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"Alexander-Malignaggi and a Berto-Ortiz rematch, you do that in a doubleheader on the same show; I haven't seen too many shows that can stand up to a show like that recently. This doubleheader, it just makes so much sense as long as the deal is the winners fight. It just makes so much sense to me, so let's hope that we can get something done; everybody gets on the same page and we can make it happen...Richard's idea of this tournament is great for boxing and would spark up fan interest, but if they ain't interested in doing something like that, we want fights that make sense. If they ain't interested in Devon fighting Berto, who's a champion and one of the top welterweights, or Paul Malignaggi, who's got a name and rated in the top 10 in the WBC, if we ain't going in that direction...We'll wait and fight [Selcuk] Aydin. If no Berto or Malignaggi fight can be made, we want Aydin for the WBC mandatory spot. Him and Devon are sitting in that mandatory spot and you got Floyd Mayweather sitting up there as champion, so why would I want to do anything stupid? Why would I want to move backwards? The moves that Team Alexander is trying to make is to move forward in the welterweight scenario, not backwards," stated world-class trainer Kevin Cunningham, who spoke about the future plans after former jr. welterweight Devon Alexander. Check out what else he had to say about the idea of a 4-man single-elimination doubleheader and much more!
BT: What's up, Kev? Congratulations on the signing with Golden Boy Promotions. What's the future looking like for Devon Alexander?
KC: Thanks Ben. Man, I loved Richard's idea of a welterweight tournament. It's brilliant. If they decide to do the Berto-Ortiz rematch, I think with Devon and Paulie [Malignaggi], they can start the year off with a welterweight showdown doubleheader and there's your tournament, you know what I mean? If they want to go with Berto-Ortiz in the rematch, Devon and Paulie can be the opener and the winner fights.
BT: During the press conference to announce Devon's signing, Richard mentioned that he already had preliminary talks with Berto's people about a possible fight. I know that's a fight you guys were extremely interested in. Have you heard anything regarding that?
KC: At this point, I haven't heard anything back from anybody. I'm just thinking as a boxing trainer and from a fan's perspective, that would be, I think, a very entertaining doubleheader. I think with the four guys, you got four great backstories, you know, four of the top fighters in the welterweight division; I mean, to me, it would be a no-brainer. Devon and Paulie, there's bad blood there. You know, you got the great rematch with Berto and Ortiz; the first fight was a great fight. I think it's a great doubleheader.
BT: Paulie [Malignaggi] seemed pretty excited about Devon's signing with Golden Boy and he made it clear to me that it's a fight he wanted. Like I said, I know you guys have your eye on Berto, but if he and Ortiz move forward with a rematch, I would think that a fight with Malignaggi would be pretty easy to make since you have the same promoter now.
KC: I mean, that fight is a no-brainer being as though both of these guys have genuinely bad blood towards each other. Paulie's one of the more recognized names in the welterweight division and Devon's one of the young studs that's coming up to the welterweight division, so I thought it was a no-brainer, but the Berto fight was mentioned and, I mean, you know, Berto's got a world title, so if the opportunity came, we would definitely go for the title fight with Berto. But if they go in the direction of making the rematch with Ortiz, I mean, the Paulie fight, to me, just makes so much sense. Paulie's got a big mouth, but I think he's great for boxing and the kid can box, so I think Paulie and Devon would be an entertaining fight. I mean, if we're talking about a doubleheader and the winners meet, that's a single-elimination tournament and it's four great personalities, so hopefully the powers that be can make this thing happen. This could be an event that fans would definitely get excited about.
BT: There's definitely a lot of name recognition there and, like you said, that would pretty much be the welterweight tournament that Richard Schaefer was talking about. I mean, I'm pretty sure Amir Khan isn't going to be participating in any tournament since he'll be chasing after Mayweather, so the only other possible name that Richard mentioned being in the mix was Marcos Maidana.
KC: Me personally, I think Paulie has more name recognition and brings more to the table with the casual fan than Marcos Maidana. I mean, Marcos Maidana just barely beat an old Erik Morales by the skin of his chin. I think he needs to go back and straighten that out with Erik Morales, and the fact that Erik Morales just won a title, I think they got a unification rematch that probably makes sense. I mean, we don't turn down any fights, but I think Paulie brings more to the table in terms of the promotion, more name recognition, and he's a welterweight. We're looking to fight a true welterweight, somebody that has been there for a minute. Maidana, you know, he's the WBA jr. welterweight champion and Erik Morales is the WBC jr. welterweight champion, so it looks like a rematch with a unification going down with them. Alexander-Malignaggi and a Berto-Ortiz rematch, you do that in a doubleheader on the same show; I haven't seen too many shows that can stand up to a show like that recently. This doubleheader, it just makes so much sense as long as the deal is the winners fight. It just makes so much sense to me, so let's hope that we can get something done; everybody gets on the same page and we can make it happen. Devon has a proven track record that he fights any and everybody. I think this is a good situation for the fans, it's a good situation for the fighters, the promoters, and I think this is something that should happen.
BT: If Richard can't convince HBO or Showtime to put this tournament together, what's the backup plan?
KC: Richard's idea of this tournament is great for boxing and would spark up fan interest, but if they ain't interested in doing something like that, we want fights that make sense. If they ain't interested in Devon fighting Berto, who's a champion and one of the top welterweights, or Paul Malignaggi, who's got a name and rated in the top 10 in the WBC, if we ain't going in that direction, **** throwing us in with some off-the-cuff opponent. We'll wait and fight [Selcuk] Aydin. If no Berto or Malignaggi fight can be made, we want Aydin for the WBC mandatory spot. Him and Devon are sitting in that mandatory spot and you got Floyd Mayweather sitting up there as champion, so why would I want to do anything stupid? Why would I want to move backwards? The moves that Team Alexander is trying to make is to move forward in the welterweight scenario, not backwards. Now Floyd is sitting on top, so we want to work our way in that direction, you know? We're not trying to get Floyd immediately, but that's the ultimate goal for everybody around this weight division, so why would I go do something backwards when I'm sitting at number 2 in the WBC? There's no number 1, you know what I'm saying? If we ain't fighting Berto or if we ain't fighting an opponent that makes sense, like a Malignaggi, then **** all that other **** they talking about. This is the direction to go in.
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BT: What's up, Kev? Congratulations on the signing with Golden Boy Promotions. What's the future looking like for Devon Alexander?
KC: Thanks Ben. Man, I loved Richard's idea of a welterweight tournament. It's brilliant. If they decide to do the Berto-Ortiz rematch, I think with Devon and Paulie [Malignaggi], they can start the year off with a welterweight showdown doubleheader and there's your tournament, you know what I mean? If they want to go with Berto-Ortiz in the rematch, Devon and Paulie can be the opener and the winner fights.
BT: During the press conference to announce Devon's signing, Richard mentioned that he already had preliminary talks with Berto's people about a possible fight. I know that's a fight you guys were extremely interested in. Have you heard anything regarding that?
KC: At this point, I haven't heard anything back from anybody. I'm just thinking as a boxing trainer and from a fan's perspective, that would be, I think, a very entertaining doubleheader. I think with the four guys, you got four great backstories, you know, four of the top fighters in the welterweight division; I mean, to me, it would be a no-brainer. Devon and Paulie, there's bad blood there. You know, you got the great rematch with Berto and Ortiz; the first fight was a great fight. I think it's a great doubleheader.
BT: Paulie [Malignaggi] seemed pretty excited about Devon's signing with Golden Boy and he made it clear to me that it's a fight he wanted. Like I said, I know you guys have your eye on Berto, but if he and Ortiz move forward with a rematch, I would think that a fight with Malignaggi would be pretty easy to make since you have the same promoter now.
KC: I mean, that fight is a no-brainer being as though both of these guys have genuinely bad blood towards each other. Paulie's one of the more recognized names in the welterweight division and Devon's one of the young studs that's coming up to the welterweight division, so I thought it was a no-brainer, but the Berto fight was mentioned and, I mean, you know, Berto's got a world title, so if the opportunity came, we would definitely go for the title fight with Berto. But if they go in the direction of making the rematch with Ortiz, I mean, the Paulie fight, to me, just makes so much sense. Paulie's got a big mouth, but I think he's great for boxing and the kid can box, so I think Paulie and Devon would be an entertaining fight. I mean, if we're talking about a doubleheader and the winners meet, that's a single-elimination tournament and it's four great personalities, so hopefully the powers that be can make this thing happen. This could be an event that fans would definitely get excited about.
BT: There's definitely a lot of name recognition there and, like you said, that would pretty much be the welterweight tournament that Richard Schaefer was talking about. I mean, I'm pretty sure Amir Khan isn't going to be participating in any tournament since he'll be chasing after Mayweather, so the only other possible name that Richard mentioned being in the mix was Marcos Maidana.
KC: Me personally, I think Paulie has more name recognition and brings more to the table with the casual fan than Marcos Maidana. I mean, Marcos Maidana just barely beat an old Erik Morales by the skin of his chin. I think he needs to go back and straighten that out with Erik Morales, and the fact that Erik Morales just won a title, I think they got a unification rematch that probably makes sense. I mean, we don't turn down any fights, but I think Paulie brings more to the table in terms of the promotion, more name recognition, and he's a welterweight. We're looking to fight a true welterweight, somebody that has been there for a minute. Maidana, you know, he's the WBA jr. welterweight champion and Erik Morales is the WBC jr. welterweight champion, so it looks like a rematch with a unification going down with them. Alexander-Malignaggi and a Berto-Ortiz rematch, you do that in a doubleheader on the same show; I haven't seen too many shows that can stand up to a show like that recently. This doubleheader, it just makes so much sense as long as the deal is the winners fight. It just makes so much sense to me, so let's hope that we can get something done; everybody gets on the same page and we can make it happen. Devon has a proven track record that he fights any and everybody. I think this is a good situation for the fans, it's a good situation for the fighters, the promoters, and I think this is something that should happen.
BT: If Richard can't convince HBO or Showtime to put this tournament together, what's the backup plan?
KC: Richard's idea of this tournament is great for boxing and would spark up fan interest, but if they ain't interested in doing something like that, we want fights that make sense. If they ain't interested in Devon fighting Berto, who's a champion and one of the top welterweights, or Paul Malignaggi, who's got a name and rated in the top 10 in the WBC, if we ain't going in that direction, **** throwing us in with some off-the-cuff opponent. We'll wait and fight [Selcuk] Aydin. If no Berto or Malignaggi fight can be made, we want Aydin for the WBC mandatory spot. Him and Devon are sitting in that mandatory spot and you got Floyd Mayweather sitting up there as champion, so why would I want to do anything stupid? Why would I want to move backwards? The moves that Team Alexander is trying to make is to move forward in the welterweight scenario, not backwards. Now Floyd is sitting on top, so we want to work our way in that direction, you know? We're not trying to get Floyd immediately, but that's the ultimate goal for everybody around this weight division, so why would I go do something backwards when I'm sitting at number 2 in the WBC? There's no number 1, you know what I'm saying? If we ain't fighting Berto or if we ain't fighting an opponent that makes sense, like a Malignaggi, then **** all that other **** they talking about. This is the direction to go in.
http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content10861.html
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