By William Mackay: WBC light welterweight champion Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KO’s) is being pushed a little too fast for his own good in being matched against WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KO’s) in their fight this month on January 29th at the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Michigan. Alexander has had all of three fights top level opposition during his seven year pro career in bouts against an injured and old Junior Witter, Juan Urango and Andriy Kotelnik.

In the first two fights, it didn’t really matter how good Alexander looked because Witter wasn’t the same fighter he used to be and in the Urango fight, Alexander ended matters when he caught Urango with a surprise uppsercut that he never saw coming and wasn’t expecting. Who knows what would have happened in that fight had Alexander not hurt Urango with that punch. In Alexander’s last fight, he struggled badly against Kotelnik, not knowing what to do and not reacting well to in between rounds advice from his corner.

Alexander failed that test big time. Now, he will be taking on the best fighter in the light welterweight division in 27-year-old Bradley, who is at the very top of his game at this point in his career. Alexander might be ready for a fight like this in three or four years, but he’s certainly not ready for the fight now, not after the Kotelnik disaster. The winner of this fight will effectively be considered the best fighter in the division. There will still be WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan to face, but he was exposed in his last fight against Marcos Maidana as a weak-chinned runner in the mold of Paulie Malignaggi. Khan isn’t in the same class as Alexander and Bradley. Those guys are the real thing.