Devon Alexander’s trainer hoping Devon can fight Berto-Ortiz II winner

By Boxing News - 02/29/2012 - Comments

Image: Devon Alexander's trainer hoping Devon can fight Berto-Ortiz II winnerBy Dan Ambrose: Devon Alexander (23-1, 13 KO’s) and his trainer are hoping to take their success in beating Marcos Maidana last Saturday night and use that to take on the winner of the June 23rd rematch between Andre Berto and Victor Ortiz.

Alexander’s trainer Kevin Cunningham told RingTV “The only thing that makes sense is for Devon to fight the winner of Ortiz-Berto. That’s the fight we’re looking for. Everybody’s going to call out Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao, but the realistic goal for us would be the winner of Ortiz-Berto. Title or no title, that’s a big fight, and those are the types of fights we’re interested in.”

There’s a possibility that this fight can be made if the Berto vs. Ortiz II winner can’t land a fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao. However, there’s a good chance the winner of the Berto-Ortiz fight will get at least one of those guys.

The negative I see about Berto or Ortiz fighting Alexander is he clinches WAY too much and it makes it difficult to fight him. If you’ve got Alexander dive bombing to clinch after each time he throws a punch, that’s a difficult fighting style to take on. It’s like facing Bernard Hopkins or John Ruiz. If a referee isn’t going to keep Alexander in check for clinching over 10 times per round, it slows the fight down to a crawl and pretty much turns into a game whoever lands the first punch before the clinch wins. That’s terrible boxing. If I was Berto or Ortiz, I wouldn’t choose to fight Alexander unless he changes his style and starts grabbing a whole lot less and I don’t think he’s going to do that. Alexander was effective with his clinch and grab technique against Marcos Maidana, but I think he should lost a lot of points for the grabbing as well for the rabbit punches he threw.

I think Berto or Ortiz should forget about Alexander and look to fight a more exciting opponent that actually fights and doesn’t cling all over you all night long looking to smother your offense with MMA-like grabbing. If I were Berto or Ortiz, I’d put Alexander on permanent ignore and look to fight someone like Mayweather, Pacquiao, Amir Khan, or Kell Brook. Those guys don’t clinch 24/7.



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