Comments Thread For: Merchant Still Not Convinced Alexander is an Elite Fighter

[mjkirby]

Im not Merchants biggest fan,But not an elite fighter is exactly how he was described on sky sports after the fight also.Imo it was a good display + I think its clear Maidana needs to stay at 140

[bergin]

'look at the state of his face larry'

[ShoulderRoll]

I like how Maidana was considered such a tough and feared fighter before last night...but once Devon whips his butt it's suddenly not an impressive accomplishment anymore.

[Tony B.]

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with that kind of thinking is equivalent to saying Pacquiao lost to JMM 3 times and Morales once....i mean who cares what the judges say its public perception of the fight right? am i correct?

Not quite....all three Marquez/Pacquiao fights were close and either man could have won them depending on the personal perference of the judges. Alexanders "wins" over Kotelnik and Mathysse were outright robberies. Both of those fights will go down amoung the worst decisions in recent history. Right along with Williams/Lara and Cloud/Campillo.

[daggum]

Of course, he's is an elite fighter. He's headlining and winning on HBO. That maybe nothing to Larry Merchant, but I never did it. Is he the best at 147? Now we can start the arguments.

that doesn't mean you are elite at all. that means hbo wants to pretend you are elite.

[Royjones74]

Is anyone else getting sick of hbo mismatches and unfair advantages for their match ups??? Let fighters become great instead of trying to MAKE great fighters!! You either got it or you don't ....

[Easy-E]

It depends what you consider elite...I would say he is not elite yet, either.

[Easy-E]

I like how Maidana was considered such a tough and feared fighter before last night...but once Devon whips his butt it's suddenly not an impressive accomplishment anymore.

I mean he is tough and feared, but he is certainly not unbeatable. He fought very well well against a good but not great fighter -- but has also looked unimpressive and lost at an elite level.

Another win of this quality and he could rank among the top in the division.

[marvin douglas]

Alexander is barely a good fighter. He is certainly is not great nor is he elite. All he does is slap and grab. That works against plodders like Maidana, but fails against boxer/punchers like Bradley.

Alexander's biggest flaw, however, is his lack of heart. He flat out quit against Bradley and blamed it on a headbutt he caused by trying to grab. In actuality, he quit once Bradley turned up the heat.

[Rip Chudd]

I still have yet to see anyone actually call him elite, no argument there. Is he a good fighter? Yes. He has a long way to go to be considered as one of the best. Funny how before the fight most people were saying Maidana was going to kill this kid, now nothing but excuses. Is it that hard to give a fighter his props after a nice win?