Welterweight boxers Amir Khan of Britain and Devon Alexander of St. Louis, Mo. face off during a final news conference at MGM Grand on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014. Promoter Oscar De La Hoya is at center. Khan and Alexander will fight in a welterweight fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday.
Friday, Dec. 12, 2014 | 2 a.m.
Devon Alexander feels a year overdue for reaching boxing superstardom.
The 27-year-old from Saint Louis at least partially blames Amir Khan for the delay. Khan (29-3) and Alexander (26-2), two of the top welterweights in the sport, were scheduled to fight last December before the former pulled out in hopes of landing a bout with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
“I was disappointed because around that time, I was just getting back on the good side, on the right track,” Alexander said. “Beating Khan would have put me above the rest.”
Alexander has since lost his IBF world title, but regained the bout he wanted. Khan and Alexander meet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the headliner of one of two major boxing cards — Timothy Bradley and Diego Chavez clash down the street at the Cosmopolitan — Saturday.
HBO airs the Bradley vs. Chavez main card starting ay 7 p.m., with Showtime broadcasting its event an hour earlier.
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya hinted that the winner of Khan and Alexander was the frontrunner for the next shot at Mayweather, who ultimately chose to face Marcos Maidana over Khan late last year. That explains why Alexander has quickly gotten over the demise of his original fight with Khan.
“The stakes are pretty high still,” Alexander said. “We are still elite fighters fighting each other. Typically, you don’t see a fight like this. Typically, fighters like to skate around their way to the top. That’s why I’m surprised he took the fight.”
Khan, a 28-year-old from Bolton, United Kingdom, doesn’t regret taking himself out of the bout last year. Even though his plan fell through, he believed it was a risk he had to take.
It all worked out for the better anyway, according to Khan. The cancelation gave him five extra months to become more comfortable both at his new 147-pound weight class and with trainer Virgil Hunter.
“I got to work on what I needed to work on like my boxing skills, defense and taking my time,” Khan detailed. “When you’re in training camps, you’re focusing on your fighter and how to beat an opponent. That’s all, you never really work on your mistakes.”
Khan’s eventual welterweight debut showed the progress he promised. On the undercard of Mayweather’s first bout with Maidana, Khan pummeled Luis Collazo in a unanimous decision where no judge thought he lost more than three rounds in the 12-round fight.
The aftermath of their fight’s dissolution worked less smoothly for Alexander. Filling in for Khan, Shawn Porter defeated Alexander by unanimous decision last December.
Although Alexander rebounded with a win over Jesus Soto-Karass in June, he remains miffed about his performance against Porter. Alexander said Khan dropping out threw him off and he never got his mindset right.
“Mentally, I wasn’t there,” he added. “I wasn’t using my skill in that fight.”
Beyond any mistakes, Alexander also sees Khan as a more favorable stylistic matchup.
“He’s got some speed but I don’t see anything else,” Alexander said. “His defense is grade D to me. Maybe he brings something different in his arsenal on Saturday night but I just don’t see it.”
The build-up to the fight has been entirely civil, but Alexander has some lingering animosity. Sporting a t-shirt and his trademark Saint Louis Cardinals cap, Alexander was the aggressor in a tense staredown with Khan, decked out in a designer suit, Thursday afternoon.
Alexander scoffed at the 24-carat gold trunks worth nearly $50,000 Khan will wear in the ring.
“This is fighting; this is not fashion,” he said. “What for — to get blood on them? I just don’t see any meaning to it. I didn’t read too much into it. I wouldn’t have done it. Where I come from, $50,000 is a lot of money that can be spent on something else.”
A win could put Alexander in line for a fight where $50,000 would represent a minor fraction of his purse. It might not have happened when he preferred, but a win over Khan still comes with quite the reward.
It could shoot Alexander to the top, perhaps even far enough to get to Mayweather.
“It’s in the back of my head,” Alexander admitted. “A fighter would be lying if they said they didn’t think about that.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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