- Devon Alexander
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Devon Alexander 
Statistics Real name Devon Alexander Nickname(s) The Great Rated at Junior welterweight Height 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) Reach 71 in (180 cm) Nationality American Born February 10, 1987
St. Louis, Missouri, USAStance Southpaw Boxing record Total fights 23 Wins 22 Wins by KO 13 Losses 1 Draws 0 No contests 0 Devon Alexander (born February 10, 1987) is a professional American boxer. Nicknamed "Alexander the Great," he is the former WBC and IBF Light Welterweight champion.
Contents
Biography
Alexander grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of north St. Louis, in an area described as downtrodden, rough, gang- and drug-infested.[1] Alexander joined the boxing gym that Kevin Cunningham, a former police officer turned trainer, founded in the basement of an old police station.[2]
Thirty kids joined the boxing program of Cunningham, who had hoped to keep the kids out of trouble. A stablemate of Alexander's, Cory Spinks would become welterweight champion but at least eight are dead. A dozen have been arrested, including Alexander's older brother Vaughn, a once promising prospect currently serving an 18-year prison sentence for robbery.[3]
Amateur career
Alexander had an outstanding amateur career, compiling a record of 300-10 under the tutelage of Cunningham. He was a four-time Silver Gloves champion from ages 10–14; three-time PAL national champion; Junior Golden Gloves and Junior Olympics national champion; 2003 United States national champion in the 19-and-under division; and 2004 United States light welterweight national champion. Alexander made it to the final round of the 2004 Olympic trials, where he battled Rock Allen to a draw and was knocked down once before losing on a tie-breaker.[4]
Professional career
At age 17, Alexander made his professional debut, defeating Vincent Torres by first round technical knockout in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan.[4] He was victorious in his second pro fight against Karl Hunter before on February 5, 2005, Alexander defeated Donovan Castaneda by unanimous decision in front of 22,370 spectators, the second-largest crowd in history to witness a boxing event in an indoor arena at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Alexander’s mentor, Cory Spinks, headlined the card opposing Zab Judah.[5]
Alexander won his next five fights before on July 8, 2006, at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Alexander defeated Tyler Ziolkowski by first round technical knockout to win the WBC Youth welterweight title, but was himself knocked down once in the fight.[5]
On January 6, 2007, Alexander defeated Maximinio Cuevas by fourth round technical knockout at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. In his next fight, Alexander fought Scott Ball on March 2, 2007, at the Belterra Casino Resort & Spa in Belterra, Indiana. Alexander was down in the second round himself but broke Ball's jaw in round six and dropped him twice in round seven en route to a technical knockout victory.[5]
He won his next two fights against Marcus Luck and Cory Peterson before he went up against former WBO junior welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley on January 19, 2008, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Alexander easily defeated Corley by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC Continental Americas junior welterweight title.[6]
On August 1, 2009, Alexander defeated Junior Witter by eighth round due to RTD 8 to claim the vacant WBC light welterweight championship. Witter gave up on his stool claiming that he had re-injured his left hand. Alexander was hurt by a right hand in round 2, All three judges had Alexander ahead at the time of the stoppage 79-73, 79-73, 80-72.
Alexander was next scheduled to face two-time champion Juan Urango of Colombia in a title unification bout. The 6 March 2010 bout was held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut and was televised on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" telecast.[2] To train for the fight, Alexander used a Las Vegas house lent by promoter Don King as training base.[3] Devon Alexander defeated Juan Urango by TKO in round 8. Alexander threw an uppercut which dropped Urango. Urango made the count but Alexander resumed his attack and threw a hook to Urango's temple which again dropped him. Urango stood up but was clearly dazed, resulting in a stoppage by the referee. Urango, who suffered his first KO defeat, called out Timothy Bradley after the fight, but a fight was never made because Bradley just moved up to welterweight.
In his next fight he faced Andreas Kotelnik, the former WBA Light Welterweight champion, in his hometown of St. Louis Missouri on 7 August in front of members of the St. Louis Rams, Evander Holyfield and Floyd Mayweather.[7] Alexander won the fight by a controversial unanimous decision with all judges scoring the fight 116-112.
On October 22, 2010, Alexander was stripped of the IBF Junior Welterweight title for not fighting the no. 1 contender, Kaizer Mabuza.
Bradley vs. Alexander
Main article: Timothy Bradley vs. Devon AlexanderAlexander's next fight, on January 29, 2011, took place against Timothy Bradley, which he lost via 10th round TD after an unintentional head-butt forced a stop to the bout.[8]
Professional boxing record
21 Wins (13 knockouts, 8 decisions), 1 Losses 0 Draws[8] Res. Record Opponnent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes Win 22-1 
Lucas MatthysseSD 10 (10) 2011-06-25 
The Family Arena, Saint Louis, MissouriLoss 21-1 Timothy BradleyTD 10 (12) 2011-01-29 Silverdome, Pontiac, MichiganWBC, WBO Light Welterweight titles on the line. Lost WBC Light Welterweight title Devon Alexander was stripped of his IBF Light Welterweight title for not fighting against No. 1 contender, Kaizer Mabuza. Win 21-0 
Andreas KotelnikUD 12 2010-08-07 Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MissouriRetained IBF and WBC Light Welterweight titles. Win 20-0 
Juan UrangoTKO 8 (12), 1:12 2010-03-06 Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, ConnecticutRetained WBC Light Welterweight title. Won IBF Light Welterweight title. Win 19-0 
Junior WitterRTD 8 (12), 3:00 2009-08-01 Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, CaliforniaWon vacant WBC Light Welterweight title. Win 18-0 Jesus RodriguezKO 9 (10), 0:58 2009-04-24 Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MissouriWin 17-0 Christopher FernandezRTD 3 (8), 3:00 2008-12-11 Prudential Center, Newark, New JerseyWin 16-0 
Sun-Haeng LeeTKO 4 (10), 0:19 2008-11-07 
Sichuan Gymnasium, ChengduWin 15-0 
Miguel CallistUD 12 2008-03-27 Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MissouriRetained WBC Continental Americas Light Welterweight title. Win 14-0 DeMarcus CorleyUD 12 2008-01-19 Madison Square Garden, New York, New YorkWon vacant WBC Continental Americas Light Welterweight title. Win 13-0 Cory PetersonTKO 1 (8), 2:59 2007-10-13 Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, IllinoisWin 12-0 Marcus LuckKO 3 (8), 1:24 2007-07-07 Harbour Yard Arena, Bridgeport, ConnecticutWin 11-0 Scott BallKO 7 (8), 0:59 2007-03-02 Belterra Casino & Resort, Belterra, IndianaWin 10-0 Maximino CuevasTKO 4 (4), 2:02 2007-01-06 Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FloridaWin 9-0 Tyler ZiolkowskiTKO 1 (10), 2:40 2006-07-08 Savvis Center, St. Louis, MissouriWon WBC Youth World Light Welterweight title. Win 8-0 Seth HebenstreitUD 6 2006-03-09 The Spott, St. Louis, MissouriWin 7-0 Kelly WrightUD 6 2005-10-21 Savvis Center, St. Louis, MissouriWin 6-0 Christian NashTKO 2 (4), 2:28 2005-09-30 Noa Noa Night Club, Stone Park, IllinoisWin 5-0 John RudolphTKO 3 (4), 1:01 2005-06-02 Family Arena, Saint Charles, MissouriWin 4-0 
Felix LoraUD 6 2005-05-21 United Center, Chicago, IllinoisWin 3-0 
Donovan CastanedaUD 6 2005-02-05 Savvis Center, St. Louis, MissouriWin 2-0 Karl HunterUD 4 2004-06-03 Ambassador Club, St. Louis, MissouriWin 1-0 Vincent TorresTKO 1 (4), ? 2004-05-20 Kewadin Casino, Sault Ste. Marie, MichiganProfessional debut for Alexander. References
- ^ "Devon Alexander escaped streets of St. Louis to become a champion". SportsIllustrated.cnn.com. 2010-03-03. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/the_bonus/03/02/alexander/index.html. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
- ^ a b "Alexander Not Letting Praise Get To His Head". Espn.com. 2010-03-05. http://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/notebook/_/id/4966812/devon-alexander-not-letting-praise-get-head. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ^ a b "Devon Alexander rises from mean streets to become world champ". CanadaEast.com. 2010-03-05. http://www.canadaeast.com/sports/article/974850. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ^ a b Donovan, Jake (2008-01-18). "New School Pick of the Week: Devon Alexander". BoxingScene.com. http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=12162. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ a b c "Devon Alexander Profile". BoxingNews24.com. 2008-01-14. http://www.boxingnews24.com/2008/01/devon-alexander-profile/. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ "Alexander Decisions Corley, Collazo Defeats Barros". BoxingNews24.com. 2008-01-21. http://www.boxingnews24.com/2008/01/alexander-decisions-corley-collazo-defeats-barros/. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- ^ "The Matador: Alexander Unified Champion". HBO.com. 2010-03-06. http://www.hbo.com/boxing/fights/index.html#/boxing/fights/2010/03-06-devon-alexander-vs-juan-urango/article/fight-update.html. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ a b http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=254834&cat=boxer
External links
- Professional boxing record for Devon Alexander from BoxRec
- "Devon Alexander escaped streets of St. Louis to become a champion," by Peter Owen Nelson, Sports Illustrated, March 3, 2010.
- St. Louisan living a dream with title fight by Tom Timmermann, 15 January 2008, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Vacant Title last held byTimothy BradleyWBC Super Lightweight Champion
August 1, 2009 – January 29, 2011Succeeded by
Timothy BradleyPreceded by
Juan UrangoIBF Junior Welterweight Champion
March 6, 2010 – October 22, 2010
StrippedVacant Title next held byZab JudahCategories:- 1987 births
- Living people
- Boxers from Missouri
- Light-welterweight boxers
- Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers
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