Devon Alexander, making his 147-lb debut, dominated Marcos Maidana. Fighting at a measured pace (49 punches per round), Alexander nearly doubled Maidana in total punches and power punches landed. Maidana landed just 26% of his power shots, landing in single digits in six of ten rounds.
By Ryan Maquiñana - With his hometown crowd in full support, Devon Alexander’s handspeed, footwork, and precision punching carried him to a unanimous decision victory over Marcos Maidana at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., Saturday night. “Speed kills,” Alexander said. “I'm working hard for St. Louis and to be the best in the world." Both former 140-pound titlists moved up to welterweight for this fight, and the age-old matchup between a southpaw boxer in Alexander (23-1, 13 KOs) and a pure orthodox pressure fighter in Maidana (31-3, 28 KOs) would play out as expected—just not in such a lopsided manner. "We train hard,” Alexander told HBO ringside commentator Max Kellerman. “Like I told you in the fighters' meeting, I was able to analyze myself and what I was doing wrong and we got the victory.” After an ugly technical decision defeat to Tim Bradley and so-so performance in a razor-sharp split nod over Lucas Matthysse, Alexander and longtime trainer Kevin Cunningham were determined to put a subpar 2011 behind them and start the year by making a statement.
By Cliff Rold - It was only a matter of time. No matter how deep, no matter how exciting, being the best at Jr. Welterweight has rarely carried the cache that comes with owning the scale seven pounds up. When one thinks of Jr. Welterweight, the mind might wander to Nicolino Locche, Aaron Pryor, Julio Cesar Chavez, or Kostya Tszyu. When one ponders the history of Welterweight, the mind lusts for Mickey Walker, Henry Armstrong, Ray Robinson, Emile Griffith, and Ray Leonard. Welterweight wins. And who wants to be a “Jr.” anyways? It’s true even when the field at 140 lbs. is tougher and deeper than its larger counterpart. In recent years, 140 lbs. has been on par with Bantamweight and Super Middleweight in the race for ‘best division in boxing.’ It remains today the rare division with a top ten actually housing ten fighters worth rating. Welterweight has been as top heavy as any class in the game. Lineal World Welterweight Champion Floyd Mayweather (42-0, 26 KO) and titlist Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO) reside there, giving it more cache than any other spot on the scale. The drop from them to Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO) and Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO) is steep. There’s little to get anyone beyond the most devout interested from there. Hardcore fans have had a fulfilling ride at 140 but it’s been a grooming period for the inevitable rise. Heat rises. In boxing, so does talent. A lot of what has made Jr. Welterweight a hot spot is coming to Welterweight. This Saturday night on HBO, two of the best at Jr. Welterweight during its recent run, Marcos Maidana (31-2, 28 KO) and Devon Alexander (22-1, 13 KO), make their serious debuts at Welterweight. Maidana has left the door open for a return to 140. Alexander appears set to stay.
Scottrade Center, Saint Louis, Missouri - Devon Alexander (23-1, 13KOs) made his welterweight debut and dominated Marcos Maidana (31-3, 28KOs) over ten rounds. The scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91.
NEW YORK — Devon Alexander wasn’t good enough to defeat Timothy Bradley, but Bradley believes Alexander will beat Marcos Maidana later tonight in St. Louis.
John Scully (Maidana): “I think I’ll go with Maidana. My gut feeling is that Alexander might be in a little bit of a rut. I just like Maidana’s power. A lot of the luster was taken off of Alexander, and I think mentally that might affect him. He seems like the type of guy, he really enjoyed the status he had, and now that that’s been stripped away, and to come back right away with a guy like Maidana, I think maybe it might’ve been too big of a fight too soon for him. I see a decision. Devon’s still a good fighter. He’s cagey enough and slick enough to get through the rounds.”
HBO’s Boxing After Dark heads back to the Show Me state, where all four fighters on the telecast plan to show the industry why each claim to be the best in their given weight class. In store for your Saturday evening viewing pleasure is a televised doubleheader live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.
With three big fights, on two separate broadcasts, boxing fans can look forward to a second consecutive weekend of high quality boxing. All three fights feature top ten talents. All three look competitive.
Scottrade Center, Saint Louis, Missouri - The weights are in for HBO's televised doubleheader on Saturday night. In the welterweight main event, Marcos Maidana (31-2, 28KOs) 146.75-pounds will battle Devon Alexander (22-1, 13KOs) 146.5. In the co-feature, Adrien Broner (22-0, 18KOs) will defend the WBO super featherweight title against mandatory challenger Eloy Perez (23-0-2, 7KOs). Both boxers weighed 130-pounds. Photos by Tom Hogan/Photos.
(From Left to Right) WBO Junior Lightweight World Champion Adrien Broner, former Two-Time World Champion Devon Alexander, President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar de la Hoya, WBA Super Lightweight World Champion Marcos Maidana and undefeated number one rated WBO junior lightweight contender Eloy Perez pose on February 23, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri at the final press conference for Alexander’s, Maidana’s, Bronoer’s and Perez’s February 25, 2012 fights at Scottrade Center in St. Louis where Alexander will face Maidana and Broner will defend his title against Perez, both of which will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark. Photos by Mark Bruckner/Hoganphotos.