Pontiac – The public that has grown weary of all the bluffs and trash talking can get ready for two guys that can fight and will fight in Pontiac Michigan at the Silverdome on January 29th. Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander are ready to provide the public with one of the best fights of the New Year. With their skills and determination the public probably will not be disappointed. The light welterweight 140 pound division is loaded with talent. Marcos Maidana, who recently lost a close decision to Amir Khan, is one of many stellar performers in the division. Of course with Amir Khan coming out of the Freddie Roach stable of fighters with prize pupil Manny Pacquiao as the lead attraction there is automatic fan recognition. Whether Khan is a super star champion is yet to be determined but regardless he is the WBA super lightweight champion until someone takes the belt away from him. Old nemesis and the fighter that annihilated Khan in one round Breidis Prescott waits in the wings with challenges but as yet the fight has not been made. From the fan perspective it kind of makes sense but the rematch which once was such a drawing card in the old days seems never to happen now. They lose, they move on, look at Miguel Cotto as a prime example. A rematch with Antonio Margarito should have happened long ago if for nothing more than great fighters want to beat those that beat them. Look no further that past great heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis who avenged his only two defeats. With all the cards on the table that are known at this moment and barring any future issues we are left with Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander two guys that will battle it out to unify the titles that they hold. There is nothing exotic to speak about with this fight. Both men are from the United States, both are great fighters, both have a skin color that doesn?t matter when they put the gloves on. No hype with this one. No catch weights or one sided match ups. No obvious stepping stone bouts to get to the next stage. No testing chins to see who can take a punch being one of the more publicized reasons to watch Khan and Maidana. No Manny Pacquiao or all the drama with one of his fights. This is a fight for fight fans. This is a fight for guys that follow the sport on the front page and the back page. That bear all the pop ups to get to some opinions or coverage. No fading stars rushing to share the front page with these guys. Just you and me and a cold one and appreciation for some truly gifted fighters. Pre coverage and prognostications about the bout will come with promises that HBO will push the fight and the date prior to the Super Bowl as a grand sports festival. No need, they don?t understand the fan and why we love boxing. To make it concise Bradley who is 26 and 0 with 11 knockouts and will fight Alexander who is 21 and 0 with 13 knockouts. Nicknames aside of ?Desert Storm? and ?Alexander the Great? perhaps some consultation with a moniker maker might improve them but that is another issue. They are in a division that has produced some of the greatest fighters and fights in the sport. For the moment excluding current well known modern champs please remember Aaron Pryor, Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker and other greats that had classic battles in times when the gates were not as big as they are today. When it wasn?t important what kind of music was played when you entered the ring and more than likely somebody was going to have to be helped out when it was over. Some would call us fans barbarians over this thing but they have never heard ring announcer Michael Buffer say ?let?s get ready to rumble? and felt the chills just like it was you in the ring. Bring on the new light welterweight warriors.
