Devon Alexander “The Great” put a red bow on a week full of boxing festivities as he scored a unanimous decision against a determined Andriy Kotelnik in the main event of a night filled with drama and suspense. It was a great night for St. Louis. Nearly 10,000 people showed up at the Scottrade Center as HBO brought its Boxing After Dark program to St. Louis for the first time.
Don King proved once again that he is the major player in boxing promotion, having both Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield ringside. Only Las Vegas and Atlantic City can attract such celebrities to its shows. So, for all you haters of Don King, you must give him his due because he gives you your money’s worth. He delivers the best cards in the boxing game, time after time, with Saturday night being another prime example.
And what about the co-main event, where you had Tavarous “Thunder” Cloud and Glenn “The Road Warrior” Johnson fighting the way old-school warriors like Hagler, Hearns, Pryor and Whitaker used to roll. They stood in front of each other and pounded each other for 12 rounds, and the crowd loved every minute of it.
Speaking of Cloud, having Al Bonnanni and the rest of his experienced team in his corner makes the future of this young determined champion look bright as he pursues a big payday and a potential great fight down the road with Chad Dawson.
Speaking of Detroit, the famous Kronk Gym seems to have another great fighter in veteran Cornelius “K9” Bundrage, who beat Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks in a convincing TKO.
With Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Stewart in his corner, K-9 will have to be mentioned in the fight game at 147 or 154 pounds with great matchup opportunities – again, especially with Don King promoting him.
Also, Coach Spagnuolo and his Rams sat ringside to support the local champ in Alexander. Steven Jackson also entered the ring with “Team Alexander” both before and after the fight.
But, the fact that Don King had Mayweather next to him during the fight on national television, and after the fight at a local restaurant should make all boxing fans that support Team Alexander jump up and holler like it’s Sunday morning.
Just think: Devon and Mayweather on the same card on the same night. All I can see is big dollar signs for that night. The HBO opportunities, the pay-per-view money, the national attention, and Don King promoting it. The possibilities are endless.
What a night of boxing and fun it was last Saturday night. And The Lou really came out to support “Team Alexander.” In the house were Gov. Jay Nixon and his Director of the Regional Office Rex Burlison, Donald M. Suggs, Eric Rhone, Scott Rosenblum, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Kwame Thompson, just to name a few.
Congratulations to Devon Alexander “The Great,” Kevin Cunningham, Donald M. Suggs, Don King and his staff at Don King Productions, Team Swag USA, Scottrade Center, HBO Sports, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport staff for a great week of festivities.
