THERE?S an interesting duke-out today that features Rene Maidana vs. Devon Alexander.
It?s at the welterweight division and though none of these two may ever set foot in the ring with Pacquiao anytime soon with the latter?s repeated references of an impending retirement, in this wild, wacky world of pro-boxing, who knows?
Maidana is best known for giving Amir Khan fits in a losing effort in 2010. In that fight, Khan owned the early rounds, but Maidana rallied furiously to take the middle stanzas.
Khan awkwardly tried to fend off the marauding Maidana by turning his back and running around the ring like a chicken with its head cut off. He was lucky to survive the onslaught. Maidana wields a fearsome record of 31 wins, 2 losses and 28 KOs.
Trying to foil his resurgence will be Alexander who is certainly no push-over. He has a record of 22-1, 13KOS with the sole blemish inflicted by Manny Pacquiao?s next victim., er, opponent Timothy Bradley.
Coming into that Bradley fight, Alexander was riding high on the wave of three wins over top-tier fighters like Junior Wittter, Juan Urango and Andre Kotelnik. He also held the IBF and WBC diadems.
That Urango fight was so impressive that several pundits likened him to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But in the Bradley fight, he was unable to get into his rhythm with the shorter Bradley continuously wading in and closing the space. He was also frustrated by the latter?s gamesmanship, getting hit on the break and eventually succumbing to head-butts.
MY TAKE. With his awkward southpaw stance, Alexander can be a stylistic nightmare to his opponents. He has fast hands and throws eye-catching combinations.
In this classic boxer versus brawler template, I give the edge to Alexander.
Maidana is a one-trick pony. He comes forward throwing punches in bunches and likes to overwhelm opponents with searing unrelenting pressure.
But in the Erik Morales fight, we saw him getting countered and hurt by the aging champ and I see no reason why Alexander can?t do the same.
Unless Maidana gets lucky and clubs Alexander with a fight-ending haymaker, I see ?Alexander the Great? winning via unanimous decision.
LIKE FATHER? I finally got to watch a replay of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Marco Antonio Rubio title bout and it was quite unsettling to see the young son of the legend sucking wind by the 6th round.
(By the way, I think it?s a travesty that Julio Jr. is the featured main event in a card that had Nonito Donaire vs. Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. I?m sure you will agree that Donaire is the better fighter. Not only is he no. 3 or 4 on most pound-for-pound lists, he?s the more exciting boxer too. But of course, I concede that Julio Jr. is the more marketable fighter in the US with its huge Latino fan base..I?m just saying).
Back to Jr. I?m sure his poor conditioning had a lot to do with the fact that he was arrested for drunk driving a few days before the fight.
Tsk..tsk.. He should know better. His legend of a father also had issues with his vices and I would think his son would be getting better advice and guidance.
Let me quote from Oscar de la Hoya?s memoir ?American Son? wherein he narrates an experience he had while training for his fight with Julio Sr.
?It was dawn, the first rays of light hitting the placid water along the Riverwalk. I was already up and heading out of my hotel to do roadwork, sweatsuit on, shadowboxing as I made my way out of the lobby and onto the street.
It was then that I came face to face with a figure stepping unsteadily out of a limousine.
It was Julio Cesar Chavez returning from a night on the road.
I smiled. Even in that dim light, I could see the outcome ahead.?
Like father like son? You be the judge.
LAST ROUND. It?s on Atty Oscar Tan Jr. who recently celebrated his birthday.
Cheers!
