Bailey vs Alexander: Fight Has No Venue As Sept. 8 Date Approaches

With just about three weeks remaining until Randall Bailey is supposed to defend the IBF welterweight title against Devon Alexander, the Showtime-televised fight still has no venue, as San Antonio has fallen through as an option.

Bailey (43-7, 37 KO) and promoter Lou DiBella refuse to have the fight held in St. Louis, which was always the best option from a gate money/fan interest perspective, as they apparently fear being cheated on the cards in the hometown of Alexander (23-1, 13 KO). With St. Louis out, two more major cities have been tried. The fight was originally supposed to be booked at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, and then in San Antonio. Neither is going to happen.

The countdown to this card -- which also features Lucas Matthysse vs Ajose Olusegun -- being postponed should be considered on at this point.

As I've mentioned before, I still frankly see no reason to have not had this one in St. Louis. What, was Bailey going to win a decision in this fight? He doesn't fight for decisions and there is, at best, a remote chance that he could manage to outpoint Alexander, whose sole objective in this fight will be to avoid Bailey's power punching. If Bailey connects with one of his right hands, it could be over. If he doesn't, Alexander will probably cautiously cruise his way to a decision win.

With so little time remaining, it's going to be tough to find a suitable venue, and will be tougher still to sell any tickets if they don't just say to hell with it and go to St. Louis. Possible venues in play at this point could, in theory, be every second- to fourth-rate casino in the southern, southwestern, midwestern, or western United States.