PONTIAC, Mich. — In a locker room at the Silverdome, the ringside physician Peter Samet asked the battered junior welterweight Devon Alexander a question about the gash above his right eye: “Do you want a big scar, a little scar or no scar?”
Alexander replied, “No scar.”
With a grin, Samet said, “Some fighters want a scar — like a badge of honor.”
The permanent mark after Saturday’s fight was not on Alexander’s eye from six stitches, but on his record. It was formerly perfect, but is now 21-1 after his loss to the World Boxing Organization champion Timothy Bradley (27-0).
In the talent-rich 140-pound junior welterweight division, Bradley has emerged as the last undefeated champion and, by beating Alexander, the World Boxing Council titleholder, unified two of the three occupied belts. The World Boxing Association belt belongs to Amir Khan (24-1). Just before Saturday’s bout, Khan said of whoever emerged as the victor, “In the summertime, I’m thinking we can have a unification fight.”
Many in boxing hoped that Saturday’s bout would determine supremacy among the junior welterweights. It was the first time since Mike Tyson beat Tony Tucker in 1987 to unify the heavyweight crown that two undefeated continental American champions met. The unanimous technical decision for Bradley, however, was announced less than 10 rounds into the fight. An accidental head butt caused the temporary paralysis of Alexander’s eyelid and forced the referee to end the fight, eliciting a chorus of boos from the modest crowd of 6,247.
The victory, its anticlimactic finish aside, firmly puts Bradley in the top tier of junior welterweights. Now there will be a push for him to face Khan to determine who rules the division. Khan’s promoters said that matchup could take place in late July, after Khan’s tuneup fight April 16 in Manchester, England.
Bradley’s manager, Cameron Dunkin, said Saturday, “Amir Khan’s a great fight for Tim, as is Marcos Maidana,” referring to the Argentine boxer whom Khan defeated Dec. 11. Bradley had previously expressed his envy of Khan’s financial success, saying, “They aren’t paying me his dollars, and I’m the top guy in the division.”
The consensus among fans, promoters and HBO (which aired Saturday’s bout) is that a star will emerge from among the junior welterweights. A Bradley-Khan showdown this summer would help build the profile of both fighters. At stake is not only prestige and potential stardom, but also a possible lucrative payday against one of boxing’s two biggest names: Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao (who both fight as welterweights). “Once the last man of the junior welterweight division is standing, he can go knock on Pacquiao or Mayweather’s door,” the promoter and former champion Oscar De La Hoya said.
Whether Pacquiao or Mayweather answers will be another matter. Both may continue to be too busy not fighting each other in a matchup that has failed to materialize despite multiple negotiations and an eager public.
Khan is trained by Freddie Roach, who also trains Pacquiao.
“I’d never fight Pacquiao because we’re close friends,” Khan said, “but someone like Mayweather could be a fight in the future.”
There are some who doubt that the key to Bradley or Khan’s becoming a star will be a showdown with Pacquiao or Mayweather.
“All of boxing should stop obsessing over Pacquiao and Mayweather fighting each other or anyone else,” said Thomas Hauser, a boxing journalist and a biographer of Muhammad Ali, adding, “The entire sport should just focus on good, exciting, competitive fights.”
Many of those can be made in the junior welterweight division, which boasts not only Bradley, Khan, and Maidana, but also Victor Ortiz, Lamont Peterson and Zab Judah (who is scheduled to fight for a vacant world title in March).
As for Alexander, a first defeat can cause some boxers to unravel, but television networks generally give gifted fighters a second chance. HBO has committed to airing Alexander’s next fight.
“The aftermath of a first loss is a function of the psyche of the fighter,” said Ken Hershman, the vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, adding, “There are plenty of great fighters who lost close fights but come back stronger than ever.”
Time will tell if Alexander can get past his first defeat. His trainer of 16 years, Kevin Cunningham, seems certain that he will.
While the anesthetic lidocaine was being applied to Alexander’s cut before it was stitched up, Cunningham silently looked at the boxer and surveyed the desolate faces of the fighter’s entourage, before declaring, “Don’t worry, we’ll be back.”
Source: nytimes.com
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