Marcos Maidana and Devon Alexander will meet this Saturday night in Alexander’s backyard of St. Louis Missouri. While this fight is not exactly a crossroads fight nor is it for a belt, it is a classic boxer vs. puncher fight.
Alexander is a slick fighter with good ring awareness, speed and sound defensive skills in the ring and while he does have decent power, he does not have enough to take out the hardnosed Maidana. Alexander will have to use his boxing skills and speed to outbox and get out of harm’s way of Maidana by clinching when in close, move side to side and fight from angles most of the fight to avoid any hard shots from the Argentinean. It may be a blessing he struggled with Matthysse in his last fight and may serve as a good game plan for Alexander in this fight as Matthysse has similarities to that of Maidana, so Alexander should come prepared for a gritty and forward fighter once again. However if Alexander believes his own hype and tries to trade with Marcos, then St. Louis fans may be in for disappointing evening from their hometown fighter but if Alexander uses his superior skills then expect a 12 round decision in his favor. While it may be close, perhaps a split decision once again, it will still be a “W” on his record and no matter what the fans say; a win is a win.
In the other corner, Maidana needs to win by knockout. PERIOD. Yes, the judges are going to give a decision to Alexander if it goes the 
distance.
Maidana got his big breakthrough by defeating Victor Ortiz in 2009, since then he has had mixed results, losing to Amir Khan and he looked sluggish against “9 lives “Erik Morales-A fight that he won but seemed to give Morales another 3 years of boxing life. Maidana, is not fast or savvy enough to win this contest by decision, his best bet is to cut off the ring and punish Alexander anytime he stops moving. Maidana will have to go to the body often to slow the faster Alexander down; which will help him going into the later rounds- all the while he also needs to not allow Alexander to take an early lead on the scorecards.
Maidana can take Alexander’s best punch and he will have to walk through a couple early shots in order get to Alexander and perhaps hurt him. If he can connect early while Alexander has not got into a rhythm it would be the best way to get the fight over sooner than later. Alexander showed in the Bradley fight that if the going gets tough a cut will allow him to get out of actually fighting to the end. However if the fight gets to the 10thround, I would look for Maidana to become a little more reckless and aggressive, knowing in the back of his mind that he will not win a decision in Alexander’s hometown
While Maidana has his work cut out for him this fight is Alexander’s to lose. Maidana is an exciting, lightning in a bottle type of fighter but he lacks the speed to compete with the younger Alexander. On the other side, Alexander needs to prove he has the heart he lacked in the Bradley fight, he has not shown he has the grit to pull out a tough victory, and I don’t expect him to show anything different in this fight.
Alexander will box and use the ring to out maneuver Maidana Saturday night.
Alexander by Majority or Split decision.
And then…
The HBO broadcast is a solid fight card and one that should keep boxing fans happy… Broner and Perez should also be a good fight. I’d like to see Perez take this one.
While it’s not confirmed exactly how Whitney Houston passed away last week, most reports state a mix of alcohol and prescription drugs. Houston, along with Heath Ledger, DJ AM and countless others have all died by a combination of booze, prescription drugs and other drugs. Rick James said “cocaine is a hell of a drug”. It makes me wonder if prescription drugs were around during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, perhaps his statement would have been a little different…May they all rest in peace.
Alexander did nothing but Head butting and holding- discusting! Every time he threw a hit he held him to avoid the counters from Maidana. The what could have been a knock down would have been if Alexander didn’t cheet and pull him down. Big dirty fighter. Max Kellerman, very disappointed! Just because you work for HBO doesn’t mean you sell yourself to the devil. Smogger should never referee again, how much did he get paid from Alexander. Keep this up they are going to loose true Boxing Fans, like myself who have been watching from 1973.
I feel it’s pretty sad when we as fans have to assume that when a fighter fights in his home town they will automaticly win a decision. It seems we have become accustomed to the crooked judging practices that continue ruining this sport. A win maybe a win on paper but in the real world the fans know the truth and the truth is that Alexander is overrated. In my book Alexander has two loses already and I believe he quit in that Bradly fight, it may not have looked as bad as when Ortiz quit in the Maidana fight but he still quit. Hopefully Maidana will make him quit or get the KO.
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