The next big fight on the horizon is the January 29th junior welterweight unification between WBO champion Timothy Bradley and IBF and WBC titlist Devon Alexander. It?s no secret that the two men aren?t fond of one another and they have been trading verbal insults over the past year.
Alexander is training for the contest in Las Vegas, as he has for his previous two bouts, and gets down to work at Barry?s Boxing Center right off of the strip. The champion from St. Louis talks with a dismissive tone in his voice when sizing up his 27-year old foe.
?He?s an okay fighter,? Alexander told me shortly before breaking for camp. ?He?s a hard worker and he?ll come ready to go twelve rounds. But [he?s] nothing special, nothing special. In this fight I am just going to go back to the basics and I am going to do what I?ve been doing. My speed is going to kill him and my angles are going to kill him. He?s not going to be see any of my punches.?
Bradley hasn?t fought at 140 pounds since handing Lamont Peterson his first defeat over a year ago and is dying to test his skills against the undefeated Alexander.
?It?s gonna be probably fight of the year,? Bradley said recently via BoxingScene.com. ?Guarantee you, there?s gonna be fireworks man. I?m letting everybody know I?m coming, so whatever Devon do, I?m coming. They call [Alexander] ?The Great? but after I get done with him he?s gonna be called average. Check me out and don?t miss it man. Don?t miss it.?
Kelly Pavlik?s future
The last time we saw Kelly Pavlik inside of the ring his face was a bloody mask as he surrendered his middleweight crown to Sergio Martinez last April. It was a humbling defeat for Pavlik, who had no answers for the Argentinean?s speed and piercing shots that came from all angles, and unfortunately it remains to be seen if the Youngstown, Ohio native will ever bounce back.
Pavlik was to make his return to the ring on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito tussle but withdrew from the contest less than two weeks before the November 13th date, citing an injured rib. Shortly thereafter Pavlik would admit himself to the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California as his struggles with alcohol again had surfaced.
Pavlik?s manager Cameron Dunkin revealed that the former star will be leaving the clinic sometime tomorrow but wasn?t able to elaborate on his future in the ring. It’s very possible that Pavlik may not set foot inside of a ring again and if he does chances seem to be slim that he will return with the same hunger as before.
Pavlik endeared himself to the boxing masses with his thrilling seventh round stoppage over Jermain Taylor in September of 2007 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The victory saw Pavlik?s status rise to new heights but his career was momentarily sidetracked a little over a year later when he was soundly defeated by Bernard Hopkins in the same building over twelve one-sided rounds.
Mark Melligen returns on Donaire-Montiel undercard
In what is being looked at as one of the year?s most compelling fights, WBC and WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel will defend his belts against former flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire at the Mandalay Bay on February 19th. Top Rank recently announced that a key attraction to the undercard will be welterweight contender Mark Jason Melligen.
Melligen suffered an upset loss to Michael Rosales in Las Vegas on the eve of the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto clash but claims that he wasn?t in the right frame of mind heading into the fight. Prior to his bout Melligen?s good friend Z Gorres collapsed inside of the ring after defeating Luis Melendez. Gorres was removed on a stretcher and fell into a coma before later recovering but his career now appears to be over.
Melligen would end up bouncing back with a wildly successful 2010 campaign, one that saw him register four victories against no defeats with two stoppages along the way.
In February he handed Austin, Texas’ Raymond Gatica his first defeat on the Pinoy Power 3/Latin Fury 13 undercard. The fight was competitive early on but Melligen?s class began to shine through and he took control in the 3rd before stopping Gatica in round six. Melligen seemed to fight with the belief that a sense of redemption was needed and he delivered several telling shots throughout the fight.
Two months later Melligen produced a solid victory, one that showed how much focus he had and initiative he was willing to take as he seized the momentum against Norberto Gonzalez. Heading into that fight Gonzalez?s only blemish was a give and take affair with tough Miami prospect Antwone Smith but against Melligen he would be outworked and hurt on key occasions. Melligen would capture a ten round decision, winning every round on all three judges? cards.
In July Melligen found himself in with Benin, West Africa?s Anges Adjaho, a man full of much trash talk heading in. Adjaho?s awkward and subtly smooth style gave Melligen fits in key spots but the Bacolod City fighter was busier and a little bit more aggressive, pulling out another ten-round nod.
Melligen?s most recent outing was a late October drubbing of Bladimir Hernandez in Cebu, a fight in which he prevailed via 3rd round TKO. It remains to be seen what is in store for Melligen this year but he showed definite improvements last year and there are loads of intriguing matchups for him at 147 pounds.
