By Jake Donovan
It seems with any 140 lb. matchup discussed these days, the name Timothy Bradley comes up. The irony is that the only ones not mentioning his name are promoters of the other fighters within the division over which he presently serves as de facto ruler.
Last Saturday’s alphabet unification lent another name to that discussion – Devon Alexander, who looked spectacular in stopping Juan Urango in their HBO-televised main event.
No sooner than Alexander’s uppercut landed did the demands begin for a Bradley-Alexander showdown. A matchup between two undefeated fighters – arguably the two best 140 lb. fighters in the world – and with alphabet titles galore at stake; what more could you ask for?
Matchups like that are too good to be true and for the moment, an immediate collision is highly unlikely given that both fighters are exploring other options while the money builds up for this particular hoped-for showdown.
Bradley will briefly test the welterweight waters for the sake of staying active in his next fight when he faces Luis Carlos Abregu, which will take place in June and mark his HBO debut after having fought almost exclusively on Showtime from the prospect years onward.
Alexander is looking at a return to HBO this summer, possibly against the winner of the March 27 bout between Marcos Maidana and Victor Cayo, or against faded former two-division champ Zab Judah. The Maidana-Cayo winner is a far more plausible option for a number of reasons, chief among them the fact that HBO plays host to all of the fights, making it that much easier to possibly pave the way for a Bradley-Alexander showdown later this year.
The good news is that from the moment the fight will be put on the table, you can expect both to grab the opportunity. Both fighters truly put something behind the claim of a willingness to fight anyone anywhere and at anytime, as evidenced by their respective roads towards alphabet glory.
Even better news is that they both boast promoters who aren’t afraid to throw their fighters in tough, nor are they the type to let business get in the way of a fight fan’s pleasure.
In fact, it’s not uncommon at all for Gary Shaw and Don King – promoters for Bradley and Alexander, respectively – to do business together, which is all the more reason to lay the groundwork for this fight to become a reality.
Initial mention of Shaw and King being frequent business associates will probably never make headlines the way reporters go gaga over the on-again, off-again relationship between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions. Yet, the fact of the matter is that their arrangement is the true definition of business first and foremost.
The pair hooked up for four major shows in 2009 alone – three times on Showtime and once on HBO. On all four occasions, the promoters weren’t scared to speak their mind, nor did they have to pretend to be friends with another for the sake of harmony – not to say they aren’t friends, just that it’s irrelevant when it comes to making the best possible fights.
If anything, the two promoters have every right to not only dislike each other, but never again do business together.
Of their four major ventures in 2009, a grand total of none were free of controversy.
Their February ’09 collaboration saw Ricardo Mayorga bitch out a fight with Alfredo Angulo in a miserably failed attempt to extort more money from the promotion.
Anges Adjaho’s bad acting job helped steal some of the thunder from Antonio DeMarco’s breakthrough performance, scoring a ninth-round knockout in their July lightweight eliminator. The fight ending sequence came with Adjaho stunned, then catching one more grazing shot as he took a knee, only for his bad acting job to go ignored as he was counted out.
One month later, Nate Campbell was forced to tap out three rounds into his super lightweight challenge against Tim Bradley. The veteran complained of compromised vision in between rounds, but because the referee never caught the foul that caused the injury (as well as a deep cut), Campbell was ruled a TKO loser for the evening.
A ruling by the California State Athletic Commission later in the month changed the verdict to a no-contest, although the damage was already done. A rematch never came about, but Shaw and King still hooked up two months later for Joseph Agbeko’s bantamweight title fight with undefeated mandatory challenger Yonnhy Perez.
The bout came three months following Agbeko’s successful defense against Vic Darchinyan, a rare win for King in this unofficial rivalry. The lucky streak would end there, as Perez rose to the occasion in his first title challenge, taking a surprisingly widely scored bout in a highly entertaining contest.
Factoring into the wide scores was the poor officiating job that came in round ten. Agbeko was clipped with a headbutt that went undetected by referee Robert Byrd. As the transplanted Ghanaian turned to complain of the foul, Perez landed a left hook. Agbeko went to the canvas, prompting a clueless Byrd to issue a mandatory eight count.
Perez deserved to win the bout, regardless, but the infraction certainly aided his cause, an instance not lost on Agbeko or his promoter.
In the end, it was just another in a string of strange circumstances that seem to surface whenever Shaw and King hook up. Lesser men would catch feelings over it, and use it as an excuse to never again do business with one another.
Such is not the case here, not if there’s a meaningful enough fight to make.
For the 140 lb. division, there’s no fight more meaningful than a showdown between Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander. HBO certainly realizes it, as evidenced by their sudden interest in the weight class.
Chances are, Gary Shaw and Don King are aware of the significance surrounding such a fight, which means good news for boxing fans the moment they opt to renew their friendly rivalry.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
