Devon
Alexander “The Great” is the crown jewel of boxing here in St.
Louis. His story of doing the right things and persevering in a
tough environment while not being the most talented man in the gym
is the stuff of legend.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>Devon represents the good, and not all the things that some make excuses about, like wearing pants down their butts, not respecting the elderly or life in general, wanting to be a menace to society that some young men idolize.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>I watched Devon talk about these same traits during a visit at Northwest Academy here in St. Louis. He was talking to teens about peer pressure and striving to be great at whatever you choose to do.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>He was reminding these teens to surround themselves with good, positive people, and work hard and not to give up on dreams and goals.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>“I’m just like you,” Alexander told a silent yet observant group that wanted to hear what this positive young brother had to say.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>Alexander told the teenagers after adversity hits you, or if something doesn’t go right, “don’t be afraid too stand up to the challenge.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>That’s exactly what Alexander will be doing when he returns home for redemption to fight Lucas Matthysse, one of the biggest knockout artists in boxing. People talk about Khan, Bradley and others in the 140 lb. division, but Matthysse is the hardest puncher of them all, bar none!
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>They will square off Saturday, June 25 at the Family Arena in St. Charles.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>Matthysse put Zab Judah on his butt a few months ago in a slugfest, and he will be looking to take Devon out as well.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>The Argentine boxer is one of the best, and HBO knows it has a good one with Alexander on the main event. And give Alexander credit for taking this fight after suffering his first loss to Timothy “Fat Head” Bradley back in the winter. This will not be an easy fight for the former world champion.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>“This fight is going to be a harder fight than the Bradley fight,” said trainer Kevin “KC” Cunningham.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: black;”>“But Devon is up for the challenge, we will be ready. If you want to be the best, you have to fight the best, and that’s what Devon does.”
