IBF welterweight beltholder Randall Bailey will defend his crown against southpaw Devin Alexander on Oct. 20 at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
A Saturday press conference is in the works for smack-talkers Adrien Broner and Paulie Malignaggi.
Bailey-Alexander added to stacked Oct. 20 card
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Southpaw former IBF and WBC junior welterweight titleholder Devon Alexander will challenge IBF welterweight beltholder Randall Bailey on an already stacked undercard of an Oct. 20 event at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya announced on Wednesday. Bailey (43-7, 37 knockouts) is coming off a come-from-behind, 11th-round knockout of Philadelphia's Mike Jones on the undercard of Tim Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao in June, and suffered a back injury which forced the postponement of his clash with Alexander (23-1, 13 KOs) from its originally scheduled date of Sept. 8.
"We are thrilled to not only be re-announcing this hard-hitting matchup, but also to be able to add it to the already powerful night of boxing planned for Barclays Center on October 20," said De La Hoya. The main event will feature a rematch between RING, WBA and WBC junior welterweight champ Danny Garcia and four-division title-winner Erik Morales, preceded by WBA welterweight belt-winner and Brooklyn native Paulie Malignaggi making the first defense of his belt against Pablo Cesar Cano. Also on the card, Brooklyn resident Peter Quillin will face WBO middleweight titleholder Cameroon-born Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam, of France, in a clash of unbeaten fighters.
"I really didn't think the Barclays Center event could get any bigger, but that is exactly what has happened. It's been our strategy at Showtime to increase the quality and the quantity of our boxing coverage," said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager at Showtime sports. Others on the show are middleweight contender Danny Jacobs, of Brooklyn, Brooklyn-born ex-beltholder Luis Collazo, of Queens, welterweight Dmitriy Salita, of Brooklyn and Bronx-born Honduran junior middleweight Eddie Gomez and junior middleweight Boyd Melson, of White Plains, N.Y. "We are extremely excited to be apart of this boxing extravaganza," said Kevin Cunningham, trainer and CEO of The Great Promotions. "Brooklyn has produced some of boxing's biggest stars, so it's an honor to get this opportunity." Against Jones, Bailey won his fourth straight bout, having last suffered defeat by 11th-round stoppage against Juan Urango in a failed bid to earn the IBF's junior welterweight belt in August of 2009. "Randall is the hardest puncher in boxing and he is a true champion," said Lou DiBella, Bailey's promoter and president of DiBella Entertainment. "If Devon Alexander wants his belt, he is going to have to take it and withstand the hardest right hand in the sport." In an interview with RingTV.com, Bailey claimed that the injury was the result of a collision with a larger sparring partner after he had thrown a punch.
"I am so happy to be able to get back in the gym and continue to train. At my age you can't take anything for granted and injuries are harder to overcome," said Bailey. In his next fight after facing Bailey, Urango was knocked out in the eighth round by fellow Alexander, who has scoffed at Bailey's assertion that he already had taken the heart out of Urango.
"The opportunity to be a part of this piece of boxing history means a lot to me. Randall Bailey and I have some unfinished business," said Alexander. Tickets are on sale for the card that will be the first boxing event to take place at the new, state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue. Tickets start at $50 and go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, August 29 at 10:00 a.m. ET and will be available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, or at 800-745-3000. Photo / Emily Harney - Fightwireimages Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com |