We`ve been waiting for the first big fight of 2011 since Bernard Hopkins` near comeback masterpiece vs Jean Pascal in late December of last year. Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (27-0, 11 ko`s) and Devon Alexander “The Great” (21-1, 13 ko`s) were highly touted as two of America`s best young undefeated fighters in the junior welterweight division. With Alexander`s WBC and Bradley`s WBO 140lbs titles on the line, they boxed, head butted, grabbed, head butted and did I mention head butted each other until a disappointing tenth round end that resembled many Detroit Lions games. We saw Alexander lose the fight, His belts and a lot of respect by the boxing public. Lets just hope this fight didn’t set the standard for the rest of 2011.
At the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, Devon Alexander started fast with His jab and quick pace in the early going. He never landed anything really big, but I felt He was just busier through the first 2 rounds. Bradley landed a good head butt in the opening round that opened a cut above Alexander`s right eye. Bradley landed good shots in rounds 3 and 4 winning both on my card to even the score. The middle rounds were close as Jim Lampley and Emanuel Steward noted several times throughout the fight, I had the bout even at the halfway mark. Coming into the fight I didn’t think Devon Alexander had the determination to win over Bradley. I thought His inexperience would cause Him to fade down the stretch. Bradley is a good fighter not great, He wins more based on guts than He does with technical skill. Somewhere in rounds seven and eight, Alexander showed a lot of speed, skill and will to win, as Bradley ceased to fire back at Him, but it would be short lived.
Bradley dominated round 9 and with three quarters of the fight expired, I had it all even again 86-86. This is where it all went wrong. Alexander wasn’t doing much in round 10, and Bradley landed a few decent overhand shots, but no one was hurting anybody with their fists tonight. Next we see two consecutive head butts (1 by each fighter) and Referee Frank Garza breaking up the clinching fighters after the butts. The only problem was Alexander was butted on His left eye but complained of stinging in His right eye (where he was butted and cut in round 1) The “pain” was too much for Him to continue so Ringside Physician Dr. Peter Samet and Referee called a halt to the bout 1 minute into round 10. The Judges scores were 98-93, 97-93, and 96-95 all in favor of Tim Bradley. I also had the bout 96-95 for Bradley as I thought He landed the more meaningful punches throughout the night.
I was disappointed (to say the least) that someone who was still relatively in the fight would resort to cowardly tactics and let this fight, their` career and WBC championship belt be decided by judges especially after all the smack talking. In the replays, Alexander is clearly butted on the left side of his head, but goes down in one corner and cursed and complained to the Ring Doctor in the other corner about his RIGHT EYE?! Message to any other fighters who want to take the easy way out: (ex. Andre Dirrell, Nate Campbell just to name a few) There are about 14 cameras at ringside, You`re probably going to be able to fake it to judges, doctors and referees with the naked eye, but you cant fake it past TV cameras with super slow motion and instant replays!! Giving Credit for a great idea to a Long Time friend of mine (Frank Patz) Boxing should wake up, evolve and have a second referee outside of the ring with a TV monitor to make rulings on any incidental fouls during a match. All other sports use instant replay (Football, Baseball, Hockey and Basketball), with the high speed, fast paced action that boxing has at times it would only be beneficial to have another set of eyes on the action at hand.
With that said, Bradley showed heart and determination as usual but needs to stay in the junior welterweight division which is pretty top heavy at the moment and finish off the other contenders at 140lbs before taking the next step up to the You-Know-who`s. As for Devon Alexander, get Your rematch with Bradley and don’t leave it up to other people to decide Your fate next time.
Joey Santana can Be Reached at: theboxingkidd@verizon.net
Written by:
