Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander Preview
Next Saturday, January 29th, two of boxing’s best fighters at the 140-pound level will tangle in The Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. Junior Welterweights Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KO’s), a Palm Springs, California native, and Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KO’s), out of the city of St. Louis, will each have their unblemished professional records, as well as Junior Welterweight titles on the line next weekend.
Bradley currently holds the WBO junior welterweight title, is Ring Magazine’s #1 rated Junior Welterweight boxer, and is also ranked as the publication’s #9 pound-for-pound fighter in all of boxing; likewise, Devon Alexander enters the bout as the WBC junior welterweight titlist, and is 3rd on Ring Magazine’s 140-pound list. The 12-round bout, set to take place outside of Detroit, Michigan, will be a unification fight as both competitors will have their respective junior welterweight titles on the line.
The 27-year old Timothy Bradley stands only 5’6’’ and has been fighting professionally since August of 2004, but this will only be Bradley’s fourth fight outside of his home state of California. Conversely, the younger (23-year old) Devon Alexander, dubbed “Alexander the Great”, is a southpaw whose professional career began at the age of 17, a mere two months before Bradley’s, in 2004; Alexander has also successfully defended his WBC title twice since winning the then-vacant belt over Englishman Junior Witter in August of 2009. Alexander stands at 5’8’’ and boasts a reach of 71 inches, which will give the younger Alexander slight edges over Bradley in those categories. However, in the ring, Timothy Bradley likes to use constant punching and an above-average pace to overwhelm his opponents.
Bradley and Alexander stand alone as the top contenders in the 140-pound, junior welterweight division, and are a clear-cut above their contemporaries with one or two exceptions, most notably Amir Khan. Both men could easily continue their ride as World Title holders, picking and choosing from a crop of lesser competition at 140 pounds; but instead, Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander are not shying away from what should be an excellent fight between top-level fighters. Both men are daring to be great by putting both their titles and undefeated records on the line, with the hopes of reaching the next level of the boxing universe.
Although Bradley isn’t known for his punching power, the speed and pace of the 27 year old could be the difference in the fight. But regardless of the outcome, this is the type of electric fight, featuring two up-and-coming American fighters, that gets boxing fans excited. Despite it being only the end of January, next Saturday’s match could easily be a 2011 Match of the Year candidate.
