 PM local time. 15rounds.com will have full ringside coverage.

Symbols have been attached to the Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander fight, so many in fact that they might outnumber the tickets sold for the junior-welterweight bout at the Silverdome, a blimp-like arena in Pontiac, Mich., that for years has been full of only empty seats and hot air.

Conflicting and perhaps premature projections promise only more empties and air. Even with a good walk-up before opening bell on Jan. 29, there will still be a lot of both.

Ten-to-fifteen thousand seats are for sale in an arena once big enough for two crowds of more than 93,000 each for Pope John Paul II and Wrestlemania in 1987. Promoters Don King and Gary Shaw said the plan always has been to set up the arena for a fraction of its current capacity, now said to be 70,000. That’s a lot of curtains.

The dismal projections are unfortunate, mostly because they have become a story that takes away from a bout, as significant as it is intriguing, between two unbeaten fighters, both African-Americans.

When the site was first announced, Shaw told reporters that he wanted to stage the fight in a city with a big African-American population. Atlanta or Detroit, he said.

Detroit, Motown, sounded good then. It might have been, if the town was Detroit instead of Pontiac, a dateline and troublesome symbol in itself. A new Pontiac is harder to find than a good American heavyweight these days. There are none. General Motors quit making the car in 2009.

For symbolism, Alexander-Bradley belongs about 30 miles away, in Detroit, at Joe Louis Arena, which was named for an iconic and African-American heavyweight who made his historic impact before Jackie Robinson broke major-league baseball’s color line and Muhammad Ali opened his mouth.

These days, The Joe is a hockey arena, home for the Detroit Red Wings. On the night of Alexander-Bradley, the Red Wings won’t be there, but college hockey will be with Michigan-versus-Michigan State.

I’m not sure whether there was an alternate date at The Joe or on HBO’s schedule. I’m also not sure whether any arena anywhere was willing to pay the $500,000 site fee that Shaw and King reportedly got from the Silverdome. That dollar sign might have been the biggest symbol at play.

Even if Alexander-Bradley had wound up at The Joe on a different date, it might not have mattered. Last March, Arthur Abraham’s disqualification in the Super Six bout against Andre Dirrell, a native of Flint, Mich., at The Joe drew a disappointing crowd, reportedly about 5,000.

Predictably, Shaw expressed frustration at criticism of the site during a conference call Tuesday.

“First, let’s wait until January 29 and find out how many people are in there,’’ said Shaw, Bradley’s promoter. “No. 2, I put on the greatest fight of the decade, (Diego) Corrales vs. (Jose Luis) Castillo and we didn’t sell even 2,000 tickets. I never heard anyone say that it wasn’t a fight that was extraordinary.

“We have two great undefeated American fighters and we went to a place we thought was befitting. We never set if for 70,000 – the set-up was always going to be between 10,000 and 15,000. Those that came to the press conference saw how it would be mapped out. The Silverdome was well-prepared and did a great job.

“There should be compliments to the new owner of the stadium who wants to do more boxing and is willing to take the risk to bring big-time boxing back to the Detroit area. I think it’s a terrific place to do the fight. I’m not sorry and Don’s not sorry. We are doing something for that economy. We are bringing HBO, which is going to shine a big spotlight on that economy.

“Everybody claimed a couple years ago the U.S. automobile industry was dead. If you’d all bought stock in those companies, you would be rich today.’’

Please, promoters aren’t in the business of propping up any economy other than their own.

Yet, Bradley-Alexander is a worthy fight, mostly because it has a chance to stimulate interest in boxing’s battered model of an American game.

In terms of philosophy, this one has a chance to be a game-changer. American fighters have become increasingly protective of their unbeaten records – the so-called 0, which both Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs) and Bradley possess (26-0, 11 KOs).

Greatness in boxing is often measured in large part by how a fighter comes back from defeat. Rocky Marciano is known for retiring unbeaten, but is his name at the top of any all-time, pound-for-pound lists?

King said a lot of things during Tuesday’s conference call.

“Ticket sales will not determine the greatness of this fight,’’ King said.

Yeah, and I’ll be the next chairman of GM.

But he did say something that could help boxing recapture some of the fan interest that has eroded precipitously since last year’s second round of abortive talks for Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The winner, King said, will be a superstar.

“But the loser will be a star, too,’’ said King, who echoed a comment from Bradley 10 days ago when the multi-skilled junior-welterweight said big fights were more important to him than the play-it-safe desire to protect the 0 and only the 0.

If Bradley-Alexander can help alter thinking behind a zero-sum game, it will be remembered as a winner, regardless of the zip code.

“We can spotlight this hard-hit economy,’’ said King, who talked about Motown as if it were boxing.

On the economic GPS, they’re in the same place.

As Tim Bradley’s nickname “Desert Storm” suggests he’s a trooper. He’s one of Boxing’s blue collar fighters, he’s never had anything given to him the easy way, just through sheer hard work. He first won a world title back in May 2008 when as the underdog he traveled to England where he fought awkward, southpaw Junior Witter. Witter started well, but typical of Bradley he slowly solved the puzzle that was Witter dropping him in the sixth along the way to winning a split decision. The old adage winning a title makes a fighter better came to bear when he outpointed tough guy Edner Cherry before again accepting a tough assignment, he headed to Quebec, Canada to defeat Kendall Holt. This time Bradley revealed something different he showed just how well conditioned he is twice dragging himself off the canvas and riding out some tough patches to unify the his WBC crown with Holt’s WBO title. After being forced to vacate the WBC title he fought former unified Lightweight champion Nate Campbell, after handling Campbell well winning the opening three rounds on all three judges cards Campbell appeared to retire between rounds. At later inspection the California commission wavered the result opting to change it to a No decision. The Californian Native closed out an impressive 2009 with a sparkling display of savvy and ring generalship as he posted a near shut out of Lamont Peterson in a fight many believed to be 50-50 going in. When various fights fell out including a mooted battle with Argentine power puncher Marcos Maidana fell through Bradley opted to head up to 147 and meet another Big punching Argentinean in the form of Luis Abregu. While Bradley may not of had the power or size of Abregu, he had the ring smarts and speed advantages to gain the points win. During 2010 Bradley struggled to get any of the fights he hoped for at 140, however he helps get Boxing off with a bang when he fights unbeaten Devon “The Great” Alexander on 29 January on HBO at the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Michigan.

Hello Tim, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly you have a “Super Fight” coming up with Devon Alexander. What are your thoughts on that fight? How highly do you rate Alexander?

Tim Bradley – Pretty much my thoughts are it’s going to be a great fight. Our styles, he’s a lefty, we have similar attributes, high volume type of fighters, smart boxers. So it’s going to be an interesting fight. Different strategy’s, what I’m going to take as far as my strategy and as far as his strategy. As far as how I rate Devon? I think Devon is one of the best 140 pounder’s in the world. I rate him at number two fighter in the division, hands down. Now that Khan beat Maidana you can argue and say Khan maybe number 1 or 2 as well. It just depends on how all these fights play out. If I can get a win over Devon and fight Khan or someone of that nature then we’ll see who the best 140 pounder in the world is. But I rate Devon right now as the number 2 and I rate myself as number 1 and we’re going to see who’s the best.

Anson Wainwright – If you win you wont receive the WBC belt. What are your thoughts on that?

Tim Bradley – Well I really don’t have any thoughts on it. It was a decision I made and that’s that. If I wasn’t going to be recognized as WBC champion. It is what it is. There’s nothing I can do about it, so I’m not worried about it.

Anson Wainwright – Your known in the sport as a gym rat but when did you start training for this fight and can you tell us about the training you do?

Tim Bradley – I started in mid December. I did my press tour. I sparred for the first time in 5 months, but I felt great, I like to stay in shape. So it’s not like I haven’t done anything in 5 months. I’ve been really active running and staying fit. So when I get back to the gym it’s not hard to comeback like most fighters. My last couple of sparring sessions have been superb. Like I say I haven’t sparred for 5 months but the way I’m looking I can’t wait to see me after about 6 weeks of sparring.

Anson Wainwright – Who is part of Team Bradley, who is your manager, trainer & promoter? How did you come to work with them? Also what gym do you train at?

Tim Bradley – Team Bradley is pretty much my family. Joel Diaz is the head coach, you have Timothy Ray Snr, my father as second in the ring. Then you have a good friend of mine Sam L Jackson he’s another one of my corner men. Team Bradley consists of my wife, she handles all my phone calls, pretty much anything that I need she handles. We have Cameron Dunkin he’s my manager. He does everything to make sure I’m fine and all the contracts are great, all those good things. You also have Michael Miller, he’s my lawyer he handles all the contract things as well and also my promoter who is Ken Thompson and Gary Shaw Promotions. Thompson’s been with me about 6 years, I’ve been with Gary Shaw 4 and a half maybe 5 years. Also my brother in law and my mother, we’re a close team. I train at the Indio Boys and girls club.

Anson Wainwright – How did you first come to work with Joel Diaz & Cameron Dunkin.

Tim Bradley – Joel had his brother’s, he trained Antonio and former two time world champion Julio Diaz. My father was training me in the amateur days and when I was looking to turn pro I was looking for someone who knew the business, someone who was very efficient like I was, a hard worker and dedicated. So we traveled out maybe 30 minutes outside where we live to Lee Espinoza’s gym out in Coachella and Joel was training fighters, helping guys out. So we asked him if he’d be willing to train me professionally and he said “Yeah”. From that point on he groomed me and helped me become one of the best fighters in the world today. With the help of my father and Team. I have a great support team. That helps me stay focused and on my toes. There’s always positive people around me. That’s how I met Joel. I was talking to Cameron for a few months, I was looking for a bit more protection and someone who was very knowledgeable about the game, that has been in the game a very long time and I knew he had some great fighters in his stable that he managed and some great fighters over history. Cameron Dunkin is a huge name in Boxing as far as management. I really wanted him, I needed his expertise. To go over my contract make sure everything is legit and help and protect me and make sure I’m getting my just do’s.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us what it was like for you growing up in Southern California, were things tough for you early on?

Tim Bradley – Well growing up in Southern California, I grew up in a Neighbourhood there were a lot of gangs, tough streets. I knew everybody in the area and everybody knew who I was but it was tough to not be pulled in. That type of thug mentality was very hard to keep myself isolated. Boxing helped me do that. I hung out with some of my friends who were in gangs and you tend to roll with and think like them. Boxing was my foundation. My parents were hard on me growing up as well. They disciplined me, they made sure I was a respectable young man.

Anson Wainwright – When did you first become interested and take Boxing up?

Tim Bradley – I think it was sixth grade, I had a friend who was Boxing at the time. He was Boxing and I always got in trouble in school, fighting, getting in trouble, being a knucklehead, being a boy, beating up kids in the school. That’s how I got started. I nagged my dad for about 2 months “Can I go to the Boxing club, my friends doing it. I want to fight, please take me” He finally said ok, he said “If you like it there’s no quitting, you can’t quit if you like it” I said “Ok, that’s a deal” I never looked back. I’ve been training for 17 years of my life and I’ve never taken a break. The thing with most guys they take a break after a fight or amateur tournament, they leave for a couple of months. I was back the next Monday, after the tournament. I never really took a long lay off, when I was coming up in the amateur’s.

Anson Wainwright – You were a good amateur, what titles did you win? What guys who are now pro did you fight? What was your final record?

Tim Bradley – I won the National PAL Championship, I won under 19 Championship and Junior Gloves. I travelled and fought the French, Puerto Rican, Irish, Mexican’s. I had some duals under my belt. I had over 140 fights, I think I had about 20 loses.
I fought Andre Berto, Anthony Dirrell, Andre Ward, Vaughn Alexander, Lamont Peterson. I’m sure there’s more, I just don’t remember.

Anson Wainwright – When we spoke to Devon Alexander he mentioned you beat his brother Vaughn 6-4. So he’ll be gunning for revenge while you’ll be looking to do the family double.

Tim Bradley – Absolutely, I beat his brother and now I’m going to beat him. He wants revenge for his brother and it would probably mean a lot to him. He’d be like to his brother “I got him back” but that’s going to be a tough task.

Anson Wainwright – You turned pro in the summer of 2004, you stayed active over the next four years before you fought Junior Witter for the WBC title in Nottingham, England for his WBC title. What are your thoughts on that fight and what did it mean to you?

Tim Bradley – That fight meant everything to me. I was chasing that WBC title, that was the only belt I wanted as a kid. I had to have it and I felt if I had the opportunity I was going to take full advantage and was going to win and I was able to. Thank god I was strong enough, he gave me the strength and he gave my trainers the knowledge and myself the ability to go to England. That crowd over there. The amateur experience came into play because I’ve already traveled across pond and I’ve already faced the top amateur’s. So I had the experience to travel and I knew that. I felt I couldn’t be denied. Junior Witter was a great fighter at that time, a lot of people argue “Oh Devon stopped him”. I fought Junior Witter when Junior Witter hadn’t lost in years, the only loss he had was to Zab Judah and that was 6 or 7 years ago. Witter was number two fighter right behind Ricky Hatton and this guy was just full of confidence coming off a great knock out win over Vivian Harris, he was at the top of his game. He was one of the most feared boxers in the game. I fought Witter when he was at that point. Devon fought Witter after I shattered everything I took what Witter wanted and what made Witter, holding on to the WBC belt. I pretty much gave Devon the blueprint to beat Witter. To outbox him, to stay patient. I softened him up. Witter had to come to my hometown which is ironic because I went to his and he had to come over to my hometown to face Devon. That shows you how hard it is, ask Witter. I fought him at his best.

Anson Wainwright – When you went to England, were you well looked after or was there some gamesmanship?

The hotel we stayed in was quite pleasant, the people, the concierge, everybody was very nice to me. When we arrived my room wasn’t ready. I arrived at 2 in the afternoon and the room wasn’t ready. So I had to sleep on the ground for 3 hours in the computer room, I was exhausted from the plane ride. Then I get in my room and my A.C doesn’t work. God forbid it was hot outside at that time. It was very hot and muggy in my room, I stuck it out. I just said this is what it’s all about, I’ll deal with it. So that went on. The day later they checked my weight and before I left the house I was 143 pounds and I’m like I should be lighter. I didn’t eat much on the plane, I drank a bottle of water. You know when you come off a plane your 2 or 3 pounds lighter because of radiation you become dehydrated on that plane. So I was 146 pounds and I was like what the hells going on here. I said they must be wrong. They said they’d check in a couple of days. So they came back two days later and I checked the scales again and was like 145 pounds. I was like I’ve been training the last few days, there’s no way I can be 145 pounds. So what I did was check my weigh on scales which I brought, I always bring my own scales. I weighed 142, so I went downstairs and said “Hey your scales are wrong” and my trainer told me to go back upstairs and what he did was take our scales, there scales and one from the training room and we got a 25Ibs dumbbell and placed them on each scale. My scale said 25Ibs, then we checked the training room scale and it said 25Ibs and we used there scale it said 28Ibs. We said that scale is wrong. Whether they were doing it on purpose or not, I don’t think they’d do it on purpose but maybe they were trying to drain me, make me work harder during the week than I should be. That was my experience fighting Witter for the Championship coming out hearing all the boo’s. It could get under your skin but like I say I was on a mission and there was no way I was losing that fight.

Anson Wainwright – They say that when a fighter wins a World title it makes him a better fighter. Would you say this is the case with you?

Tim Bradley – Absolutely, because of the confidence it goes a long way. When you have the confidence in yourself, you have that title wrapped around you or strapped across your chest you have something your fighting for. It makes you feel much better or greater. The fact you have a target on your back you work harder during training. You work harder because you want to keep that title it’s your bread and butter, that’s how you eat. So you improve.

Anson Wainwright – You were ringside for Khan-Maidana what did you think of that fight?

Tim Bradley – That fight was awesome, it was one of the best fights I’ve seen in a long time. Due to the fact Khan stood there at times, sat on the ropes. I figured Khan would move all night and make it easy on himself, I guess Maidana was able to close the gap on him and wear him out a bit. Khan was hitting him with serious combination’s. I bet Khan was like “Gee I’m hitting this guy with my best punches and this guys still in my face”. I don’t know if he was discouraged in there but they felt that pressure. I couldn’t get him out of his face. He boxed off the ropes, I don’t think that was part of the game plan at all. Khan showed a tremendous amount of heart, that he’s a true champion. He disproved me and the critics out there. He does have a chin. Maidana showed how clever he is and how he’s like a little pit bull. He has no quit in his heart, that makes for a dangerous guy especially with his heart, he’s fearless.

Anson Wainwright – Did you see things you could implement in your strategy against those guys?

Tim Bradley – Absolutely, Khan is really young, I’m young myself and we all have a lot to learn in this game. We’re not veterans yet. We’re still grooming ourselves into great fighters and superstars. I’m working on that, I’m going to get better. I feel Khan fought the best that he could and thank Khan for fighting that fight he did because we’d never known he had the heart he did. Let alone you see Maidana get up from an hellacious liver shot and comeback. This guys a freaking animal, I was blown away. These guys are tougher than I thought but there are things I can capitalize on with both fighters.

Anson Wainwright – Do you feel as though having gone to 147 and fought a big puncher like Abregu that the power of guys like Maidana wouldn’t be a problem for you down at 140?

Tim Bradley – Yeah absolutely. At 140 I think I’m a nightmare for anybody. Maidana I know would keep coming at me. I’d just get ready for that. Get on my toes, on my bicycle and just box him for 12 rounds and make it an easy fight. Don’t stand and trade with this guy. Pot shot him from the outside, make him miss, right, left and give him so many angles.

Anson Wainwright – You have only fought once in 2010 up at Welterweight. Why was this? How did you feel at 147?

Tim Bradley – I really wanted to test the waters at 147, I wanted to leave that option open. I needed a test, a strong test to see if Welterweight was for me or not. Luis Abregu was a bigger puncher, very dangerous, very big. He was very unproven but he still was a dangerous guy. This guy had hands of stone. I really wanted to show the Boxing world I’m willing to go up in weight and fight the best to see if I had the ability to withstand the punching power at that weight. I took Abregu’s power very well and I can compete with anybody at 147 in the world. I felt great, I felt stronger, I felt like I had a little bit more power in my punches. I was less tired at 147, I have to put a lot of energy at 147. I was able to put out a lot of energy but I had a lot in reserve. So it wasn’t as stressful on my body at 147, it’s more natural. I walk around about 160.

Anson Wainwright – What do you like to do away from Boxing to relax?

Tim Bradley – I’m a big car freak, I love cars. When I’m away from Boxing I like to go check out cars, go to auctions and look at some old school car’s, get on-line and look for some nice deals on some old school cars and pick them up. I like to spend time with family. I do a lot of community work, I go to different schools and talk to students, tell them high schools important and what school was like for me. I have a football league that I help run, I’m the president of Juniors in Cathedral City where I live. My daughter does gymnastics. So I’m pretty much a family type of guy. I stay close to home, I’m very spontaneous and whatever I want to do that day I do.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for Boxing fans ahead of your fight with Alexander?

Tim Bradley – Pretty much to all Boxing fans out there. I love and appreciate the support from all my fans. Especially when I’m fighting I’m not only fighting for myself and family I’m fighting for my team, for god and my Boxing fans out there. There standing behind me and there giving me that backbone saying Timmy Bradley is a force to be reckoned with and everybody needs to recognize that and that means a lot to me. I don’t want Boxing fans to be like “Ah Tim Bradley’s a joke, I want them to say Tim Bradley delivers. I can depend on Tim Bradley, he’s going to put on a great show, he’s going to perform as best his best each time, i can trust him”.

Thanks for your time Tim, good luck on the 29 January.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

Remaining tickets, priced from $25-$400, can be purchased at the Silverdome box office, by calling (248) 338-2500 or online at www.silverdometickets.com.

HBO Boxing: Ring Life – Timothy Bradley

What inspires Timothy Bradley in and out of the ring? Alexander vs. Bradley happens Sat., Jan. 29th at 10pm ET/7pm PT on HBO

http://www.youtube.com/hbosports#p/u/0/YC55PfMm5Es

Legendary Promoter Don King discusses Cotto – Mayorga as well as Alexander – Bradley

St Louis is a Sporting town they have three major franchises The Blues, The Rams & The Cardinals with the later being very successful. Second only to the Yankees in terms of World series they have won. If Devon “The Great” Alexander 21-0(13) wins his upcoming unification with Tim Bradley on 29 January they could well have a new franchise. Alexander 23, is one of the City’s big success stories already having won the WBC & IBF 140 titles. Earlier this year he was awarded the key to the City for his hard work and what he has achieved. He regularly gives back to the community and is trying to help the less privileged in his hometown which was voted the most dangerous in America in 2010. It was that crime that saw his talented older brother end up in prison, to Alexander’s credit he has steered clear of that and will hope that he can kick of his 2011 with a win against Bradley and prove that he’s one of the most dangerous fighters in the world.

Hello Devon, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – You have a huge unification fight with Tim Bradley coming up in early 2011. What are your thoughts on that fight?

Devon Alexander – It’s a big fight that everybody wanted to see, it’s what HBO want to see. It’s a big fight. It’s a very good thing (That the fight is happening)

Anson Wainwright – What do you think are Bradley’s strong points?

Devon Alexander – He’s going to come in shape, in extreme shape. He’s coming in for 12 rounds. That’s the only thing I see Bradley has and that’s his strong suit. So I better be in shape, I better be in shape to do 15rounds.

Anson Wainwright – What about weak points?

Devon Alexander – He butts with his head and I may be able to capitalize on that. He swings wild, real wild, so I’ll see everything he throws. So he’ll be pretty much open to anything I throw.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you train at? What is your walk around weight between fights?

Devon Alexander – My promoter is Don King and my trainer & manager is Kevin Cunningham. I train at Barry’s gym in Vegas and in St Louis at Marquette Center. It depends, I don’t get any higher than 155.

Anson Wainwright – Working with Don King is sure to be very entertaining, can you tell us one of the funny stories that has happened with you?

Devon Alexander – There are a lot but none spring to mind. But he’s always cracking jokes, you have to get to know him to see what he’s about. A lot of people got there own judgments on him.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us how life was for you growing up a boy in St Louis?

Devon Alexander – It was pretty rough. You had to stay focused be in the house on time. You’d hear gunshots and fighting when i was growing up.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us how you first became interested in Boxing and then took it up?

Devon Alexander – Well my coach opened a gym at Higher Park which was an Old Police Station and when I was going to school my coach was a security guard over there. He was starting a gym. My brother went and he brought me and I’ve been with Kevin Cunningham ever since.

Anson Wainwright – You had an impressive amateur career, can you tell us some of the tournaments & titles you won? Also what guys in the pro’s did you fight back then? What was your final record?

Devon Alexander – I won 4 National Silver gloves titles, I won the PAL two times, Ringside, I won the US Championships. I fought over sea’s. I won the Sweden Cup and the Hungary Cup. Numerous one’s, Under 19 tournaments. So it was a lot. I fought Rock Allen, but must of the guys i fought pretty much aint doing anything in the pro game. My brother fought Timothy Bradley and lost 4-6 I think. I was 300-12 something like that.

Anson Wainwright – The Light Welterweight division is talent packed with many impressive fighters what are your thoughts on Khan-Maidana, Judah-Matthysse & Ortiz-Peterson?

Devon Alexander – They were good fights. HBO really kicked the 140 division off. The best fight the best. Aint no getting around it. They really started it off. Now people got to put up or shut up.

Anson Wainwright – Were you impressive with Amir Khan?

Devon Alexander – Mmm no, he did what I thought he had to do. Nothing special, that I saw that he did. Anybody can box Maidana, anybody can move on him and out slick him. He did what he had to do to get the victory. It was a good fight, so I take nothing away from him.

Anson Wainwright – Your elder brother Vaughn was also a very talented boxer some people even said that he was the more talented of the two of you? Can you tell us about Vaughn and how he’s doing in Prison?

Devon Alexander – When he was growing up he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. He got into some trouble trying to rob some people and you saw the result of it, now he’s sitting in prison. He’s ok, I hate to see him in there though, the things he’s going through cos I know that’s not what he’s used to. But he’s got to do what he’s got to do. Now days he’s coping with it, doing what he has to do to survive while he’s in there.

Anson Wainwright – Do you see him often? What’s his situation with regards how long he’s in there for etc?

Devon Alexander – Before I went to camp I went to see him. He goes for parole in 2012, he’ll be ok. He’ll make it back and show the world that he is a champion too. It wont be to late for him, we’ll have to see. He’ll be 26/27 when he reaches parole.

Anson Wainwright – You were awarded the Key to St Louis, that is obviously a huge honor can you tell us about what it & what it meant to you?

Devon Alexander – It was after the Urango fight that they gave me the key to the City. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. From a kid brought up in the rough, rough parts of North St Louis. It’s just amazing. For the mayor to look at me and think i deserve the key to the City, for them to do it is an honour. Not anybody can get the key to the City but I did. It was a great feeling.

Anson Wainwright – Earlier in your career you were probably fighting in Cory Spinks shadow, now your very much the premier fighter from St Louis and there franchise fighter. What can you tell us about this?

Devon Alexander – With Cory, when I was coming up I just waited my time. I was on the undercards of Cory Spinks, moving along like a snail and waiting my turn and know I’m the big draw in St Louis. It feels good, I think I’m handling it well. I’m still staying focused. A lot of people know me in St Louis and around the world. I’m getting the opportunity’s, there’s a lot of guys who box that don’t ever get the opportunities I have had.

Anson Wainwright – What sort of duty’s go with this responsibility? Can you tell us some of the things you do? Cancun for the WBC Convention.

Devon Alexander – Before my last fight with Kotelnik we had a thing down at City Hall and I gave away $10,000 to the St Louis Boxing program. I just help in anyway I can. I definitely want to give back because I was one of the one’s that got helped and was fortunate to get help. I just want to show god I am appreciative and am going to do right by everything.

Anson Wainwright – A couple of months back you were in Cancun for the WBC Convention. Can you tell us about that?

Devon Alexander – It’s a big thing the WBC convention. That’s huge. I think that’s the best belt in the world. I think everybody wants to be WBC champ. It’s an honor for them to know me and recognize me. Some of the greatest fighters of all time were at the convention so for me to stand there with people that control and made the WBC is awesome.

Anson Wainwright – Growing up who were your favorite fighters and why? Who do you admire today?

Devon Alexander – I didn’t have a favorite fighter. I liked them all. I just watched the fights. Nowadays the fights I do watch are the people on top of the game. I take a bit from them and implement it in my game, try to make my game better.

Anson Wainwright – You have a pretty neat party piece with your bicep. Can you tell us about this?

Devon Alexander – Haha well I don’t know, that’s something I’ve been doing since I started fighting. I guess it comes from push ups but it’s an un ordinary looking muscle. They said that looks like an egg or rock or something. It’s been since like that since I was young.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans?

Devon Alexander – To my fans thanks for my support, following me, sticking by me and 29 January your going to see “The Great” victorious and you going to see I am number 1 in this division.

Thanks for your time Devon, keep up the good work.

Anson Wainwright
15rounds.com

HBO Boxing: Ring Life – Devon Alexander

Ring Life takes an intimate look inside the life of Devon Alexander. Alexander vs. Bradley happens Sat., Jan. 29th at 10pm ET/7pm PT on HBO

http://www.youtube.com/hbosports#p/u/1/CCL0CWerL0Q

Remaining tickets, priced from $25-$400, can be purchased at the Silverdome box office, by calling (248) 338-2500 or online at www.silverdometickets.com

Midweek Musings – Happy Birthday to Muhammad Ali who turned 69 yesterday & Bernard Hopkins who was 46 on Saturday & Roy Jones Jnr who was 42 on Sunday…Looks like Nathan Cleverly will get his title chance against Jurgen Braehmer with the working date mooted to be 19 March…With Lamont Peterson having priced himself out of a fight with Amir Khan the new favorite to get the assignment is Northern Ireland’s Paul McCloskey, he’s a very capable fighter who could give Khan trouble, though it would obviously be a huge step up from European level where he currently operates…Last week Hennessy Promotions won the rights to promote Matthew Macklin-Darren Barker, which is one of the most anticipated British fights at the moment. Originally it looked like Barker may have a warm up in February now it appears he will go straight to the fight possible around April time.

If there are any fighters you would like to hear from you can contact me on elraincoat@live.co.uk

Much has been made about poor ticket sales for Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley versus Devon Alexander “The Great.” The venue, Silverdome – originally so named because of the glare off its white fiberglass roof – has been criticized. Along with its undefeated fighters. Along with the black community to which Bradley-Alexander should appeal on Jan. 29.

Is such criticism just? Perhaps. But if we’re going to make a fetish of removing prizefights from casino settings and putting them in spots with local interest, we owe it to “The Super Fight” and our sport to suspend judgment and attend the event.

I’ll be there even though getting there is a logistical mess. The fight is not in Detroit. It is in Pontiac, Mich., 35 miles due north.

That means renting a car at the airport. And no, there aren’t many direct flights from South Texas to DTW. There will also be the questions of where the hell the press conference and weigh-in happen. All that, of course, is before you consider the lunacy of traveling from 60-degree days to a spot between Lakes Erie and Huron, in January.

But I want to see Detroit. I want to see if it could possibly be as Charlie LeDuff described it a few months ago in Mother Jones.

“Today—75 years after the beavers disappeared from the Detroit River—‘Detroitism’ means something completely different,” wrote LeDuff. “It means uncertainty and abandonment and psychopathology.”

Psychopathology. In an American city? We like to think such things are kept below the border in abattoirs like Ciudad Juarez.

As always, then, this boxing trip is an excuse to see a city with fresh eyes. Preliminary emails with young locals provide some happy possibilities. They say Detroit is in the midst of a rebirth. It’s not even 40 miles from Ann Arbor, after all, and so many University of Michigan undergrads set loose on an urban center that is “rewilding” – having places abandoned so long they return to their natural state – might just give the place a social consciousness, along with a conscience.

Well, why not? When they graduate, those kids aren’t finding jobs anyway.

But I’m also going to “The Super Fight” to support two undefeated titlists and make a challenge to the community that shaped them.

Timothy Bradley is the favorite among knowledgeable boxing folks – people who actually skip rope and hit heavy bags and know how easily hand-speed can be neutralized when it’s set atop a shaky foundation. Bradley’s style is a relentless one. He is a volume guy, the most exciting kind of fighter. And his matchmaking approach has undergone a recent and refreshing revision.

The year 2010 was about staying undefeated, he said last week on a promotional conference call. This year, conversely, is about making the best fights.

“My biggest goal in boxing is just to be remembered,” Bradley said. “I don’t want to be forgotten about.”

You hear that? It’s the sound of a smart young fighter reviewing the “Money May” bio and deciding it’s a cautionary tale, not an epic. The Bradley-Alexander conference call in some ways felt as though it were marking a reevaluation of Floyd Mayweather’s self-indulgent template. Like a realization that Mayweather’s money will be gone soon enough, but may still outlive his legacy.

A number of folks are now able to see the day when a 30 for 30-type documentary will be made about “The Greatest Fight that Never Was.” On the A-side will be President of the Philippines Many Pacquiao addressing a roiling crowd of one million countrymen. On the B-side, meanwhile, Mayweather will be in a poorly lit gym, working the hand pads with a Golden Gloves runner-up and saying, “Everyone knows I’d a beat ‘Pooch-iao’.”

Devon Alexander does not have Bradley’s loquaciousness, but he has a quiet confidence that is appealing. And he has something else Bradley does not seem to have yet: An ability to sell tickets. Some of that is his promoter. Even in a grieving state, Don King is a master ticket-seller. But some of that, too, is Alexander’s admirable calmness.

Until last week’s call, I’d not given him much of a chance against Bradley. He looked most vulnerable in August against Andriy Kotelnik. His trainer is a loud motivator who seems never to have noticed how alarmingly his charge’s guard strays while jabbing.

But something about Alexander’s demeanor made me rethink things. He was happy to let Bradley play emcee. He knew Bradley was better at talking, and so he let him talk. He seemed eerily comfortable in his role, offering little more than variations on a “now is my time” theme. Alexander might just have the perfect temperament to foil a Desert Storm.

Which leaves us with a challenge of sorts for the black community that shaped Bradley and Alexander. On last week’s conference call, both men slipped a question about what their match – two undefeated African-Americans fighting just north of a city that is 83 percent black – might mean to their community. Bradley said it was a great fight for Americans, not just African-Americans. Alexander said it was a throwback event.

“This is a fight like the old days,” he said. “The greats wanted to fight the best.”

Why would they slip such a question? Maybe because they’re afraid their people won’t show up. Boxing insiders use words like “invisible” when describing the black community and live gates; they may rally round a pay-per-view event every few years, but don’t expect them to fill an arena.

Well, this is a chance to surprise some folks – like they do at Alexander’s fights in St. Louis. This is a chance for Don King to work a crowd as only he knows how. This is a chance to roar a bit and prove to the country Detroit has more to offer than psychopathology.

A few of us will be there to report it, do believe. As it is. However it turns out.

Bart Barry can be reached at bbarry@15rounds.com.