Devon Alexander

Last updated
Devon Alexander
Devon Alexander.jpg
Alexander (right) vs. DeMarcus Corley, 2008
Born (1987-02-10) February 10, 1987 (age 37)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Other namesThe Great
Statistics
Weight(s) Light welterweight
Welterweight
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Reach71 in (180 cm)
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights30
Wins26
Wins by KO14
Losses4

Devon Alexander (born February 10, 1987) is an American professional boxer. Nicknamed "Alexander the Great", he is a former WBC and IBF light welterweight champion, as well as a former IBF welterweight champion.

Contents

Biography

Alexander grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of north St. Louis, Missouri in an area described as rough, gang- and drug-infested. [1] Alexander was mentored by various people at a young age including Former NFL players Eric Drain and Demetrius Johnson, principal of Clay Community Education Center Frank Muelhauser, and PE teacher, Brad Slinkard. He would later join the boxing gym that Kevin Cunningham, a former police officer and security officer at Clay Community Center, turned trainer, founded in the basement of an old police station. [2]

Thirty kids joined the boxing program of Cunningham, who had hoped to keep the kids out of trouble, off the streets, and in the ring. A stablemate of Alexander's, Cory Spinks would become welterweight champion. . [3]

Amateur career

Alexander had an outstanding amateur career, compiling a record of 300-10 under the tutelage of Cunningham. He was a four-time Silver Gloves champion from ages 10–14; three-time PAL national champion; Junior Golden Gloves and Junior Olympics national champion; 2003 United States national champion in the 19-and-under division; and 2004 United States light welterweight national champion. Alexander made it to the final round of the 2004 Olympic trials, where he battled Rock Allen to a draw and was knocked down once before losing on a tie-breaker. [4]

Professional career

Light welterweight

At age 17, Alexander made his professional debut, defeating Vincent Torres by first round technical knockout in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. [4]

He went up against former WBO junior welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley on January 19, 2008, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Alexander easily defeated Corley by unanimous decision. [5]

Light welterweight title

On August 1, 2009, Alexander defeated Junior Witter to claim the vacant WBC light welterweight championship. Witter gave up on his stool after the eighth round, claiming that he had re-injured his left hand. Alexander was hurt by a right hand in round 2. All three judges had Alexander ahead at the time of the stoppage 79-73, 79-73, 80-72.

Alexander vs. Urango

Alexander was next scheduled to face two-time champion Juan Urango of Colombia in a title unification bout. The 6 March 2010 bout was held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut and was televised on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" telecast. [2] To train for the fight, Alexander used a Las Vegas house lent by promoter Don King as training base. [3] Devon Alexander defeated Juan Urango by TKO in round 8. Alexander threw an uppercut which dropped Urango. Urango made the count but Alexander resumed his attack and threw a hook to Urango's temple which again dropped him. Urango stood up but was clearly dazed, resulting in a stoppage by the referee. Urango, who suffered his first KO defeat, called out Timothy Bradley after the fight, but a fight was never made because Bradley just moved up to welterweight.

In his next fight he faced Andreas Kotelnik, the former WBA Light Welterweight champion, in his hometown of St. Louis Missouri on 7 August in front of members of the St. Louis Rams, Evander Holyfield and Floyd Mayweather. [6] Alexander won the fight by a controversial unanimous decision with all judges scoring the fight 116-112.

On October 22, 2010, Alexander was stripped of the IBF Junior Welterweight title for not fighting the no. 1 contender, Kaizer Mabuza.

Alexander vs. Bradley

Alexander's next fight, on January 29, 2011, took place against Timothy Bradley, which he lost via 10th round TD after an unintentional head-butt forced a stop to the bout. [7]

Alexander vs. Matthysse

On June 25, 2011, Alexander defeated Lucas Matthysse in a controversial split decision. The judges scored the fight 96-93 and 95-94 for Alexander and 96-93 for Matthysse.

Welterweight

On February 25, 2012 Alexander moved up to welterweight and put on a dominating performance against highly regarded and hard-charging Marcos Maidana. Alexander landed the right hook at will, catching Maidana with his left hand down throughout the contest. Maidana was seemingly surprised by both the speed and power Alexander displayed at his first fight at welterweight. Only one of the three judges had Maidana winning a round. The impressive nature of the win earned Alexander a title match with Randall Bailey in September 2012. Alexander was criticized by some however, for fighting illegally at some points during the fight.

Alexander was scheduled to fight titlest Randall Bailey as a main event on Showtime Championship Boxing on September 8, 2012, but Bailey withdrew due to injury. Their fight was replaced with the original undercard fight between Olusegun Ajose and Lucas Matthysse and an originally scheduled non-televised fight between J'Leon Love and Ramon Valenzuela was changed to a televised bout. [8]

Welterweight title

Alexander returned to action on October 20, 2012, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where he won the IBF Welterweight title by unanimous decision against Ring Top 10 Welterweight, Randall Bailey. The fight was fought at a comfortable pace for Alexander, with very little exchanges, as Bailey did not let his hands go very often. In a one sided fight, Alexander won his third world title in his second division.

Alexander's next fight was originally supposed to happen on January 19, 2013, against mandatory challenger and Ring No. 3 ranked Welterweight, Kell Brook. However, Brook suffered an ankle injury during training, and the fight was rescheduled for May 18, 2013 in Atlantic City. Alexander's camp and some boxing insiders have questioned the authenticity of this injury and assert that Brook was simply not ready to step up in class to fight Alexander.

Devon would go on to lose his next two biggest fights, losing his championship belt & status as a top contender after all boxing governing bodies removed Devon Alexander from their Top rankings. [9]

Shawn Porter loss

Alexander would lose the IBF Welterweight title to Shawn Porter on December 7, 2013 by unanimous decision with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 116-112. [10]

Brook later defeated Shawn Porter for the less than sparkling IBF Welterweight belt - somewhat clearing Brook of possibly ducking Alexander.

Amir Khan loss

Alexander lost the WBC Silver Welterweight title to Amir Khan on December 13, 2014 by a lopsided unanimous decision with scores of 119-109, 118-110, 120-108. [11]

Professional boxing record

26 Wins (14 knockouts, 12 decisions), 4 Losses, 0 Draws [7]
Res.RecordOpponentTypeRd., TimeDateLocationNotes
Loss26–4 Flag of the United States.svg Aaron MartinezUD102015-10-14 Flag of the United States.svg Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Loss26–3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Amir Khan UD122014-12-13 Flag of the United States.svg MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, Nevada For WBC Silver Welterweight title.
Win26–2 Flag of Mexico.svg Jesús Soto Karass UD102014-06-21 Flag of the United States.svg StubHub Center, Carson, California
Loss25–2 Flag of the United States.svg Shawn Porter UD122013-12-07 Flag of the United States.svg Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York Lost IBF Welterweight title.
Win25–1 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lee Purdy RTD7 (12)2013-05-18 Flag of the United States.svg Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win24–1 Flag of the United States.svg Randall Bailey UD122012-10-20 Flag of the United States.svg Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York Won IBF Welterweight title.
Win23–1 Flag of Argentina.svg Marcos Maidana UD 102012-02-25 Flag of the United States.svg Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Win22–1 Flag of Argentina.svg Lucas Matthysse SD 102011-06-25 Flag of the United States.svg The Family Arena, St. Charles, Missouri
Loss21–1 Flag of the United States.svg Timothy Bradley TD 10 (12), 3:002011-01-29 Flag of the United States.svg Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan Lost WBC Light Welterweight title.
For WBO Light Welterweight title.
Win21–0 Flag of Ukraine.svg Andreas Kotelnik UD122010-08-07 Flag of the United States.svg Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri Retained IBF and WBC Light Welterweight titles.
Win20–0 Flag of Colombia.svg Juan Urango TKO8 (12), 1:122010-03-06 Flag of the United States.svg Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Connecticut Retained WBC Light Welterweight title.
Won IBF Light Welterweight title.
Win19–0 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Junior Witter RTD8 (12), 3:002009-08-01 Flag of the United States.svg Agua Caliente, Rancho Mirage, California Won vacant WBC Light Welterweight title.
Win18–0 Flag of the United States.svg Jesus RodriguezKO9 (10), 0:582009-04-24 Flag of the United States.svg Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Win17–0 Flag of the United States.svg Christopher FernandezRTD3 (8), 3:002008-12-11 Flag of the United States.svg Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Win16–0 Flag of South Korea.svg Sun-Haeng LeeTKO4 (10), 0:192008-11-07 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Sichuan Gymnasium, Chengdu
Win15–0 Flag of Panama.svg Miguel CallistUD122008-03-27 Flag of the United States.svg Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Win14–0 Flag of the United States.svg DeMarcus Corley UD122008-01-19 Flag of the United States.svg Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win13–0 Flag of the United States.svg Cory PetersonTKO1 (8), 2:592007-10-13 Flag of the United States.svg Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Win12–0 Flag of the United States.svg Marcus LuckKO3 (8), 1:242007-07-07 Flag of the United States.svg Harbour Yard Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Win11–0 Flag of the United States.svg Scott BallKO7 (8), 0:592007-03-02 Flag of the United States.svg Belterra, Florence, Indiana
Win10–0 Flag of the United States.svg Maximino CuevasTKO4 (4), 2:022007-01-06 Flag of the United States.svg Seminole Hard Rock, Hollywood, Florida
Win9–0 Flag of the United States.svg Tyler ZiolkowskiTKO1 (10), 2:402006-07-08 Flag of the United States.svg Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Win8–0 Flag of the United States.svg Seth HebenstreitUD62006-03-09 Flag of the United States.svg The Spott, St. Louis, Missouri
Win7–0 Flag of the United States.svg Kelly WrightUD62005-10-21 Flag of the United States.svg Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Win6–0 Flag of the United States.svg Christian NashTKO2 (4), 2:282005-09-30 Flag of the United States.svg Noa Noa Night Club, Stone Park, Illinois
Win5–0 Flag of the United States.svg John RudolphTKO3 (4), 1:012005-06-02 Flag of the United States.svg The Family Arena, St. Charles, Missouri
Win4–0 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Felix LoraUD62005-05-21 Flag of the United States.svg United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Win3–0 Flag of Mexico.svg Donovan CastanedaUD62005-02-05 Flag of the United States.svg Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Win2–0 Flag of the United States.svg Karl HunterUD42004-06-03 Flag of the United States.svg Ambassador Club, St. Louis, Missouri
Win1–0 Flag of the United States.svg Vincent TorresTKO1 (4)2004-05-20 Flag of the United States.svg Kewadin Casino, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Professional debut.

Controversy

Devon Alexander took a strong stance against The Supreme Court of the United States of America legitimatizing same-sex marriage in the USA, Devon Alexander tweeted homophobic statements that were discussed on boxing articles the next day [12] [13] [14]

See Also

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References

  1. ↑ "Devon Alexander escaped streets of St. Louis to become a champion". SportsIllustrated.cnn.com. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
  2. 1 2 "Alexander Not Letting Praise Get To His Head". Espn.com. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
  3. 1 2 "Devon Alexander rises from mean streets to become world champ". CanadaEast.com. 2010-03-05. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
  4. 1 2 Donovan, Jake (2008-01-18). "New School Pick of the Week: Devon Alexander". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  5. ↑ "Alexander Decisions Corley, Collazo Defeats Barros". BoxingNews24.com. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  6. ↑ "The Matador: Alexander Unified Champion". HBO.com. 2010-03-06. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  7. 1 2 http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=254834&cat=boxer
  8. ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/1804/love-valenzuela-elevated-to-co-main-event
  9. ↑ http://www.fightnews.com/rankings-2
  10. ↑ "Shawn Porter claims IBF welterweight belt; Paulie Malignaggi wins battle of Brooklyn". Sky Sports . 8 December 2013.
  11. ↑ http://www.espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/12026364/amir-khan-defeats-devon-alexander-unanimous-decision
  12. ↑ http://www.badlefthook.com/2015/6/26/8854865/devon-alexander-homophobic-twitter-tirade-gay-marriage
  13. ↑ http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/articles/21058-devon-alexander-lobbies-for-adam-and-eve-over-adam-and-steve
  14. ↑ http://www.rappler.com/sports/by-sport/boxing-mma/97601-devon-alexander-homophobic-rant

Further reading

Awards and achievements
Vacant
Title last held by
Timothy Bradley 		WBC Super Lightweight Champion
August 1, 2009 – January 29, 2011		Succeeded by
Preceded by IBF Junior Welterweight Champion
March 6, 2010 – October 22, 2010
Stripped		Vacant
Title next held by
Zab Judah
Preceded by IBF Welterweight Champion
October 20, 2012 – December 7, 2013		Succeeded by
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