Friday, March 5, 2010
Devon Alexander will enter The Mohegan Sun ring while Grammy-nominated recording artist Drake performs by his side on Saturday night. That should be quite a scene, but he hopes his show in the ring is far more impressive.
Alexander (19-0, 12 KOs) will take on Juan Urango (22-2-1, 17 KOs) at 8:30 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Hotel and on HBO in a world championship unification match.
Alexander is a heavy favorite, but he has always said that means nothing.
“You have to be prepared (regardless) of who you are fighting,” he said.
“I’m in great shape. I’ve worked hard. I’m bringing another championship home to St. Louis.”
Alexander won the WBC Super Lightweight title on August 1 in St. Louis by defeating Junior Witter.
Unlike this fight where he is expected to win, he entered the Witter fight as a slight underdog.
The official weigh-in is Friday with the bout the following evening. Alexander won’t have the hometown crowd backing him, but Urango is a native Colombian who fights out of Tampa. Whoever fights best and earliest will most likely win over the crowd and - more importantly - the judges.
Alexander’s longtime trainer Kevin Cunningham says his young champion “won’t be running,” from Urango.
Urango carries the nickname “The Iron Twins,” in reference to his hands and punching power. But Alexander “The Great,” says his power is being overlooked.
“I’ll do what I have to do to win. If that means knocking him out I can do that too,” he said.
But boxing website Bad Left Hook says in its fight preview that it “cannot see a possible way that trainer Kevin Cunningham gets Devon Alexander into a firefight with this guy.”
“Alexander should be able to batter Urango with quick combinations, either from distance, or by moving in and getting out before Urango can unleash a wild left hand or his right hook. The danger in getting caught is there for anyone against Urango, but his bomb can be diffused by a guy with skill, and Alexander has plenty of skill.”
Alexander’s skills have taken him from the dangerous streets of north St. Louis to the threshold of a unified boxing championship.
Should he defeat Urango, his next bout could be against one of the sports great names. Ricky Hatton is among the boxers that might tangle with Alexander in the future if he holds both the WBC and IBF titles.
In a conference call last month, Cunningham already proclaimed that Alexander is better than Hatton. Hatton battered Urango in 2007, but was not able to knock the tough Colombian out.
Promoter Don King seems to have Alexander penned in for a major fight in the near future.
“This is a young champion that cannot be stopped. I am so glad we found him,” he said.
“He is the future of boxing. He is the kind of kid that will return boxing to its glory. He is Alexander "The Great." He will show you why against Urango,” he said.
As for the ring entrance with Drake, Alexander should recall St. Louis boxing history.
Alexander was in the sold-out Savvis Center (now Scottrade Center) when Cory Spinks entered the venue with a rapping Nelly and the two danced and strutted their way to the ring before the Feb. 5, 2005 title bout rematch with Zab Judah.
It was the highlight of the evening for Spinks, who was beat up by Judah before the fight was stopped in the ninth round.
Alexander should be careful to not use too much energy on the way to the ring, and save it for inside the ropes.
Drake will perform “Forever,” which includes the lyric, “Last name ever, first name greatest,” as Alexander’s ring nickname is “The Great.”
Alvin Reid will provide round-by-round scoring and a fight recap on Saturday night at Globe-Democrat.com.
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