by Christopher Lebloic
This is a fight the hard core fans have been yearning for, the two best fighters in their division facing each other in their primes, both with unblemished records. What more can one ask for?.
Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs) vs. Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs), on Saturday January 29th in the Detroit area at The Silverdome. The fight is to be aired by HBO at 10 pm Eastern.
A lot has been said about very poor tickets sales, but it should not matter, and it shouldn’t even be discussed when the match up looks this good (at least on paper). Two highly skilled fighters in their own weight class with no bogus weight stipulations and the fight taking place where it’s supposed to, inside the ring, and not during the contractual negotiations.
Both fighters are fighting for name recognition, trying to make themselves household names through their performance; They have a lot to lose, but also a lot to win, and that combination hints at nothing but success.
Everybody is trying to compare this fight to a Castillo vs. Corrales, Vazquez vs. Marquez, and some even to Leonard vs. Hearns, but let’s just hope this fights turns its own type of classic.
This fight has been cooking for the last year or so, making each the most logical opponent for one another. If this match turns into a speed and athleticism contest, Alexander will have the upper hand, not because Bradley doesn´t posses those tools, but because Alexander has the edge in those categories. He will try to dictate the pace of the fight with his jab and agility, and it has been proven that speed and agility is what bothers Bradley, as displayed in his fight against Holt when he was knocked down twice.
On the other hand, Bradley will try to do what he does best. His job is to outwork Alexander with volume punches from the inside and make it tough for him. This will be the case of the harder worker against the more talented fighter and, boy, does Bradley work hard- We know how he steps his game up when push comes to shove, and we’ve seen how Alexander reacts when a fighter just keeps on trucking, for example, in his lackluster performance against Kotelnik.
Bradley is no Kotelnik; He is by far more polished and agile and, maybe, even mentally tougher.
As you can see, this is an even-money fight where the only winners will be the fans. Let’s all enjoy this rare commodity in boxing now a days and hope this show is as good as it promises to be.
Two fighters with so much at stake. It can only be a recipe for success.
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