Against all common sense that isn't to do with money, Marcos Maidana has accepted the reality that his February 25 HBO fight against Devon Alexander will have to take place in St. Louis, where Alexander has been on the hometown end of friendly scoring in fights against Andriy Kotelnik and Lucas Matthysse. The show will take place at the Scottrade Center.
There's also a co-feature for the show, as newly-trinketed WBO super featherweight titlist Adrien Broner will defend the belt he won on November 26 in Cincinnati against Eloy Perez, according to Ryan Maquiñana.
[ Related: Broner Blasts Past Rodriguez ]
Broner (22-0, 18 KO) and Perez (23-0-2, 7 KO) were in discussions to meet for the vacant WBO belt after Ricky Burns vacated to move up to lightweight, but Perez's side didn't feel that the money was right for a trip to Broner's backyard, and the fight was put on the backburner, with Broner instead facing a game but overmatched Martin Rodriguez of Argentina.
Perez, 25, has had some struggles as a prospect, but also hasn't been matched as softly as some have been, and in recent outings has shown improvement. The 22-year-old Broner should be considered a legitimate favorite, but this is a good matchup between a couple of young guys who are still really prospects more than anything, sort of like a super-charged ShoBox matchup with power promoters pulling the strings.
All that said, how crazy do you think Maidana is to risk St. Louis here? There will be a difference this time, as Alexander is making his Golden Boy debut and no longer has promoter Don King, who has in some ways owned St. Louis as a boxing city for years now by promoting local fighters in the area. And furthermore, do you think Maidana has ever cared what scorecards might be? It's not like he fights looking for decisions. In other words, how concerned are you about Alexander once again getting a home fight in St. Louis?