Devon Alexander Stops Junior Witter, Captures WBC Belt

By Mark Vester

At the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California, Devon Alexander (19-0, 12KOs) stops Junior Witter (37-3, 22KOs) after eight rounds of action to capture the vacant WBC junior welterweight title.

When the judges were announced to the crowd, I noticed Glenn Trowbridge had been replaced. He was the judge the WBC was beefing over with the California State Athletic Commission.

The first round was a clash of style with both fighters testing the grounds. Witter missed a wild hook that saw him almost flip forward to the floor. Alexander started to come on in the second round, with a right hook that shook Witter at the end. At the start of the third, there was blood coming out of Witter's mouth and near the right eye. Witter was shook once agains with a right hook during a hard exchange in the third. The fourth was even but in the fifth, a left hand by Alexander had Witter in serious trouble. Witter was able to hold and keep himself from going down. After several more rounds of being outboxed, Witter sat on his stool at the end of the eight and did not come out for the ninth.