By Ryan Burton
WBC/IBF junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander reached out to BoxingScene.com to responsed to certain comments that were made by WBO champion Tim Bradley during a recent video interview conducted by BoxingScene's Luis Sandoval.
In the interview, Bradley said that Devon Alexander should already be training in the gym to get ready for their proposed January 29th showdown and that he is going to put a beating on Alexander. "Bradley should be signing contracts instead of doing interviews saying he is going to whoop me. Bradley is just using his promoter as an excuse to duck me again. Why do interviews talking junk when you won't sign a contract to make the fight? I have done everything on my side possible to make this fight happen and he's done nothing to make this fight happen except make excuses."
The St. Louis native thinks that Bradley is just running his mouth and never intended to fight him in the first place. "Bradley's been ducking me for 2 years now. We were supposed to fight on ShoBox when we were up and comers and he vacated the WBC belt to duck me. Now he is running away from a million dollars to keep from fighting me. Step up to the plate and sign the contract and then you can talk junk in interviews."
The 23 year old unified champion doesn't believe that Bradley's promoter Gary Shaw is the problem. BoxingScene recently ran an article in which Shaw stated that signing an extension wasn't ever part of the negotiations in making the Alexander fight.
Alexander went on to tell BoxingScene, "Bradley, stop using your promoter as an excuse and fight me. I have wanted this fight for a long time. I did my part and I signed a contract for the fight."
Alexander said that the contract he signed to fight Bradley wasn't what he was hoping for, but that he wants to make the fans happy. He said he understands that while boxing is a business the fans are the lifeblood of the sport. "I made concessions and signed up to do this fight because its a fight the fans want to see. I did what I had to do and I signed my contract because I want to make the fans happy."
As each day passes the likelihood of the showdown between two of boxing's brightest and youngest stars appears to grow dimmer. Alexander said that his manager Kevin Cunningham isn't just going to let him sit on the shelf and if the Bradley fight isn't going to happen then they have to move on. He liked what he saw out of Victor Ortiz in his 3 round beat down of faded former champion Vivian Harris. "I thought Ortiz looked good. If Bradley keeps ducking me then we will give Ortiz a shot."
Alexander ended our conversation with a message for the fans, "I want the fans
to know I am willing to fight any and everybody. I don't make excuses."
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