by David P. Greisman (Photo by Emily Harney/FightWireImages.com)
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – How to stand out in a crowded, talented junior welterweight division? Make the other guy fall down.
The man who comes out atop the 140-pound weight class will have triumphed in a Sweet Science version of King of the Mountain, fending off all comers until he’s the rightful ruler.
Devon Alexander staked his claim Saturday by sending Juan Urango tumbling down, scoring a technical knockout 72 seconds into the eighth round.
Alexander floored Urango twice in that final stanza, each time with a right uppercut. Each time Urango rose by the count of eight, but after the second knockdown referee Benjy Esteves waved the fight off.
At a time in which Urango seemed to have gained control and looked to be gaining momentum, Alexander seized both back – decisively, instantly and conclusively.
That the end came that way was surprising based on how the fighters matched up before they got in the ring and how the action played out once the opening bell rang.
Devon Alexander is a man of speed and slickness. Urango is a man of pressure and power.
Alexander and Urango fit their respective molds for all but the final seconds of the fight. Alexander started by making Urango miss. Urango responded by making Alexander stay.
Alexander worked behind his southpaw jab in the first round, moving to Urango’s left, a strategy that could’ve seemed a mistake if it hadn’t worked so well. Urango is also a southpaw, but he, like a smaller, mirror version of Joe Frazier, relied on his lead hand to send forth heavy hooks.
Alexander ducked those hooks. And so Urango began to aim ‘em where Alexander couldn’t duck ‘em – to the body.
Before, Alexander had gotten away with remaining just close enough to Urango that he could hit him with his long, straight punches and just far enough away that Urango wasn’t able to hit him with his short, compact shots.
The thudding body shots, however, slowed Alexander down, though, and brought him near. Urango had been willing to oblige Alexander with circling in the middle of the ring. The fight changed when Urango changed, amping up the pressure.
Urango walked through Alexander’s jabs, timing him, countering him with right hooks and then following with more both upstairs and down. Alexander, seeing Urango coming forward, started using uppercuts. It would be a wise choice.
Alexander had won three of the first four rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. Urango was coming back. One judge had him winning rounds five, six and seven, giving Urango a 67-66 lead. One judge had him winning rounds five and six, bringing him one round behind (67-66 Alexander). One judge had him winning just round six (making it 68-65 Alexander).
Urango appeared confident that he’d been able to take Alexander’s best and had been able to take over. It didn’t take long for all that to be taken away.
Thirty-five seconds into the eighth, Alexander sent out a jab and a left cross, both that seemed more feints than forceful. Those brought Urango forward. Just as he began to lunge with a right hook, Alexander caught him with a right uppercut.
Urango followed through with the hook and then followed up by falling down. The 29-year-old Colombian got up, and Alexander went back to what worked with another right uppercut.
“Speed kills everything, and that’s what I have,” Alexander said at the post-fight press conference.
Also: “We trained the whole camp on the right uppercut,” Alexander said.
Speed can counteract power and can short-circuit the sturdiest of beards. An uppercut often goes unseen, delivered directly to the chin.
Kevin Cunningham, Alexander’s trainer, turned to his pupil at the post-fight presser and asked: “Did you hear me tell you to throw that right uppercut?”
“Yeah,” responded Alexander, a 23-year-old from St. Louis.
Those uppercuts gave Alexander the win and brought his record to 20-0 with 13 knockouts. Urango, dropped twice by those uppercuts, drops to 22-3-1 (17 knockouts).
Alexander, already the owner of the World Boxing Council’s junior welterweight title, picked up Urango’s International Boxing Federation belt with the victory.
Those two belts give Alexander a stronger claim to 140-pound supremacy. There are others more than willing to challenge that claim. Timothy Bradley, who holds the World Boxing Organization title, is considered the best in the weight class. Amir Khan has the World Boxing Association belt but does not have as strong a resume as Bradley and Alexander.
Other notable names in this young, deep division include Victor Cayo, Marcos Maidana, Paulie Malignaggi and Victor Ortiz.
Alexander, in a post-fight interview, called out former 140-pound titlist and 147-pound champion Zab Judah.
Judah was present and joined Alexander in the ring. He reminded Alexander of the last time he was in St. Louis – Feb. 5, 2005, a night in which Judah stopped Cory Spinks in front of his hometown crowd.
“Zab is past tense,” Alexander retorted. “I’m present tense.”
This win brings him one step closer to being the future.
ON THE UNDERCARD:
- Derric Rossy UD12 Zack Page (heavyweights).
Scorecards were 117-110, 120-107 and 118-109. Rossy dropped Page in the sixth round but was unable to finish a guy who had only been stopped twice in his 27 defeats. Page now has 28 defeats, falling to 20-28-2 (7 knockouts). Rossy improves to 25-2 (14 knockouts).
- Harrison Cuello MD8 Steve Forbes (welterweights/over-the-limit junior welterweights).
Scorecards in this walk-out bout were 76-76, 78-74 and 77-75. With the upset win, Cuello is now 19-12-3 (14 knockouts). Forbes is now 34-8 (10 knockouts).
- Ryan Coyne UD8 Paul Jennette (cruiserweights).
Scorecards were 77-75 (twice) and 78-74. Rare moments of excitement in a bout that had the misfortune of following a little war between James Hope and Andres Navarro. Coyne is now 14-0 with 1 no contest and 4 knockouts. Jennette is now 11-3 (8 knockouts).
- James Hope UD4 Andres Navarro (junior welterweights).
An entertaining four-round battle that sadly will only have been seen by the sparse arena audience. All three judges had it 40-36. Hope improves to 5-4 (4 knockouts). Navarro falls to 4-3-1 (4 knockouts).
- Wayne Braithwaite KO1 Adam Harris (cruiserweights).
Time of stoppage was 2:59. Braithwaite, a former cruiserweight titlist, hurt Harris with a left hand near the end of the round, then put Harris down with a follow-up flurry. Harris, woozy, didn’t get up quickly enough. Braithwaite is now 24-4 (20 knockouts). Harris is now 10-3 (8 knockouts).
- Angelo Santana TKO4 Darien Ford (welterweights).
Time of stoppage was 2:59. Santana scored two knockdowns in the third round and one knockdown in the fourth. Santana improves to 8-0 (5 knockouts). Ford falls to 11-19 with 2 no contests and 4 knockouts.
- Antonio Sanchez DRAW4 Calvin Pritchard (junior welterweights).
Scorecards were 39-37 (Sanchez), 39-37 (Pritchard) and 38-38. Sanchez is now 2-0-1 (2 knockouts). Pritchard is now 0-1-2 (0 knockouts).
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com
