By Lem Satterfield
The upcoming junior welterweight unification, between unbeaten champions Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander, was called "a signature fight" by HBO's President of Sports Ross Greenburg. Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs) from St. Louis, Mo. will face Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs) from Palm Springs, Calif., on January 29 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich. HBO is planning a major marketing campaign for the fight.
"This is a hot division, and these are the two, very best. They are two of the very best fighters at 140 pounds. They're in their prime. We haven't seen this kind of a match up since, you know, Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor, or Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello," said Greenburg. "I mean, it's not quite on the level of a Chavez-Taylor or a Pryor-Arguello, but it's the most significant 140-pound match up since those two great fights."
"We're going to have some very, very heavy marketing muscle behind this fight between two Americans fighting for a unification of their 140-pound titles. So, internet, print, radio, television -- we are going to basically blast the American public with this fight."
HBO positioned Alexander-Bradley close to the Super Bowl in order to provide the fight with a very attractive televised date. The Super Bowl is being held on Feb. 6 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
"It's newsworthy that HBO wants Bradley and Alexander to fight on that big date, which is Jan. 29. It's the biggest HBO date," said Greenburg in July. "It's one of the biggest of the year because it sits right in front of the Super Bowl."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here .
