Bradley-Alexander: Tempers Begin To Rise Over Venue

By Lem Satterfield

Trainer and manager Kevin Cunningham, who handles WBC junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander, is starting to get upset with the way his fighter's upcoming unification with Timothy Bradley is playing out. The fight, scheduled for January 29, appeared to have a set venue, with the 12,000-seat Chafetz Arena on the St. Louis University campus in Alexander's hometown of St. Louis playing host.

Alexander's promoter Don King had advised local papers that a deal was reached with the venue, but Bradley's promoter, Gary Shaw, says St. Louis is no longer an option. According to Shaw, Atlanta, Ga., and, Detroit, Mich., are now in play. Cunningham said the bout agreements were signed in September and he's very frustrated with the promoters not securing a venue in the last couple of weeks.

"Devon and myself are growing increasingly frustrated over this. This coming weekend, we'll be eight weeks out from the date of one of the biggest fights in the sport of boxing, and we have no site or venue. This is the biggest fight at this point in Devon's career, and there are serious ramifications for the winner of this fight," said Cunningham.

Shaw wants Cunningham to focus more of his energy on training, and less on the actual promotion.

"We are working on a site that will benefit the entire promotion," said Shaw. "In the meantime, Kevin Cunningham should spend more time working in the gym with his fighter and less time acting like or pretending to be the promoter. All that he's doing is hurting his fighter."

Cunningham fired some parting shots at the Bradley camp, claiming they are terrified of facing Alexander in St. Louis.

"The Bradley camp is balking at coming to St. Louis, but how can a fighter like Tim Bradley, who can't draw flies to s**t, have the power to dictate where this fight is going?" said Cunningham. "The bottom line is that if Tim Bradley is that f**king scared of Devon Alexander, then why doesn't he just man up and say so, and we can move on to something else."

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.