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Philippines, 20 May 2024 |
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DEVON ALEXANDER KNOWS WHERE HE?S GOING. TO STARDOM By Greg R. Penilla, M.D. PhilBoxing.com Mon, 27 Feb 2012  St. Louis is a baseball town. Devon Alexander wears St. Louis Cardinals gear during his fights. I have to use baseball analogy to describe his impressive win over Marcos Maidana. He pitched not only a no hitter but also a perfect game. Although he did not hit homeruns, he put together enough singles, doubles and triples to shut out the once feared brawler from Argentina. He just did not win, he dominated. Unfortunately, it was a shame that it was only the St. Louis boxing faithful who showed up. Scottrade Center was configured to use just over half of the arena but in spite of that, there are probably no more than 3,000 souls who witnessed a brilliant performance by the St. Louis hometown boxing hero. Before the main event, the sparse crowd was uncharacteristically subdued. There was a sense of angst and apprehension. There was unease prevailing in the air. How will Devon perform against a puncher who wins 90% by knockout, a fighter who had epic battles with Amir Khan, Victor Ortiz, Kotelnik, Cayo and the legendary Morales? Unbeknownst to the crowd, a very confident and well trained Devon Alexander would showcase a performance of his life. He knew that he cannot simply win, he had to win convincingly to prove his doubters wrong and to reclaim the elite status he deserves. From the opening bell, Alexander controlled the tempo and asserted himself over Maidana, albeit the first 2 rounds were probing rounds. By the fourth round, Devon was hitting Marcos at will in spite of getting his share of punishment from the Argentinean. It must have been frustrating to Maidana to see Devon absorb and walk through his vaunted power. Maidana has gone to war with excellent boxers but nobody until Saturday has dominated him like Alexander did. By the sixth round, Maidana was visibly hurt. Instead of simply cruising to victory, Devon Alexander kept on pressing and bringing the fight to Maidana up to the final bell. Final verdict without an iota of doubt, a unanimous decision from all 3 judges, 100-90, 100-90, 99-91. I scores 100-90. What is next for Alexander? Golden Boy CEO is very optimistic that big fights are in the horizon. Devon is confident he can play with the big boys. The biggest prize obviously is a fight against the pound for pound kings, Pacquiao or Mayweather. But his trainer, Kevin Cunningham is more realistic. Winner of Berto-Ortiz would be a more reasonable short term goal. If Amir Khan goes up to 147 as expected, An Alexander-Khan fight would generate a lot buzz with the winner getting a shot at Mayweather About 3 years ago, I wrote about the possibility of a Pacquiao-Alexander fight. http://philboxing.com/news/list.articles.php?aid=1462&id=27044 He may not be fighting Pacquaio anytime soon but he definitely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as one of the elites of boxing. Quo vadis Devon Alexander? He has arrived on the road to stardom. Top photo: Alexander speaks to the media after Saturday's win over Maidana. 
Alexander (R) poses with the author. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Greg R. Penilla, M.D..  |
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