By Ryan Burton
In the second part of this Q&A session, world class trainer Kevin Cunningham goes further into detail on the personal demons that his fighter, three-time champion Devon Alexander (26-4), went through and how he is close to returning to the ring after kicking a two and a half year prescription drug addiction that began after his dominant victory over former champion Marcos Maidana. Alexander has been in Cunningham's Florida training compound for nearly four months for what they hope is a major comeback for the former super lightweight and welterweight champion.
BoxingScene.com: There have been rumors that Luis Collazo could be the next fight for Devon. Can you confirm that? What can you tell us?
Kevin Cunningham: I have heard the same rumors but it is just that, rumors. A fight like that we would be perfectly fine with if it was to take place but as of right now nothing is confirmed. Any guy like that is okay. I am looking for a guy like a Collazo, Josesito Lopez, Chris Algieri. Guys like that are who I want to bring him back with because last time they saw him he lost to a guy like Martinez and that is not who he is. We are looking for the type of opponent to prove that is not who he is and those are the type of guys we are looking to come back with. As of right now nothing is confirmed and we are hearing the same rumors you are hearing. We are definitely coming back this summer no matter who it is and trust me he is going to be ready.
BoxingScene.com: Do you think that the time away from the ring may have actually done him some good and actually prolong his career?
Kevin Cunningham: I think that the rest was good and well needed. Like I said, I knew something weird was going one. I have been around the fight game all my life. I have been around tons of world class fighters and for this guy to go from one of the best fighters in the game to where he went, I knew it was something. Devon hasn't really been in any fights where he has taken a lot of punishment. He has had a few losses but he hasn't taken a lot of what you would call punishment in those losses. We found out what the problem was and we rectified it. He is looking sharp and he is hungry. In the welterweight division you have some good young champions like Errol Spence and Keith Thurman who are tough. Shawn Porter is always a tough out for everybody but I don't see anybody just taking the division by storm that is head and shoulders above everybody else. I think this thing is wide open for the taking. I don't see anything like when Floyd Mayweather was in the welterweight division and he was heads and shoulders above everyone else. I see a talented division with a lot of good fighters but any given night any of them can be beaten. He needs to get the right fights and prove that he is back in the mix.
BoxingScene.com: Do you have any message for the fans who have been wondering what is going on with Devon?:
Kevin Cunningham: We have been in Florida in camp putting in the work and he will be back this summer and everybody will witness the bounce back by Devon Alexander. That is all we are focusing on. There are a lot of great fights. PBC is putting on a lot of great fights. I think it is awesome what they are doing. They are giving the fans the fights they want to see. It is kind of going back to the good old days of boxing. Back in the day Sugar Ray Leonard fought Duran and Duran fought Hagler and Hagler fought Hearns. Everybody fought everybody. The best fought the best. They are starting to do that again and I think that is what it is going to take to get boxing back to the forefront is putting on these great fights.
I think 2017 started out with a bang. You got Triple G fighting Canelo and I think that is a great fight. You got Broner and Garcia and that is going to be a great fight. Errol Spence is calling out Keith Thurman and he said he really wants to fight him. That would be another great fight if it happens. Boxing is back on the rise. The fights that PBC is making and Oscar is making Triple G versus Canelo are what we need. We need to see these great fights made.
BoxingScene.com: And Joshua-Klitschko:
Oh my God, anytime the heavyweight division starts popping that brings boxing back to the forefront of sports as a whole. There are a lot of exciting things happening in boxing right now and like I said Devon is still one of the more recognizable names in the welterweight division and he is still relatively young. He just turned 30 a couple months ago. Most of these guys are in their late 20s or early 30s.
It is a great time for him to get back in the mix and I think Devon can be an inspiration for a lot of people that are going through addictions nowadays. That painkiller opioid addiction is a nationwide epidemic, really a worldwide epidemic. Wouldn't you agree?
BoxingScene.com: 100%. A lot of regular everyday people are hooked on them. Not just athletes.
Kevin Cunningham: Exactly. So I think he can be an inspiration to a lot of people that have gotten themselves addicted to the painkillers and he has a perfect opportunity to be a spokesperson and show that you can overcome it and be just as good as you were prior to it. He has an opportunity to be an inspiration to be a lot of people who are going through what he just dealt with.
BoxingScene.com: Thanks again for you time and keep us up to date on Devon's comeback.
Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter