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Veteran welterweight Devon Alexander, who has won world titles at 140 and 147 pounds, will return to the ring in a PBC on FS1 fight on May 25, and he’ll have a new trainer in Roy Jones Jr, who will replace Alexander’s career-long trainer Kevin Cunningham.
Alexander, now 32, had an extremely hard-luck couple of fights in 2018. In February of last year, he was given a draw against Victor Ortiz, with most feeling Alexander pretty clearly deserved the win. In August, he lost a split decision to Andre Berto, another very questionable decision.
But he’s not boo-hooing about it, instead he’s looking at what he can do better:
“I’m losing my fights because I’m gassing out at the end of my fights. I used to not do that, but I need more conditioning and stamina now that I’m older. ... After speaking to [Jones], I really felt like it was a perfect match. He truly understands what it’s like for a fighter, like myself, who is making a comeback at this stage of his career.”
Alexander (27-5-1, 14 KO) is 2-4-1 in his last seven fights, dating back to 2013. He’s also dealt with and overcome a prescription painkiller addiction in recent years, something he was very open about after going through it.
Alexander’s fight will be at a catchweight of 150 pounds, probably with a tune-up sort of opponent across the ring for him, someone to test out how he does with a new trainer, designed to get Alexander a win and back in the welterweight mix. He’s not old yet, and still has a little name value, especially if he can pick up a few victories — and given the fact that he really didn’t perform badly in those fights last year, odds seem at least decent that he’ll be able to make some moves again if he and Jones work well together.