Devon Alexander: record, next fight and profile →
Devon Alexander wasn't supposed to share the spotlight for his fall bout with Shawn Porter. The fight was originally slated to headline a Showtime card on Nov. 30, but will now be on the undercard of Zab Judah-Paulie Malignaggi on Dec. 7 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. No matter, Alexander (25-1, 14 KOs) plans on stealing the show in his IBF welterweight title defense against Porter.
It was a long, long time ago when Devon Alexander and Shawn Porter first met in the ring. “I was like 8 or 9,” Alexander said, recalling a bout that took place at the Ohio State Fair. “I remember the fight. That was one of my bigger tournaments that when I went to when I first started. That’s one of the ones that stuck with me, that I remember because it was one of the very first ones that my coach took me to. And there were some rides and rollercoasters.”
Devon Alexander is trying not to dwell on his fight against Amir Khan falling through. Alexander and Khan were tentatively scheduled to square off Dec. 7, but the fight didn’t materialize and Alexander (25-1, 14 KOs) instead will defend his IBF welterweight title against Shawn Porter (22-0-1, 14 KOs) that night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The St. Louis native declined to speculate on Khan’s decision to go in a different direction on a conference call Tuesday, though he indicated Khan’s handlers might’ve considered a fight against him too risky because England’s Khan (28-3, 19 KOs) is a potential opponent for Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26 KOs).
Shawn Porter spent two training camps with Manny Pacquiao, sparring with him as Pacquiao prepared for his 2009 fight with Miguel Cotto and his 2011 bout with Shane Mosley. In a way, Porter feels that those sessions gave him some good experience he can count on when he faces welterweight titleholder Devon Alexander on Dec. 7. Their bout will be on the undercard to Zab Judah vs. Paulie Malignaggi at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and will be aired on Showtime.
BoxingScene.com recently caught up with Kevin Cunningham, IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander's trainer and manager, to get his thoughts on the date and venue change of Devon's title defense against Shawn Porter. The fight was originally slated to take place on November 30th in San Antonio but will now take place on December 7th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn underneath the Paulie Malignaggi versus Zab Judah main event. Cunningham said that they are happy to be part of the blockbuster quadrupleheader and hinted that they would like to face the winner of the main event.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, and Showtime Sports VP Stephen Espinoza, have officially announced that Showtime's televised card on November 30th in Texas has been canceled and the fights have been shuffled off to Golden Boy's two December events, also televised on Showtime. Added to December 7th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Devon Alexander (26-1, 14KOs) will now defend his IBF welterweight title against Shawn Porter (22-0-1, 14KOs). The card is still headlined by a welterweight bout between Paulie Malignaggi (37-5, 7KOs) and Zab Judah (42-8, 29KOs). Also, Sakio Bika (32-5, 7KOs) will defend his WBC middleweight title against Anthony Dirrell (26-0, 22KOs), and Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12KOs) will face Austin Trout (26-1, 14KOs) for the vacant WBA junior middleweight title.
Kevin Cunningham, the manager and trainer of IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander (25-1, 14KOs), tells BoxingScene.com that his fighter is going to punish undefeated Shawn Porter (22-0-1, 14KOs) on November 30th in San Antonio, Texas. The fight had been finalized to headline a Showtime televised doubleheader. There is some bad blood between the two camps. Back in April, Shawn's father/trainer Ken Porter told BoxingScene.com that his son got cheated when the two boxers fought in the amateurs.
Yesterday BoxingScene.com broke the news that Devon Alexander's second defense of his IBF welterweight title will take place on November 30th in his hometown St. Louis, MO and that his opponent likely will be undefeated welterweight contender Shawn Porter. Earlier this year Porter's father and trainer Ken told BoxingScene.com that they wanted to face Alexander. He said that not only did they want a crack at Alexander's belt, but also a chance at revenge for a loss Porter suffered to Alexander in the amateurs. After the news of the potential fight broke, BoxingScene.com spoke to Alexander's manager and trainer Kevin Cunningham who had this message for Team Porter.
Golden Boy and Showtime are close to solidifying their fourth quarter schedule. BoxingScene.com has been advised by sources with knowledge of the situation that Devon Alexander will likely return to the ring on November 30th in his hometown of St. Louis, MO. at the Scottrade Center. The fight will be televised by Showtime. BoxingScene.com had previously reported that a fight between Alexander and Luis Collazo was possible for December 7th at the Barclays Center. While that fight is still on the table, it is unlikely.
A deal is close to match IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander and Luis Collazo, BoxingScene.com has been advised per a source with knowledge of the negotiations. The bout would headline "Showtime Championship Boxing" on Dec. 7 at Barclays Center. Zab Judah versus Paulie Malignaggi wood serve as the co-feature. Alexander and Amir Khan were slated to meet on that date. But with rumors swirling that Khan will get a crack at Floyd Mayweather in May, Khan is believed to be moving on from a fight with Alexander so he doesn't jeopardize his biggest fight to date.