Devon Alexander Vs Timothy Bradley Headline Boxing Weekend
By Geno McGahee
Get ready for a great fight Saturday night and an explosive one on Friday. It is a great weekend for the boxing fans.
Friday
ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights
Temecula, California
Top rated heavyweight, Chris “Nightmare” Arreola, 29-2, 25 KO’s, steps back into the ring against the unknown Joey Abell, 27-4, 26 KO’s. Arreola was on the fast track to superstardom, showcased on HBO, and producing highlight reel knockout wins, but his inability to dedicate himself to the sport has stopped him from rising to the next level.
Arreola’s weight is not a problem when battering overmatched opposition but slows him down enough to where he cannot cope with the top of the division. Had he come into the Tomasz Adamek fight in shape and not 250 pounds, he may have been quick enough to catch the smaller man, but instead, he would lose a decision. The same holds true for his losing title bid against WBC Kingpin, Vitali Klitschko, where he took a battering en route to a TKO loss. At 251 pounds, he did not come into the fight in championship form.
He is 2-2 in his last four fights, but defeated fringe contender Manuel Quezada by decision in his last outing, although he was still overweight at 256 pounds. Facing Abell, it should be interesting to see what weight he comes in at.
Abell has an impressive record, but far from impressive opposition. The collective records of the men that Abell has defeated is 280 wins, 191 losses, and 37 draws, and those that have beaten him have a collective record of 67 wins, 59 losses, and 7 draws. He should be little to no trouble for the Arreola, a top heavyweight in the division.
Saturday
HBO
Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
A title unification between two undefeated young champions…how can you do better than that?
WBO Light Welterweight Champion, Timothy Bradley, 26-0, 11 KO’s, worked very hard to earn his spot and the respect of the fans, but has done so with his will to win and tenacity. He would win the WBC version of the title in 2008, defeating Junior Witter by decision, and has beaten Kendall Holt, Nate Campbell, and the undefeated challenger in Lamont Peterson. He currently holds the WBO brand of the title and has been pushing for a showdown with Devon Alexander for a long time.
Alexander, 21-0, 13 KO’s, won the vacant WBC title in 2009 with a stoppage of Junior Witter and more impressively, stopped Juan Urango, picking up the IBF version of the title. In his last fight, he struggled with Andriy Kotelnik en route to a close decision win. That performance may place him as the underdog going into Saturday’s showdown, but it’s really a pick’em sort of fight…a great fight for the fans.
FOX Deportes
Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
Julio Cesar Chavez, JR., 41-0-1, 30 KO’s, takes on Billy Lyell, 22-8, 4 KO’s, in a 12 round, WBC Silver Middleweight Title match. Expect Chavez, JR., to easily beat the feather-fisted Lyell.