Monday, January 31, 2011

Bradley-Alexander: Coming Up Short

Photo credit: Carlos Baeza/Thompson Boxing Promotions

Writers don't have venom tongues so much as they venomous ink – if they are disappointed or angry or unhappy, they will let you know by letting the venom ink flow.

So when Timothy Bradley vs. Devon Alexander – a fight with great expectations – turned out to be a woeful clash of styles, writers dug into it with pleasure. Or with displeasure.

Dan Rafael of ESPN.com:

"Talk about a disappointment. Bradley-Alexander, the first unification fight between two undefeated American titleholders in 24 years and only the third ever, was supposed to launch the winner, and maybe even the loser, to stardom, if it had been a great fight. Instead, it was a giant dud.

"The fight, fought before a crowd of 6,247 at the Silverdome, was competitive all the way with several very close, hard-to-score rounds. But the fight was not pleasing to watch. It was messy and never found a flow, and it ended in ugly fashion after yet another head-butt badly rattled Alexander."

Jake Donovan of BoxingScene.com led off with this in his post-fight recap:

"Dead atmosphere. Disappointing action. A major fight that ends on a butt and not a punch.

"Not exactly the ideal return to the big time for a sport desperately in need of a shot in the arm."

Bart Barry of 15rounds.com framed part of his story around his encounter with Bradley at the airport:

"Bradley was exhausted, busted up and bandaged, his left eye swelled shut from accidental collisions with Devon Alexander’s head. He was also the world’s best 140-pound prizefighter – if anyone cared.

"It appeared no one did. And that was fitting a footnote as any to the weekend’s depressed and depressing event, a spectacle billed as “The Super Fight” that filled little more than five percent of Silverdome’s available seats in Pontiac, Mich."

Ouch.

All of these words sting nearly as bad as Alexander's eye must've after that final head butt.

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