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A fight between newly-crowned IBF welterweight titlist Randall Bailey and Devon Alexander has been agreed to for September 8, with Showtime broadcasting the bout. Bailey vs Alexander will go head-to-head with the much bigger Andre Ward vs Chad Dawson fight on HBO that night.
"We have agreed on the terms and it’s going to be a terrific fight," [Richard] Schaefer told BoxingScene.com. "You always have a good fight when it involves Randall Bailey. He's one veteran you can't turn your back on, and it's a great opportunity for Devon."
Bailey vs Alexander is a fine fight, as Bailey -- while not always exciting, as he wasn't really exciting when he knocked out Mike Jones, save for the final two rounds of what had been a dreadful fight to that point -- but it will be totally overshadowed by Ward vs Dawson, which is a matchup of two legitimate top fighters at 168 and 175 (taking place at 168), and is on the bigger network to boot.
It seems odd to schedule Bailey-Alexander to go head-to-head when there are seemingly open dates around the same time (September 1, September 22, but I don't know what SHO might have set to air those nights that isn't boxing). Alexander was previously set to return on Showtime on August 18.
Alexander (23-1, 13 KO) is coming off of an impressive win over Marcos Maidana on February 25, where he looked far better than he had in, well, years, moving up to 147 pounds for the win. Bailey (43-7, 37 KO) still isn't much as a complete boxer, but as Mike Jones learned the hard way, the second he connects with one of his right hands, the script can flip in a big way. Randall Bailey's right hand is so good it can and would knock out anyone in that division if he landed it on the button. He's a monstrous puncher, a one-trick pony, but damn good at that trick.
No venue has been set for the fight, but St. Louis would make the most sense since Alexander does actually bring in fans there. I can't imagine Lou DiBella and Bailey having any real problem going there, since it's not like Bailey goes into fights hoping the judges are fair. He can't beat Alexander on points, because if Alexander survives 12, it means Bailey didn't do what Bailey's good at doing. Bailey will either knock him out or lose fair no matter where they hold the fight.