Saturday, Sept. 8, at 9 p.m. ET/PT Live on SHOWTIME®
From Hard Rock Hotel & Casino,
Las Vegas
In Co-Feature, Ajose Olusegun Meets Lucas Matthysse
for WBC Interim Super Lightweight Title
for WBC Interim Super Lightweight Title
NEW YORK (Aug. 29, 2012)
–- Randall Bailey defends
his International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title against
former World Champion Devon Alexander
on Saturday, Sept. 8, in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIME®
(9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
The fight is still over a week away, but if these confident
boxers had their way, they’d fight tonight.
“Oh, yeah, I’m definitely ready to rock ‘n
roll,” said Alexander from his camp in
Fort Charles , Mo.
“Let’s do it now. I’m really anxious to get in there
and prove to a lot of people that I am one of the best.”
Added Bailey from his training camp in
Fort Lauderdale , Fla. :
“I’ve never felt better and I’m ready to fight this guy right
now. When I hit him right, it’s going to be goodnight.”
In the 12-round co-feature, unbeaten Nigerian Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14 KOs) will face
power-punching Argentine Lucas Matthysse
(31-2, 29 KOs ) for the vacant WBC Interim
Super Lightweight crown.
Alexander vs. Bailey, a 12-round fight
for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship taking place Saturday,
September 8 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, is presented by Golden
Boy Promotions in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella
Entertainment and sponsored by Corona
and AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will air live at 9:00
p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) with Ajose Olusegun facing Lucas
Matthysse for the vacant WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship in
the co-feature which is presented in association with Gary Shaw Productions and
Arano Box Promotions. Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME
EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, along with
a limited number of VIP suite seats priced at $150, are on sale and may be
purchased at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online
at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
Alexander (23-1, 13 KO’s), of St.
Louis , and southpaw Bailey (43-7, 37 KO’s), of
Miami , Fla. ,
have concluded the majority of their training and are in the midst of final
preparations. Each camp lasted approximately two-and-a-half months.
They’ll both arrive in Las Vegas
early next week.
Alexander and his longtime manager-trainer, Kevin Cunningham, are “putting the
finishing touches on camp,” the fighter said. “My weight is
good and everything is running great. Camp is always a little different
from fight to fight, but the regimen and the training are basically always the
same.
“We know Bailey’s style and what he brings to
the table. If he thinks I am underestimating him, he hasn’t been
paying attention to the interviews. I never take any fighter lightly; I
learned that in the amateurs. A man can beat anybody on a given night.
“This is going to be a tough fight. Anybody who
has that kind of power is dangerous. I know I have to be prepared (for
Bailey’s right hand), but I’m not concerned about it. I do
what I have to do. I just want to take control from the opening bell
until the end.”
“We’re starting to wind down a little,”
Bailey said. “Training camp’s been great. I’m a
happy camper. I’m motivated and relaxed. Strength and
conditioning, everything’s gone smoothly. We’ve really been
working it. I saw the tapes and know what I have to do. I never
felt this good when I was at 140 pounds.
“My trainer, John
David Jackson, was one
of the best defensive southpaws in the game and he’s got me
slippin’ and slidin’ in the ring like I never have before.
I’ve fought a rack of southpaws so it shouldn’t be a problem
(facing Alexander). I fought three southpaws back-to-back-to-back (DeMarcus “Chop Chop’’ Corley,
Francisco Figueroa and Juan Urango) in late 2008 and 2009.
“Talk’s cheap. I don’t take things
personally. I fight, that’s what I do. I’m trying to
tell you, this (guy) is perfect for me. I don’t know what
they’re thinking in St. Louis, but it isn’t going to be easy like
they think.”
Alexander, a former World Boxing Council (WBC) and IBF
140-pound world champion, is making his second start at welterweight. In
his debut in the weight class, the world-class boxer-puncher won a one-sided
10-round decision over Marcos Maidana
this past Feb. 25.
“I love fighting at 147. It’s
awesome. I feel so much stronger and have so much more energy,”
said Alexander, who turned pro in 2004. “I don’t have to
struggle as much and I don’t have to worry about draining myself. I
outgrew the 140-pound weight class. You definitely haven’t seen the
best of me at 147. There are a lot of action-packed opponents at
147. It’s going to be interesting.”
Alexander says to expect a varied attack.
“I’m going to be versatile in this fight,” he said.
“I can come forward, box and use my power. I plan to do a lot of
things. I don’t think I have to prove anything. I just need
to continue to win. People have always had high expectations of me since
I started coming up as a prospect. It’s strange how things
go. People were highest on me at a time when I was having all the weight
problems. Now, it is almost like starting over and I have to make my mark
at 147.”
The 25-year-old Alexander, whose lone blemish on his record
is a loss to Timothy Bradley,
fought once on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and twice on ShoBox: The New Generation.
“I won my first title on SHOWTIME when I knocked out Junior Witter (TKO 8 on Aug. 1,
2009). It was on SHOWTIME that I first made my mark.
“I hope to make a mark again. We definitely saw
Bailey’s fight against Jones. It’s the reason we made the
fight. Bailey is a suitable opponent. Jones fought scared the whole
fight against him and it made for an ugly fight. Fighting scared against
a guy who’s throwing five to six punches a round? I’m just
going to go to work and do what I do. I’m really looking forward to
this fight.
“I really don’t know why he’s saying what
he’s saying. I haven’t disrespected him. I
haven’t done anything to his family. This is the wrong sport in
which to have a chip on your shoulder. You can’t take it into the
ring. You’ve got to have discipline. I guess he’s angry
about taking this fight or maybe he’s trying to hype himself to
fight. I don’t care.”
Bailey showed why he is regarded as one of the most prolific
one-punch knockout artists in history in his last start on June 9 when he
dramatically rallied from the brink of defeat to render previously unbeaten Mike Jones unconscious in the 11th
round to capture the IBF 147-pound title. After nine rounds, Bailey was
losing by the scores of 90-81, 89-82 and 88-83, but he scored a knockdown in
the 10th with the great equalizer - the right hand - and another in
the 11th with a right uppercut. Jones was counted out at 2:52
and a spectacular Bailey knockout victory was in the books.
“It’s been such a long road, I really wanted to win
a world title again,” said Bailey, a former WBO and WBA Interim super
lightweight titleholder who’ll be entering the ring on Sept. 8 as a
defending world champion for the first time since 1999. “I went
through a lot of nonsense and hardship for a long time. It was really
frustrating. I hung around at 140 a lot longer than I wanted because I
wanted a title shot, but I didn’t argue when it never came. I just
stayed steady, fought who they put in front of me and got the job done.”
Bailey, who knocked out Carlos
“Bolillo” Gonzalez to capture the WBO title on SHOWTIME
in May 1999 and made his first two defenses on the network, knows he’ll
have to let his fists fly significantly more often than he did against
Jones. He thinks he’ll benefit from facing a shorter man this time
around. Bailey is 5’9”, an inch taller than Alexander.
“I know I have to throw more punches and definitely be
busier,” Bailey said. “He’s going to require
that. Alexander isn’t nearly as tall as Jones, a big guy who uses
his height well. l have what I have, the punching power to catch guys,
and Jones left the door open for me. I knew I was losing the whole
fight. My corner was cussing me out between every round to get busy, but
I got the job done.
“No one gave me a chance against Jones and no one is
giving me a chance again, but I’m prepared and I’ve done my
homework. Devon is in for a rude awakening. He’s smaller than
me. If I have to walk him down and throw caution to the wind, I will.
I won’t wait to counter. They’re saying he’ll go to my
body. If that’s what they want, be my guest, but I’m not
buying it. He won’t stay in front of me. Just like Jones
until he got caught, he won’t want me to get close. I hit too hard
and one punch is all it takes.”
Since December 2004, Bailey has knocked down 16 of his 18
opponents – seven were on the canvas two times, and one was decked five
times. A pro since 1996, Bailey will turn 38 five days after the fight.
“I’m looking forward to an early birthday
present,” he said. “The odds will be against me, but I am
going to knock out Alexander like I did Jones.
“Believe me, I jumped at this opportunity. When
we were promoted by the same promoter years ago, I asked for the fight, but
they said no. When this fight gets out of hand, I know Kevin’s not
going to let his kid get messed up. Any fight I’m in, if it gets
rough, it gets rough, I’m not backing down. They’ve spoon-fed
these guys to a world title, but he’s running into a bad man.
I’m going to bust his butt. Fight night can’t come soon
enough for me.’’
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