St. Louisan Devon Alexander is really stepping up the pace in his quest to become one of the top welterweight boxers in the world. As one of the top young up-and-coming fighters in the world, Alexander will try out a former world champion in his next bout.
The undefeated Alexander will face his toughest test as a professional next Saturday when he takes on veteran DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley on Jan. 19 at Madison Square Garden.
Not only is Alexander going to fight in one of the world’s most famous boxing venues, he will also be making his debut on a pay-per-view television event as well.
The Alexander-Corley bout is on the undercard of the Roy Jones, Jr.-Felix Trinidad bout, which will highlight a HBO pay-per-view showcase, which is entitled “Bring on the Titans.” The telecast will begin at 8 p.m. (St. Louis time). Alexander’s fight will open up the pay-per-view telecast.
Alexander, 20, is currently 13-0 with nine knockouts. In Corey, he faces his most experienced opponent to date. At 33, Corley is a former World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion at 140 pounds. He has fought the who’s who of top fighters in the lighter weights, including Floyd Mayweather, Zab Juday and Miguel Cotto and gone the distance with them.
Alexander’s trainer Kevin Cunningham and promoter Don King, both admit that this is a big step up for Alexander, but they feel he is ready for a prime-time showcase fight.
“’We’re taking a big step up in class in taking on a fighter such as Chop Chop, but Devon is ready for the challenge” said Cunningham, who also trains IBF junior middleweight champion Cory Spinks. “After Devon wins this fight, he will be rated one of the top five fighters in the world in this weight class, which should put him in a position for a title shot.”
Said Don King, “I insisted on putting Alexander “The Great” on the Jones-Trinidad pay-per-view because he is emerging and ready to become the top welterweight in the world. Now is Devon’s time and I want everyone to see this young talent display his skills.
In his last fight, Alexander knocked out Cory Peterson on Oct. 13 in Hoffman States, Ill.
The featured bout of the evening will be a battle between Jones and Trinidad, two former world champions who have been in and out of retirement in recent years.
Also on the undercard will be a junior middleweight bout between Roman Karmazin and Alex Bunema. Karmazin was the former IBF world champion before losing that belt against Cory Spinks in St. Louis in 2006.
Heavyweight Andrew Golota will take on young “Merciless” Mike Mello of Chicago to fill out the pay-per-view portion of the show.
