About.... I have followed the career of Devon “The Great” Alexander since his days as a young amateur clocking up win after win and taking title after title. At that early age you could see that this kid was something special which showed as he exited the amateur ranks with a remarkable record of 300 wins against just 10 losses, with these amongst his greatest achievements: • 4 x Silver Gloves Champion At TopClassBoxing we pride ourselves on being a good judge of talent which was the case at the beginning of 2009 when we published our list of prospects that would make the breakthrough for that year. In that list Devon stood out from the crowd as being one of the most capable of all the inductee’s to take a major title due to his extensive amateur background and impressive displays throughout the earlier part of his professional career. I am glad to say our prediction came true on August 1st 2009 when Devon was matched with former world champion Junior Witter for the vacant WBC light welterweight title. Many commented before the fight that this may have been a step too far for Devon because it took place in Witter’s own backyard of the United Kingdom, but Devon had faith in his ability and the confidence of his camp who devised a brilliant fight plan for him to follow Actually it did turn out to be a miss-match but not in favour of the former world champion. Witter was given a boxing lesson that night by Devon and was totally out boxed through seven rounds before he retired in the eighth giving Alexander his first Major world title. Now that the prestigious green belt was wrapped around his waist, Devon could have chosen an easy defence for his next match up to ease himself into the championship role but incredibly he showed a champions heart and unlike many of today’s world champions choose to unify the belts against the IBF champion Juan Urango which will now take place on March 6th. Devon is nicknamed "The Great" not just because of a ruler from days gone by but because that's just what he is a great boxer. We caught up with him last week where he was gracious
enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few
of our questions:
You have had one of the best amateur backgrounds I have ever seen in boxing and have carried that progress into the professional ranks, but how did it all start for you champ, can you take us back to the beginning? At the beginning of my career when I was still in elementary school i met my coach Kevin (Cunningham) and he started a boxing gym just around the corner from me and I was very interested. My brother Vaughan started boxing first then the very next day I went and I`ve been going hard in the gym every since. I have stayed focused since that time and here I am today a world champion. I have followed your progress since seeing you in the amateur ranks a while back and could see instantly that you were going to be something special, which was the reason that you were named in our Hot Prospects list for 2009; For some of the unfortunate people who are yet to see you fight, could you please describe your fighting style? I fight out of a southpaw stance, I have a mixture of power and speed, I can box or go toe to toe if I need to. I know that you are blessed with an incredible punch selection but what do you consider your best punch? My best punch is my right hook Throughout your time in the amateur ranks you compiled an impressive record which consists of 300 wins with just 10 losses which is absolutely amazing; in that time you were able to take title after title but what was your proudest moment? My proudest moment in my amateur career was when I made it to the Olympic trials, it was an amazing feeling. Who would you say as been the biggest influence on your career so far? That would be my coach Kevin (Cunningham) who has been a big influence in my career, He kept me on the straight path to a championship and also told me that if I was to stick with it I would be ok Which fighter did you look up to when growing up? In my stable I looked up to Cory Spinks, because at the time he was so flashy and I tried to duplicate a lot of what he was doing at that time. I know that a lot of fighters don’t really like to reveal their weaknesses but I thought I would ask the following question anyways, what do you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses? My strength is that nobody can out work me and I would say my weakness would be being too nice to people. Can you tell us where you currently train and describe the gym there? i don’t have a specific gym I train at, it just depends on the fight. Can you take us through a typical training day on the run up to a BIG fight?? I would love to tell u guys but we need to keep this under wraps Which Exercises are you’re most enjoyable and which do you hate doing? I love crunches, but I hate push up’s. You have a MASSIVE following throughout boxing but particularly in your own state of St Louis, what does this support mean to you? I mean to have the support of my home town is what every fighter wants’ and i`m just blessed that my city really supports and believes in me
Who in your honest opinion gets the nod for Pound 4 Pound king at the moment and your reason why? Floyd Mayweather Jr because he has fought the best before Pacquiao has
The division is a hot one at the moment with many great fighters looking to snatch a title; below I have listed some of the division’s top fighters, could you please give a brief description of each?
Out of the above fighters, who would you say is the most dangerous and why? None are dangerous to me because I know all of their weaknesses.
In your last fight you put on a master class in boxing skill which witnessed you stop the former world champion Junior Witter, crowning you the new WBC champ, for the people that missed that fight could you please talk us through how it played out and your game plan going in? Well my game plan was to be smart because Witter is a tricky fighter, we had a plan to pressure and use combinations and I believe I executed it well. Was this your most rewarding win so far throughout your professional career? Yes this is my most rewarding bout yet.
Next up for you is the challenge of the IBF champ Juan Urango in what is sure to a great match up, What do you expect him to bring to the fight and how do you think the fight itself will play out? Well we know he’s going to come forward and we know he has power so this fight will be all about being smart and using our combinations. What can the fight fans in attendance expect from this match up? It’s going to be a good fight, I can tell you this cause it’s a clash of styles and I’m not going to run, I’m going to be there all night long in front of Urango. Now that you have the WBC title safely strapped around your waist, would you say it is easier to capture the title or defend it? Oh definitely it is harder because you work so hard to get the title, the next person is going to train harder so I have to be on point.
Following on from reports that Khan may wish to vacate his title, you have recently stated that you would be happy to step in and face Maidana. Is this a fight that interests you and if the fight ever came to fruition how do you think it would play out? I don’t care who I fight, he can be a dangerous puncher but every man you get in the ring with will have a weakness and it’s up to your camp to reveal that weakness. If the fight ever came off, it would be a similar fight to the one I am having with Urango, they both have similar styles so I would predict the same outcome which is a win for us. Every day seems to throw up another challenge to your title Devon, In the last few days I have heard that both former world champions, Gavin Rees and Kendall Holt are interested in facing you, are any of these fights interesting to you? i know, People are always calling me out, I will fight anybody, all my coach has to do is tell me who’s next and i’m gonna go get ready for him. At this point in your career who would be your dream matchup? My dream fight would be one of the pound for pound guys that’s on the list right now.
What did you make of the reports that came out of the negotiations, which asked Manny to have Olympic style blood testing, do you think this was a reasonable request on Mayweather’s part or do you believe he just didn’t want the fight to happen? Well all I want to comment on this situation is that it’s a disgrace that they couldn’t get this fight done for boxing
What does 2010 hold for Alexander the Great?? Well first for 2010 you can expect another belt around my waist and to go on to become the undisputed champion of the world, remember I said this. On leaving is there anything you would like to say to the readers of TopClassBoxing and your fight fans around the world? For all the fans who follow me, I greatly appreciate it, Without your guys support i’m nothing, so thank you and hopefully you guys will be watching me capture another belt on March 6th. Thanks again for the support and the opportunity to talk to you Guys
Interview conducted by: Paul Daley Banner designed by: Wayne Wiliams If you are involved in boxing in some way and have an interest in doing an Interview with us at TopClassBoxing. Please email me your name and email address to Paul@TopClassBoxing.co.uk. |
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