IB- August 10, 2010 – Hold off on the plaque engraving.
Don?t dust off any pedestals, don?t send out invitations and don?t tell the company sculptor to sharpen his tools and start chiseling.
There?s been a temporary detour to Devon Alexander?s quick rise toward boxing sainthood. It seems he misplaced his directions to the Hall of Fame. Or someone swiped them.
The IBF and WBC junior-welterweight champ?s win over former champ Andriy Kotelnik of Germany on Saturday night in Alexander?s hometown of St. Louis, MO, didn?t exactly bring the house down. No streamers, balloons or confetti were tossed in the air. No dancing, no loud music and no drinking into the night.
Turns out Kotelnik was a party crasher.
Well, almost.
The fight turned out to be a little closer than the local newspapers and boxing experts told us it was going to be. Apparently, someone forgot to whisper in Kotelnik?s ear that he was fighting the hometown boy and he was expected to show some respect, make it look good. Maybe take a knee and an eight-count following a good shot to the chin sometime in the middle rounds. It would have helped liven things up and given the hometown crowd something to stand up and cheer about.
In the end, Kotenik lost, but he muffled a lot of Alexander?s thunder before he made his way out of town.
Turned out to be an unexpected quiet night in St. Louis.
Sure, there were fireworks, but they were ignited before the fight, courtesy of the stage hands who lit the sparklers for Alexander?s over-the-top entrance into the ring at the Scottrade Center. For a humble kid with 12 brothers and sisters, Alexander showed a lot of Macho Camacho in his strut to the ring. He just didn?t show too much Macho Camacho once he got in it.
Still, it was a win, and you can?t say too much bad stuff about a guy who gets a win fighting a former world champ who knows a secret or two about how to take your game away.
All three judges scored the fight 116-112 for Alexander, which makes you think the same guy filled in all three scorecards while the other two judges took the night off and just enjoyed watching the fights from the best seats in the house.
On top of that, the scoring in the co-main event between light-heavyweights Glenn Johnson and winner Tavoris Cloud were also identical scores of 116-112.
Let?s see, it was two fights going a total of 24 rounds with six judges and six identical scores of 116-112, even though no one seemed to agree on who did what over a majority of the rounds in both fights.
Strange stuff. After the fight, Kotelnik claimed he got stiffed by a home-town decision. Maybe. But what was he expecting, fair play?
Kotelnik knew who he was fighting and where he was fighting. And he knows if you go into the others guy?s backyard for a fight, you better figure you?re already down three rounds before anyone even throws a punch. And you fight that way, knowing you?re behind on the cards right from the opening bell. Whether right or wrong, that?s just the way it is. You play ?catchup? from the first round on. It?s the price you pay when you travel. But you know that before you make the trip.
It was a good win for Alexander because all wins are good. It just didn?t follow the storyline the St. Louis fight crowd was hoping for and expecting to see.
So with Kotelnik out of the way, Alexander says he wants a fight with WBO champ Timothy Bradley. It?s a good choice – for Bradley.
After watching Kotelnik neutralize Alexander?s speed and movement, Bradley probably got on the phone right away with his manager and told him he?d like that fight.
Don?t worry, Devon. Even the Cardinals have bad days. And you still might find those directions.
