Devon Alexander
Encyclopedia
Devon Alexander is a professional American
boxer
. Nicknamed "Alexander the Great," he is the former WBC
and IBF
Light Welterweight
champion.
Thirty kids joined the boxing program of Cunningham, who had hoped to keep the kids out of trouble. A stablemate of Alexander's, Cory Spinks
would become welterweight
champion but at least eight are dead. A dozen have been arrested, including Alexander's older brother Vaughn, a once promising prospect currently serving an 18-year prison sentence for robbery.
champion from ages 10–14; three-time PAL
national champion; Junior Golden Gloves and Junior Olympics
national champion; 2003 United States national champion in the 19-and-under division; and 2004 United States light welterweight national champion
. Alexander made it to the final round of the 2004 Olympic trials, where he battled Rock Allen
to a draw and was knocked down once before losing on a tie-breaker.
. Alexander’s mentor, Cory Spinks
, headlined the card opposing Zab Judah
.
Alexander won his next five fights before on July 8, 2006, at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Alexander defeated Tyler Ziolkowski by first round technical knockout to win the WBC
Youth welterweight title, but was himself knocked down once in the fight.
On January 6, 2007, Alexander defeated Maximinio Cuevas by fourth round technical knockout at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
in Hollywood, Florida
. In his next fight, Alexander fought Scott Ball on March 2, 2007, at the Belterra Casino Resort & Spa
in Belterra, Indiana. Alexander was down in the second round himself but broke Ball's jaw in round six and dropped him twice in round seven en route to a technical knockout victory.
He won his next two fights against Marcus Luck and Cory Peterson before he went up against former WBO
junior welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley
on January 19, 2008, at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
. Alexander easily defeated Corley by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC Continental Americas junior welterweight title.
On August 1, 2009, Alexander defeated Junior Witter
by eighth round due to RTD 8 to claim the vacant WBC
light welterweight
championship. Witter gave up on his stool claiming that he had re-injured his left hand. Alexander was hurt by a right hand in round 2, All three judges had Alexander ahead at the time of the stoppage 79-73, 79-73, 80-72.
Alexander was next scheduled to face two-time champion Juan Urango
of Colombia
in a title unification bout. The 6 March 2010 bout was held at the Mohegan Sun
in Uncasville, Connecticut and was televised on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" telecast. To train for the fight, Alexander used a Las Vegas house lent by promoter Don King
as training base. Devon Alexander defeated Juan Urango by TKO in round 8.
Alexander threw an uppercut which dropped Urango. Urango made the count but Alexander resumed his attack and threw a hook to Urango's temple which again dropped him. Urango stood up but was clearly dazed, resulting in a stoppage by the referee. Urango, who suffered his first KO defeat, called out Timothy Bradley after the fight, but a fight was never made because Bradley just moved up to welterweight.
In his next fight he faced Andreas Kotelnik, the former WBA Light Welterweight champion, in his hometown of St. Louis Missouri on 7 August in front of members of the St. Louis Rams
, Evander Holyfield
and Floyd Mayweather. Alexander won the fight by a controversial unanimous decision with all judges scoring the fight 116-112.
On October 22, 2010, Alexander was stripped of the IBF
Junior Welterweight title for not fighting the no. 1 contender, Kaizer Mabuza
.
, which he lost via 10th round TD after an unintentional head-butt forced a stop to the bout.
|-
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponnent
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Win||22-1||align=left|
Lucas Matthysse
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss ||21-1||align=left|
Timothy Bradley
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|colspan=8|
|-align=center
|Win||21-0||align=left|
Andreas Kotelnik
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||20-0||align=left|
Juan Urango
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||19-0||align=left|
Junior Witter
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||18-0||align=left| Jesus Rodriguez
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||17-0||align=left| Christopher Fernandez
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||16-0||align=left|
Sun-Haeng Lee
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||15-0||align=left|
Miguel Callist
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||14-0||align=left| DeMarcus Corley
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||13-0||align=left| Cory Peterson
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||12-0||align=left| Marcus Luck
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||11-0||align=left| Scott Ball
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||10-0||align=left| Maximino Cuevas
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||9-0||align=left| Tyler Ziolkowski
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||8-0||align=left| Seth Hebenstreit
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||7-0||align=left| Kelly Wright
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||6-0||align=left| Christian Nash
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||5-0||align=left| John Rudolph
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||4-0||align=left|
Felix Lora
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||3-0||align=left|
Donovan Castaneda
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||2-0||align=left| Karl Hunter
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||1-0||align=left| Vincent Torres
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. Nicknamed "Alexander the Great," he is the former WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
Light Welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
champion.
Biography
Alexander grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of north St. Louis, in an area described as downtrodden, rough, gang- and drug-infested. Alexander joined the boxing gym that Kevin Cunningham, a former police officer turned trainer, founded in the basement of an old police station.Thirty kids joined the boxing program of Cunningham, who had hoped to keep the kids out of trouble. A stablemate of Alexander's, Cory Spinks
Cory Spinks
Corey Spinks is a professional boxer. He is a former IBF Light middleweight champion, and a former Undisputed Welterweight Champion....
would become welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
champion but at least eight are dead. A dozen have been arrested, including Alexander's older brother Vaughn, a once promising prospect currently serving an 18-year prison sentence for robbery.
Amateur career
Alexander had an outstanding amateur career, compiling a record of 300-10 under the tutelage of Cunningham. He was a four-time Silver GlovesSilver Gloves
The Silver Gloves is an annual competition for amateur boxing in the United States. The contest is sponsored by Ringside, Inc.The Silver Gloves are open to all non-professional pugilists age 10 to 15 years old. The Silver Gloves is not the Golden Gloves amateur tournament, which is for amateur...
champion from ages 10–14; three-time PAL
Police Athletic League
The Police Athletic League is an organization in many American police departments in which members of the police force coach young people, both boys and girls, in sports, and help with homework and other school-related activities. The purpose is to build character, help strengthen police-community...
national champion; Junior Golden Gloves and Junior Olympics
AAU Junior Olympic Games
The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competition held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union.-Sports currently held:The following is a list of sports that currently take place at the Junior Olympic Games.* Aquatics - Diving and Swimming...
national champion; 2003 United States national champion in the 19-and-under division; and 2004 United States light welterweight national champion
National Amateur Light Welterweight Champions
Below is a list of National Amateur Boxing Welterweight Champions, also known as United States Amateur Champions, along with the state or region which they represented...
. Alexander made it to the final round of the 2004 Olympic trials, where he battled Rock Allen
Rock Allen
Rock Allen is a boxer in the Welterweight division. Rock is a twin and son of famous boxing trainer Naazim Richardson.-Amateur career:Philly-fighter Allen started boxing at 7 and had his first bout at 9...
to a draw and was knocked down once before losing on a tie-breaker.
Professional career
At age 17, Alexander made his professional debut, defeating Vincent Torres by first round technical knockout in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. He was victorious in his second pro fight against Karl Hunter before on February 5, 2005, Alexander defeated Donovan Castaneda by unanimous decision in front of 22,370 spectators, the second-largest crowd in history to witness a boxing event in an indoor arena at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Alexander’s mentor, Cory Spinks
Cory Spinks
Corey Spinks is a professional boxer. He is a former IBF Light middleweight champion, and a former Undisputed Welterweight Champion....
, headlined the card opposing Zab Judah
Zab Judah
Zabdiel Judah is an American professional boxer. Judah has won five world titles between the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions, and is a former undisputed welterweight champion....
.
Alexander won his next five fights before on July 8, 2006, at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Alexander defeated Tyler Ziolkowski by first round technical knockout to win the WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Youth welterweight title, but was himself knocked down once in the fight.
On January 6, 2007, Alexander defeated Maximinio Cuevas by fourth round technical knockout at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
in Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
. In his next fight, Alexander fought Scott Ball on March 2, 2007, at the Belterra Casino Resort & Spa
Belterra Casino Resort & Spa
Belterra Casino Resort & Spa is a riverboat casino operated by Pinnacle Entertainment. It is located in Switzerland County, Indiana near Florence, roughly halfway between the large cities of Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. Due to state law gambling operations are on a riverboat which is...
in Belterra, Indiana. Alexander was down in the second round himself but broke Ball's jaw in round six and dropped him twice in round seven en route to a technical knockout victory.
He won his next two fights against Marcus Luck and Cory Peterson before he went up against former WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
junior welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley
DeMarcus Corley
DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley , is a boxer from Washington D.C., and a former WBO and USBA light welterweight champion. Corley also designs his own boxing attire.-Amateur career:...
on January 19, 2008, at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Alexander easily defeated Corley by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC Continental Americas junior welterweight title.
On August 1, 2009, Alexander defeated Junior Witter
Junior Witter
Junior Witter is a professional boxer from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He is the former WBC, European, British, and Commonwealth light welterweight champion.-Early professional career:...
by eighth round due to RTD 8 to claim the vacant WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
light welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...
championship. Witter gave up on his stool claiming that he had re-injured his left hand. Alexander was hurt by a right hand in round 2, All three judges had Alexander ahead at the time of the stoppage 79-73, 79-73, 80-72.
Alexander was next scheduled to face two-time champion Juan Urango
Juan Urango
Juan "Iron Twin" Urango is a professional boxer in the junior welterweight division.-Pro Career:...
of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in a title unification bout. The 6 March 2010 bout was held at the Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun
Mohegan Sun, located in Uncasville, Connecticut, is the second largest casino in the United States with of gaming space. It is located on along the banks of the Thames River. It is at the heart of the scenic foothills of southeastern Connecticut, where 60 percent of the state's tourism is...
in Uncasville, Connecticut and was televised on HBO's "Boxing After Dark" telecast. To train for the fight, Alexander used a Las Vegas house lent by promoter Don King
Don King
Donald "Don" King is an American boxing promoter particularly known for his hairstyle and flamboyant personality. His career highlights include promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the "Thrilla in Manila". He also had a long association with Mike Tyson...
as training base. Devon Alexander defeated Juan Urango by TKO in round 8.
Alexander threw an uppercut which dropped Urango. Urango made the count but Alexander resumed his attack and threw a hook to Urango's temple which again dropped him. Urango stood up but was clearly dazed, resulting in a stoppage by the referee. Urango, who suffered his first KO defeat, called out Timothy Bradley after the fight, but a fight was never made because Bradley just moved up to welterweight.
In his next fight he faced Andreas Kotelnik, the former WBA Light Welterweight champion, in his hometown of St. Louis Missouri on 7 August in front of members of the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...
and Floyd Mayweather. Alexander won the fight by a controversial unanimous decision with all judges scoring the fight 116-112.
On October 22, 2010, Alexander was stripped of the IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
Junior Welterweight title for not fighting the no. 1 contender, Kaizer Mabuza
Kaizer Mabuza
Kaizer Mabuza is an South African professional boxer fighting in the light welterweight class.- Professional career :Kaizer Mabuza made his debut at lightweight and lost by TKO of the first round to future world champion, and fellow country man Isaac Hlatshwayo, who was also making his debut on...
.
Bradley vs. Alexander
Alexander's next fight, on January 29, 2011, took place against Timothy BradleyTimothy Bradley
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American boxer, fighting out of Palm Springs, California. He is the current WBO World Light Welterweight Champion. He is rated #2 in the Light Welterweight division behind Amir Khan.-Light Welterweight:...
, which he lost via 10th round TD after an unintentional head-butt forced a stop to the bout.
Professional boxing record
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|21 Wins (13 knockouts, 8 decisions), 1 Losses 0 Draws|-
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponnent
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
|align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Win||22-1||align=left|
Lucas MatthysseLucas Matthysse
Lucas Martin Matthysse is an Argentine professional boxer in the Light Welterweight division and is the current WBO Inter-Continental Light Welterweight champion...
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Loss ||21-1||align=left|
Timothy BradleyTimothy Bradley
Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American boxer, fighting out of Palm Springs, California. He is the current WBO World Light Welterweight Champion. He is rated #2 in the Light Welterweight division behind Amir Khan.-Light Welterweight:...
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|colspan=8|
|-align=center
|Win||21-0||align=left|
Andreas Kotelnik|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||20-0||align=left|
Juan UrangoJuan Urango
Juan "Iron Twin" Urango is a professional boxer in the junior welterweight division.-Pro Career:...
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||19-0||align=left|
Junior WitterJunior Witter
Junior Witter is a professional boxer from Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. He is the former WBC, European, British, and Commonwealth light welterweight champion.-Early professional career:...
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||18-0||align=left|
Jesus Rodriguez|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||17-0||align=left|
Christopher Fernandez|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||16-0||align=left|
Sun-Haeng Lee|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||15-0||align=left|
Miguel Callist|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||14-0||align=left|
DeMarcus CorleyDeMarcus Corley
DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley , is a boxer from Washington D.C., and a former WBO and USBA light welterweight champion. Corley also designs his own boxing attire.-Amateur career:...
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||13-0||align=left|
Cory Peterson|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||12-0||align=left|
Marcus Luck|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||11-0||align=left|
Scott Ball|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||10-0||align=left|
Maximino Cuevas|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||9-0||align=left|
Tyler Ziolkowski|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||8-0||align=left|
Seth Hebenstreit|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||7-0||align=left|
Kelly Wright|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||6-0||align=left|
Christian Nash|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||5-0||align=left|
John Rudolph|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||4-0||align=left|
Felix Lora|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||3-0||align=left|
Donovan Castaneda|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||2-0||align=left|
Karl Hunter|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||1-0||align=left|
Vincent Torres|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
External links
- "Devon Alexander escaped streets of St. Louis to become a champion," by Peter Owen Nelson, Sports Illustrated, March 3, 2010.
- St. Louisan living a dream with title fight by Tom Timmermann, 15 January 2008, St. Louis Post-DispatchSt. Louis Post-DispatchThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...