Usually a boxing match that can be called a “Fight of the Year” does not come around until late February or early March. That is usually due to the fighters wrapping up the previous year with fights in November or early December. When we look back, some of the best fights of any year even happen as late as June. 2011 has already bucked that trend, as next weekend two fighters that are on top of their game, will meet in the ring.
January 29th, at the Silverdome in Pontiac Michigan (wow, that place is still open? Another story I guess), current WBC and former IBF light welterweight champion Devon Alexander, 23-0 (13), will take on WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, 26-0 1 NC (11), in what will be a great fight. In a BS move, the WBC has stated it would not honor Bradley as champion, should he win the fight. The winner of this fight will most likely move into the top five of the unofficial “pound for pound” rankings. The loser will still be a very relevant member of the light welterweight division.
A look at the fighters show that Timothy Bradley is a more polished fighter, defeating top fighters like Luis Abregu, Lamont Peterson, Edner Cherry, Junior Witter and Kendall Holt. Two of those men (Holt and Witter) were world champions, one (Cherry) held a minor title but has faced and beaten many ex-champions and tough opponents and two of the fighters (Abregu and Peterson) were “up and coming” world beaters. For the most part, Bradley had no problem in handling any of these men. Over the other side of the ring, Devon Alexander does not have as big of a resume, but has been extremely impressive in his last couple of years. Since 2008, Alexander has defeated former champion DeMarcus Corley, stopped the nearly unstoppable IBF light welterweight king Juan Urango, and in his last fight, defeated Andreas Kotelnik in what was called a controversial decision, but seemed a clear cut win by this writer.
The build up to the fight has been strife with rumors. Weight problems, camp injuries and possible cancellation have been thrown out and even reported by boxing outlets throughout the US. Just two weeks ago, a report stated that Timothy Bradley had decided to pull the plug on the fight. Thankfully, that proved to be false.
What will happen in this fight? I believe that Bradley will come out to control the pace of the fight early and try to take the quickness out of Alexander’s fight. The fight will continue into the 6-7th round, where Alexander will realize that he is down on all cards. Alexander will then come out swinging and start to pound away, catching Bradley off guard. This will last through the next few rounds until Bradley adjusts to the Alexander he is facing. At that point, Bradley will use his experience to start landing the first punch, causing Alexander to become a counterpuncher. With this game plan in place, Bradley will win a close UD over Alexander. The fight will be close enough that both fighters will agree to a re-match and the boxing world will be satisfied that they have witnessed the 2011 “Fight of the Year”, at least until the next 2011 “Fight of the Year”.
Bob Carroll
www.convictedartist.com
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