Saturday night?s fight between Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana will be fought at welterweight, but both fighters have proven their worth even in defeat at the junior welterweight division. One uses his jab and speed, both hand and foot to get his shots off and move, while the other uses his face as a jab and his right hand as a sledgehammer. When these two fighters step into the ring it will be a classic boxer versus puncher matchup that many boxing fans love to watch and argue about. This type of matchup can create a wide variety of opinions on who won the fight and why they did. Who landed more punches? Who landed with more power and who made the fight? These questions will always create different scorecards from judges and keep the ongoing argument of what are the most important criteria to score a fight.
One could make an argument that Devon Alexander has lost his last 3 fights. Although his fight was slow and sloppy with Timothy Bradley, his other 2 fights have been very entertaining even if he got the hometown nod with the judges. His fights with Kotelnik and Matthysse were two way fights that saw his opponent?s exploit some weaknesses that up until then seemed like strengths. Kotelnik was picking Devon apart with his jab and counter shots while Matthysse brought smart pressure the whole fight in the way Juan Urango did by putting Alexander on the ropes before getting sent to the moon from an accurate Alexander uppercut. After the Urango victory most people thought Alexander would not only be too fast and elusive for most, but also have the power to dominate the 140 pound division. The one constant thing Devon has shown in those 2 controversial wins is volume punching and that could be what wins him a close fight once again.
Maidana?s last 2 big fights were great battles with Amir Khan and Erik Morales that proved his worth once again, something he will have to do yet again. Maidana is a come forward crude fighter that loves to land his right hand, throw uppercuts, and go to the body. He gets hit too much and probably will in this fight but what he doesn?t poses in natural skill and speed, he more than makes up for it with heart and determination. He showed it as the underdog versus
?Vicious? Victor Ortiz coming off the canvas 3 times only to make Ortiz quit in the 6th round. He got dropped by a body shot in the first round from Amir Khan only to make a brawl in the second half of the fight hurting Khan badly on the ropes. His fight last April with Erik Morales was one of the best two way fights from last year. Both Khan and Morales showed that he will always be an open target in general but the jab is a key weapon to slow down Maidana.
The jab of both fighters will be one of the keys for either to come away with a victory on Saturday night. We know that Alexander will be throwing a lot of jabs off his back foot, as he tries to get close enough to land a punch or combo but far enough away from that big right hand and those upper cuts that Maidana surely will be trying to land. The jab will be more important to Devonbut that?s not to say Maidana couldn?t benefit from using a jab as he barrels in trying to get Alexander on the ropes with pressure. A simple jab could help set up his power punches and make Alexander hesitate even if it?s just for a moment. Bradley showed us that Alexander is open to the body and at times can be led to the ropes while trying to rely too much on his defense. If he can get to the body early and often, he could wear down Alexander over the course of the fight.
The only thing with trying to wear down the body which is another key is: It?s a ten round fight, so with an almost guaranteed fast start that Alexander will get, it may be hard to rely on breaking down Devon in only ten rounds, something his countryman Lucas Matthysse couldn?t do. Keeping with the 10 round issue theme, Maidana who at times can start slow like most aggressive fighters, cannot afford to start slow with two less rounds to catch up with Devon and try to change the early momentum. Maidana has a solid work rate which is also the norm for his style, but Devon also has a high work rate, and that was the difference in his wins versus Kotelnik and Matthysse. That and the fact that he was in or very close to his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. Devon?s southpaw stance could be another key to the fight. He can deliver his jab with a left hand straight or uppercut behind it and then have the ability to get back on his bike or at least his tricycle which he will likely ride backwards in circles confusing Maidana.
For Maidana to win he has to get Alexander on the ropes early and often. Left hands to the body will help open up Devon?s head and maybe just maybe, he could drop or hurt Devon. Maidana, who as previously mentioned is crude but can land his uppercuts with angles and can also have a very awkward style to adjust too. He can make you feel confident while landing punches and even knocking him down, but moments later shock you with his ability to recoup his senses from being hurt and go on the attack. I see this fight starting fast for Alexander, but at some point maybe the 3rd or 4thround, Maidana will get in a rhythm and his best hope will be to land a huge punch that will at the very least change the momentum if not drop and or hurt Devon. That is his only chance outside of a knockout to win the fight on the cards in Alexander?s home state.
In the end I think Devon will show the heart he did after getting knocked down early in his fight with Matthysse and find a way to not only throw and land more punches than Maidana but also improve some weaknesses we have seen in his last three fights. I predict that Devon Alexander will win a fairly close decision over Marcos Maidana, but if I were a betting man (which I am) I may put some money on a knockout win for Maidana. All in all if you include the undercard fight between Adrien Broner and Eloy Perez, this should be at least an intriguing fight card that will answer more questions we have about all four of these fighters but might also add to the ongoing debate of who and why someone did or should have won the fight.
