Saturday night’s junior welterweight unification tilt between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander was far from the kind of fight that we had hoped for, as Bradley pulled out an inconclusive technical decision as the bout was stopped in the tenth round due to Alexander being unable to see after suffering a severe head butt. The action in the fight was tactical and while neither man could establish superiority over the other it was Bradley who got the judges’ approval based off of his slight aggression and willingness to engage on the inside.
I had caught up with Alexander and his trainer Kevin Cunningham in Las Vegas at Barry’s Boxing at the end of their training camp and they seemed fully confident of victory with roughly a week to go before the fight. Cunningham even noted that the winner should be in line for a crack at either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather but those aspirations seem a little too high for the moment, as fighters such as Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana seem to be more ideal.
<--- Slideshow: Images of Timothy Bradley's technical victory over Devon Alexander
It wasn’t the kind of performance that the superbly-conditioned Bradley had hoped for but he found a way to win and that is the most important thing to take away from his outing. The Palm Springs native isn’t the kind of fighter who will electrify each time out but he had a solid blend of athleticism, toughness, speed, and mental strength that will make him a challenge for anyone at 140 pounds.
It may be the first loss of Alexander’s career but at 23 years old he still has plenty of time to work with. In his three fights prior Alexander defeated former champions Junior Witter, Juan Urango, and Andriy Kotelnik and those wins combined with his loss to Bradley speak of the experience he has been gaining thus far in his career.
Prior to the fight HBO analyst Jim Lampley mentioned how Alexander and Bradley would make for a great round robin-style tournament with Khan and Maidana and that seems to be the best bet for the moment. There are other willing combatants at 140 pounds as well and we will be seeing more of Devon and Tim in the near future.
For images of Bradley’s victory over Alexander please check out the slideshow on the top left of the page or click HERE
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Images from Pontiac: Timothy Bradley finds a way to defeat Devon Alexander – Las Vegas boxing | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/boxing-in-las-vegas/images-from-pontiac-timothy-bradley-finds-a-way-to-defeat-devon-alexander#ixzz1CVkKT2By
