Will Questionable Decisions Hurt Devon Alexander's Ability to Fight at Home?
by Scott Christ on Jun 26, 2011 7:23 AM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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Lucas Matthysse lost a controversial decision last night to Devon Alexander on Alexander's home turf in St. Louis (well, Saint Charles), and spoke with BoxingScene.com's Lem Satterfield after the fight. It's a good, quick interview, but I wanted to focus on just two things, so go read the whole thing.
"You know, he's a very slick fighter. He was slick. He's a good fighter, but not a great fighter. I was just a couple of inches short of knocking him out. ... He did what he had to do to get the hell out of there when he was hurt. I did what I had to do, and that's just the way that it goes, man. ... Zab Judah is 10 times a better fighter than Devon Alexander."
Like last year's Alexander vs Andriy Kotelnik fight, I thought this was a clear decision that should have gone against Alexander. My issues with Alexander have nothing to do with his personality or his guts or his ability. He fights good fighters, and he's not the one scoring the fights, and if there's any sort of actual corruption going on, I doubt Devon Alexander or any fighter would be the one greasing the wheels. Alexander does his job out there.
But he's just not the fighter he was hyped as being. Whether or not Judah is ten times better than Alexander is a debate I could get lost in, but I do know this: When Zab Judah lands, he lands. Alexander to me seems more concerned with the appearance of speed, and he just doesn't get home with so many punches, especially his flicked-out jab. And he seems to fight absent-minded at times, as if he's just going through the motions.
I think Devon Alexander is still a top ten fighter in the division, but I also think he should have lost to Kotelnik and Matthysse, and was given some judging help in both cases. Forget about losing to Tim Bradley -- those are the fights where Alexander's stock really takes a hit.
Also, have the hometown-style decisions done Alexander more harm than good at this point? What I mean is, Alexander can draw an OK crowd in the St. Louis area (though the 6K or so last night wasn't great), but which top fighters are going to go there to fight him now? After the fight, promoter Gary Shaw (who was behind Bradley in January) had this to say:
That is why we took Bradley to Detroit. That is where Matthysse should have fought. He would have wonless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone 
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How far off are all promoters from feeling this way about dealing with Devon and Don?
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Devon Alexander is becoming the new Jermain Taylor
I hace no complaints about their personalities or fight styles and I seriously applaud their willingness to take on competitive match ups. I don’t directly blame them for the terrible decisions they’ve been awarded but damn if they don’t make me like them less.
by soulrise on Jun 26, 2011 7:52 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
NO, the new Andre Ward
A home town boy….with home town decisions.
"In war, as in prostitution, the amateur is often better than the professional". Napoleon.
by FrankinDallas on Jun 26, 2011 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions
NO, I meant the new Felix Sturm
The guy is 32-1-1 in Germany…is he really THAT good?
"In war, as in prostitution, the amateur is often better than the professional". Napoleon.
by FrankinDallas on Jun 26, 2011 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions
Which of Ward's "hometown decisions" do you feel was a robbery?
I’ll wait…
by soulrise on Jun 26, 2011 1:35 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Apparently fighting 17% of your fights in your hometown makes you a hometown fighter….
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on Jun 26, 2011 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Re "Will Questionable Decisions Hurt Devon Alexander's Ability to Fight at Home?"
I certainly hope so. Anbody’d be crazy to fight him there in the future. Neutral ground for that boy, preferably Canada, which will never happen, but like that.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
My issues with Alexander have nothing to do with his personality or his guts or his ability. He fights good fighters, and he's not the one scoring the fights, and if there's any sort of actual corruption going on
You have to give Alexander credit for fighting dangerouse guys, however he can’t beat them. That is three he has lost in my oppinion. He is simply not good enough.
I saw this as a very close fight, because DA won a lot of early rounds by being more active (yeah I know he powder punches) and more accurate. Matthysse I think was a point ahead on the cards but that would not be enough and he knew it by the look on his face at the end of the fight. Once you saw that one of the judges was the same guy who gave DA the edge 116-112 vs Kotelnik, you knew what was in the cards for the argentine. Nevertheless, give DA some props for taking a lot of punishment and not giving up, which is what he did against Bradley, let’s be honest here. And give Matthysse more prime time fights.
"In war, as in prostitution, the amateur is often better than the professional". Napoleon.
exactly
This was not a robbery. I had alexander winning 95-94, but it could’ve easily gone either way. If alexander would sit down on his punches like he did before the kotelnik fight ( which was plenty worse than this) he would’ve done a lot better.
If Judah and alexander fought id put 10gs on devon.
by edub001 on Jun 26, 2011 6:44 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Good Post, Scott.
First, I want to eat crow, I thought Devon would dominate Lucas, and I was 100% wrong and I’ll completely admit it.
Let’s commend Devon for taking the tough fights. He’s fought three solid fighters in a row now even if he’s really lost to all three. At least he’s taking the tough fights.
Lucas has a fan-friendly style and he’s earned himself another spot on HBO. He should hold his head high.
I think Devon’s chin was dented a bit by Matthysse although it may be too early to tell. Will Cunningham give Lucas a rematch on neutral ground? Will they put Devon in with a puncher anytime soon?
why was that a 10 round fight? So Devon could survive easier. The way karma works in boxing is that you can get gift decisions but eventually that catches up with you. This decision was worse than the Kotelnik decision, in my opinion. The last few rounds Kevin Cunningham was basically telling Devon to run and hold. Cunningham has done alot of talking for his fighter, but he’s got to know Devon isn’t what he was hyped as after the Urango fight. He’s a good fighter who peaked and then plateaued….
I think DA just needs a new trainer
Cunningham telling him to hit and hold is simply terrible advice and amounts to hoping for a hometown decision. No gameplan for Devon moving forward in the later rounds is a condemnation of KC’s abilities. Also Alexander has a good deal of technical issues that have been addressed in this thread and it doesn’t seem that DA is getting any advice on how to stop these issues.
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on Jun 26, 2011 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I really do agree. By all accounts, Cunningham sounds like a really great character – but as a trainer, I have serious reservations. Nothing had changed from the Bradley fight. If Devon wants to move on as a serious contender, I’d say it’s nigh on imperative he changes gym.
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Jun 26, 2011 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I disagree regarding the advice. Alexander was exhausted, and he was wasting energy bouncing around. Telling him to hold on the inside in the late going was desperate, but hardly a bad strategy. And earlier in the fight, Cunningham’s advice was on point. He was telling him to relax, get their first and quickly turn and slip to the side. That Alexander couldn’t do that late in the fight speaks to his poor stamina, which in my opinion, is probably more from being so wound up and tense – and not necessarily from being poorly trained.
I think Alexander just can’t calm down in there, and is really shows as a fight moves along. I don’t think that’s Cunningham’s fault. He might need a sports psychologist more than anything.
TheBoxingBulletin.com
Shades of JT
Too nervous. Too jittery. Short on his punches. Then drained by the energy he’s wasted.
Unless he learns to sit down on his pinches and punch through the target, II don’t see Alexander get much better. In fact, quite the opposite.
His inability to put fear into his opponent is a dangerous weakness. Look for someone soon to finish what Matthysse did not.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Devon’s “peak” was an absolute mirage against a slow, non-elite opponent. I understand giving him credit for taking tought fights. That’s great and I wish more fighters did the same.
However, I’m pissed. He has lost 3 fights in a row, very clearly, and has only got credit for one L. Whether or not it is Devon’s fault, I think his career is more or less screwed for a while. He needs to totally retool his game to be a force in boxing, if he even has that in him.
I know some people think the fight was close last night, but it wasn’t really. It was a very, very clear win for Matthysse. I can only view Alexander as a fraud now. That might not be totally fair, but let’s be honest, it’s not far from the truth.
I agree that there is no reason to blame the fighter for that felony last night, but his reputation is going to take a big hit regardless if he doesn’t push for an immediate rematch.
There was something even more stinky about last night’s fight than most hometown cook jobs, given the trippy booth job HBO was doing in their coverage. It reminded me a little of of the job ESPN did on the Poison Jones – John Michael Johnson fight, with the commentators in awe of Posion’s blinding speed, all while Johnson was busy chopping him apart with solid punches that actually, you know, landed. They were trying to convince the audience that Junior was actually winning the fight all the way until it was over. Same thing with HBO pretending that Lucas wasn’t nailing Devon over and over with right crosses and hooks to the body.
Bad Left Hook
"My God, kids today think that the laces are for tying up the gloves."
-- Fritzie Zivic
Same thing with HBO pretending that Lucas wasn’t nailing Devon over and over with right crosses and hooks to the body.
You’re too kind, jrok – you’re forgetting Matthysse hammering Devon with both uppercuts all night long.
"Occasionally, there is a boxing match that, in its demonstration of skill, courage, intelligence, hope, seems to redeem the sport - almost. Perhaps boxing has always been a sport in crisis, a sport of crisis."
by Oli Goldstein on Jun 26, 2011 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions
nelson (the judge) is a piece of shit
he did this twice, the kotelnik he scored it terrible, now i think he just tried to make it “too” close this time, 95-94?? does he listen to the crowd instead of watching the fight?? I had it 96-93 for lucas, bradley doesnt land all those screams
Devon didn’t have anything to do with the bad decision, but he acted post-fight like he clearly won, and tried to start some shit with Larry Merchant before Larry thankfully cut him off. On top of that, he QUIT in the Bradley fight and now has two gift decisions over foreigners on American soil. Even some of the fans in St Louis booed the decision..
How much of this is "hometown cooking" and how much is Don King "arranging" things
For a hometown crowd, the crowd on Saturday seemed far less partisan than crowds in other places. I wonder if the not-so-invisible hand of Don King might be a more plausible culprit in explaining the decisions.
A portion of the crowd booed the decision, but STL boxing fans have never been good about blindly standing by their man. They got sick of Cory Spinks a few years ago and booed the hell out of him when he fought Deandre Latimore. Of course Spinks then brought the fight to Latimore, won, and re-won the audience. Having a decent fight was all they wanted. Go figure!
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Jun 27, 2011 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
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