Alexander, like Lacy, has been the subject of hype due to his physique and his zero... Alexander, like Lacy, has achieved some brutal stoppage wins (DA: Urango, JL: Pemberton)... Alexander, like Lacy, struggled badly with a B/C-class opponent that he was meant to destroy (DA: Kotelnik, JL: Sheika)... And this was an opponent who had already been dominated by another top fighter in the division (Khan UD12 Kotelnik, Calzaghe TKO5 Sheika)... And then Lacy got exposed again and again (Calzaghe, Jermain Taylor, ancient Roy Jones)... Could the same thing happen to Devon Alexander tonight, or not? :bbb
The thing is, Kotelnik is not B-C level. And Alexander had a bad night at the office, it happens everyone including the GOAT.
Khan made Kotelnik look B/C level. It is very possible that Alexander did just have a bad night at the office, I'm not saying otherwise, just asking the question. I'm really looking forward to tonight... but I must be honest, I expect Bradley to win. Yourself?
and Bradley has a very good chance to "Calzahge" him...Except Timbo wont be slapping him to death :yep
I think Bradley will come out with all that energy in him, and get caught by one of Alexanders beautiful uppercuts, that will either knock Tim on his ass or get Tim aware, if you will.. of Devon's power. Then I think the longer the fight goes, Devon will start figuring out Bradley and prove he's got one of the greatest jabs in boxing today and really put it on Timmy. Devon UD, possible knockdowns along the way.
I don't see it myself... ...but if Alexander could KO Urango, then he does have the power to KO someone who was put flat on his back by Kendall Holt... so it should be a very interesting and exciting fight for sure!
I'm expecting a dominant win for Bradley, possibly forcing a stoppage in the last couple of rounds. To me, Bradley is a real unsung hero..... he just does almost everything well - he's always in top shape, his stamina and chin are beyond question and he can adapt his style to exploit the weaknesses of his opponent. Not many fighters were ready and willing to fight Junior Witter, but Bradley, having fought hardly anyone of note hopped on a plane and won, not with ease but more convincingly than the scores suggest. Alexander is a good-ish fighter, but his jab is average at best, and gives the opponent a clue when the big ones are coming with the Monica Seles style grunts. Unless Bradley gets caught with plenty of uppercuts I see a clear victory for him. Kotelnik made Alexander look very average, he was hitting fresh air all night and should consider himself fortunate to get the decision in that one.
Devon stikes me as being someone who is mentally weak. He sure looked that way in the Kotelnik fight--his whole camp did as a matter of fact. When Tim beats him, he could very well start circling the drain. The mental aspect of boxing cannot be overlooked. Even after having watched the show Max Kellerman did with Tim and Devon, Devon came across as a guy who is unsure of himself. He seemed to be full of false-bravado. The fact is, people blew their load all over the internet when Devon KO'd Urango in impressive fashion, but what they forget is that Urango is probably the most one-dimensional guy in the top-15 fighters in the 140 div., and had previously lost. So, it's not like the Urango win was a great win or anything, but people act like it was, and that was the reason for his catapult in popularity.Meanwhile, Tim has beaten some very good and promising fighters in his ascension to the top. His resume is so much better than Devon's it's not even funny.
I too have picked Alexander, with the kids power being the difference. I also didn't really consider the size difference...I didn't realize until seeing them yesterday how big of a size difference between them. Either way, I like Alexander to win, but Bradley will have to be taken out on his shield and I respect the hell out of him. I wouldn't be shocked if Bradley won, his mental toughness being the key, but I just think Alexander's athletic ability will win out in the end.
I agree with your assessment. I didn't even see the Alexander-Kotelnik fight as being a close fight at all, I think I had Kotelnik winning by about 5 points. He outlanded Alexander all through the fight. Alexander's grunting and ineffective flurrying was pretty shabby to witness. He made Kotelnik look like a prime James Toney or something.