May 03, 2010 – Marcos Maidana had to pull out from a July 17 bout with Timothy Bradley today due to back spasms and when asked about Devon Alexander being a possible replacement, Bradley’s promoter Mr. Gary Shaw stated, “I am not sure if anyone knows who Alexander is.”
[Click here for more details on the cancellation of Maidana vs. Bradley here.]
It is clear, in my opinion, that Shaw’s comments were a backhanded dig at Alexander and his trainer-manager Kevin Cunningham. Hailing from St. Louis, Alexander, Cunningham, and Bradley have traded unpleasant verbal jabs on Internet website for several weeks now.
As two of America’s brightest young stars, a battle between Alexander and Bradley is becoming a highly anticipated affair within the inner-circles of boxing.
So how can Mr. Shaw state that nobody knows who Alexander is, when arguably, Alexander and Shaw have about the same level of popularity within the boxing community.
And it is a fact that Devon Alexander has already appeared on HBO (a sizzling 8th round knock-out against Juan Urango on March 6), while Bradley has been a staple on the less popular Showtime network.
So in my estimation, among casual fans Alexander might be more popular than Bradley due to his HBO appearance and among boxing fans their notoriety is dead-even.
A July fight between Alexander and Bradley may be unrealistic, regardless of Shaw’s stance on Alexander’s alleged popularity, since Alexander has an August bout planned in his hometown, but I hope Shaw’s myopic views do not keep the pair from clashing in late 2010 or 2011.
So what is next for Bradley? Any replacement that HBO will rubber stamp for Shaw, but do not expect anyone spectacular as Bradley’s original opponent for July 17 was Luis Carlos Abregu.
Zab Judah seems to be a once top-flight name always ready and willing to throw his name in the junior welterweight mix, but I doubt there is enough money involved for “Super” to become another name on Bradley’s resume.
So let us wait and see who Shaw pulls out of his velor jumpsuit, but do not expect a potentially pleasing bout like Maidana – Bradley promised to be.
