Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey Boxing Conf. Interview
By Media Report on Doghouse Boxing (Oct 12, 2012)
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Kelly Swanson. Thanks, everybody, for
joining in. We have a lot of work to do on this call today. This is
the first of two conference calls back-to-back, one is set for tomorrow,
to talk about the October 20th four world title fight extravaganza.
Of course, as everybody knows, this is bringing boxing back to Brooklyn
from the new Barclays Center and, again, championship boxing has not
been in Brooklyn in over 80 years. The fight will be televised on
Showtime.
As you received in your
media alert, we have four fighters available today and we're going to
start this call with Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey. He's joined by
his promoter Lou DiBella. And just to give the particulars of the
fight and what you can look forward to, I'm going to turn it over to
Robert Diaz from Golden Boy Promotions to make the opening statement.
Robert?
Robert Diaz
Good afternoon, everybody,
and thank you very much. I want to just give you a little bit of
insight. This is a very exciting night of boxing that's going to back
to Brooklyn, like Kelly mentioned, after 80 years since the last world
title fight and we're going back with four world title fights.
We're going with four world
title fights to open up the beautiful Barclays Center. In the main
event, Danny Garcia and Erik "El Terrible" Morales, Paulie Malignaggi
defends his title against Pablo Cesar Cano; Hassan N'Dam will be
fighting Peter Quillin and, of course, you'll be hearing also from
former World Champion Devon Alexander and current World Champion Randall
Bailey.
Also, a stacked undercard
with Brooklyn's finest, Daniel Jacobs, Luis Collazo, young prospect,
undefeated, Eddie Gomez. Dmitry Salita comes back to Brooklyn and Boyd
Melson as well. Don't miss it, it's on Showtime. The telecast begins
at 8 p.m. eastern time.
You'll have Showtime
Extreme beginning at 7 p.m. eastern time. Ticket prices are $300, $200,
$100 and $50. So, don't miss it, a great night of fights at the new
Barclays Center. We want to thank also our sponsors, Corona, DeWalt
Tools and AT&T.
I'd like to introduce right
now the promoter for Randall Bailey as that fight is in association
with DiBella Entertainment, President Lou DiBella. Lou?
Lou DiBella
Thanks, Robert. It's great
to be with you and it's great to be part of what's gong to be an
historic night of boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. I was born
and raised in Brooklyn and the return of boxing to Brooklyn is truly an
exciting night. Showtime has put together with Golden Boy, a packed
show with four top fights and an undercard that does feature a lot of
New York's finest.
So, I'm looking forward to
Randall getting the opportunity to defend his title on the show.
Randall is a hard puncher. He can stage a fight with just one punch from
either hand. I don't think there's anyone in the sport who is a more
devastating puncher.
Devon Alexander is a
terrific young boxer. He probably will at some point in the fight be
ahead in rounds, but if Randall lands one punch, then he retains his
belt and I think that's what brings this fight so much excitement and so
much interest.
So, it's my pleasure to
introduce the KO King, the IBF Welterweight Champion of the World,
Randall Bailey. Randall, do you want to say a few words?
Randall Bailey
Hello, everybody. I'm glad
to be here on this show and I'm looking forward to October 20th. And I
just want to thank my promoter, Lou DiBella and Golden Boy for getting
this fight done and rescheduled so me and Devon can make this day
happen.
Diaz
Thank you, Randall. And
with that, I'd like to introduce to you Devon "The Great" Alexander out
of St. Louis, Missouri, 23 wins, one loss, 13 knockouts. He's a former
World Champion in the Super Lightweight WBC and IBF Junior Welterweight
Champion, no stranger to big punchers as he's recently beat Lucas
Matthysse and Marcos Maidana, two of the biggest punchers in the
division. Devon Alexander "The Great".
Devon Alexander
Good afternoon, everybody.
I want to thank everybody for having me. I'm excited. I'm definitely
excited to be coming to Brooklyn. This is my first time fighting in
Brooklyn. I was ready four weeks ago to get this fight on, but I'm
definitely still ready and ready to become three-time World Champion
again. So, thanks for having me again.
Q
Randall, can you briefly
just kind of touch on what it has taken to re-acclimate yourself to
sparring, including the back injury. I know how it happened, you
explained how it happened, but what was the recovery process and the
transition back into sparring?
Bailey
It just required a lot of
rest. I had to sit out and just take the medicine that they had
prescribed for me and just relax for a couple of weeks.
Q
And how difficult was it to
re-acclimate yourself to sparring, throwing the right hand, which you
said was one of the reasons you hurt it? How was that transition?
Bailey
I do that naturally, so
there was no fear and feeling pain because when you're in a fight,
whatever you hurt you've still got to go on. But just in this situation
it didn't make sense for me to go into a fight injured.
Q
Leading up to the fight
with Jones, you were very understated. You came to the podium, in fact,
at the press conference and you were very short and sweet. As opposed
to then, now as Champion, you've been, obviously, very vocal about Devon
and a lot of that exchange has come from you and Kevin Cunningham.
Kevin Cunningham is used to this. He does this all the time. Is there
any notion that maybe you're being distracted by this, taken out of your
game or are you completely focused in spite of all the trash talking?
Bailey
I am completely focused
because it's all a comedy to me, to tell you the truth, because Mike
Jones' trainer was doing the same thing. Vaughn Jackson was doing the
same thing before the fight, saying a whole bunch of stuff, talking a
whole bunch of smack and now he's unemployed. So, at the end of the
day, on October 20th maybe Devon will be finding him some new employees.
Q
Okay, do you guys, Devon
and Kevin, do you guys have a response to that? I'm going to start with
Devon first. Devon, as I said before, you're accustomed to your
trainer talking like he does and you going in the ring and doing your
work. Can you talk about that relationship and how you just kind of
stay back and kind of talk when it's necessary or ready?
Alexander
Yeah, yeah, me and my coach
have a beautiful relationship and whatever my coach says goes for me,
too. My coach knows what he says and he knows what he's doing, so
whatever he says I'm right behind him.
For me, I will talk, but
the point is, me and Bailey are getting in the ring and these hands will
do the talking. I don't have to talk about what I want to do, who I'm
going to do it to, or whatever, because October 20th, actions
are going to speak way louder than words. You can say what you want to
say, but you've still got to get in the ring. So, I'm going to leave
it at that.
Q
No pressure for you when Kevin talks like he does?
Alexander
No, not at all, not at
all. That's Kevin. Kevin is part of my team and that's him. You've
got to be yourself and I'm going to be myself. That's how teams work,
everybody plays their position and that's what I'm going to do.
Q
Kevin, you heard what Randall said about you potentially going to be unemployed after this fight. Do you have a response?
Kevin Cunningham
Yeah, I heard what he said,
but the bottom line is this. Vaughn Jackson is not Kevin Cunningham.
And Mike Jones is not Devon Alexander. Vaughn Jackson doesn't have the
accomplishments that I have as a trainer. Neither does Mike Jones have
the accomplishments that Devon has as a fighter.
So, I look at what Randall
Bailey says; nothing that comes out of Randall's mouth has facts to it.
He just says things, so, basically it's part of the hype, but come
Saturday night, October the 20th he's going to realize that he's in with
an elite fighter. And we all know Randall Bailey can punch.
But we also know that
Randall Bailey knows how to lose because he's lost seven times. And
every time he steps in the ring with an elite fighter he gets nailed.
So, that's the difference in what this whole conversation and all this
back and forth talk is. I'm speaking facts and this dude is just
talking out the side of his neck.
Q
You had said that you
believe that he was faking the back injury. Do you still believe that?
And then also do you believe that he's out of his element when he
personally engages with you as he's doing?
Cunningham
He's way out of his element
when he engages with me because he doesn't have the oral skills to even
deal with me on that type of level. So, I do my thing. I handle
everything on the outside of the ring and Devon handles everything on
the inside of the ring. And that's what a perfect team does. I do what
I do, Devon does what he does and that's what a team does.
When you're dealing with
Team Alexander, that's what you're dealing with, a team. Yeah, we all
know fight night Devon has got to go in the ring and fight. That's his
job. My job is to handle everything outside the ring, make sure he gets
in position to get great opportunities, make sure his career stays
relevant, all this type of stuff.
And this is a business as
well as it's boxing. So, America has just got to understand the
business aspect of boxing. But, look, in the last few months I promoted
Randall Bailey more than he's been promoted in his whole 16-year
career, so he should be a little more thankful and grateful.
Q
Lastly, the question about his back.
K. Cunningham
Oh, sorry. Come on, man.
Look, the man just told you he was off resting for two weeks after the
injury. He was on Twitter on Monday after the fight. The fight was
scheduled September the 8th. On that Monday he's on Twitter talking
about he's in the gym working hard and he's feeling good.
So, I mean, he needs to get
it together, bro. I mean if you were injured, you're injured. Stuff
happens, but if you're on Twitter talking about you're in the gym
working hard on Monday, the Monday following the fight, I mean were you
on bed rest for two weeks or were you in the gym like you Tweeted? You
tell me.
Q
Randall, do you have any retort to all this that they're talking about?
Bailey
Kevin must have eyes
everywhere because he just knows so much. He just knows everything.
You can't tell Kevin anything. Kevin is like a cartoon in his own show.
Q
Thank you very much.
Randall, that was very funny about the cartoon. But my question for
you, with this fight, is your back now, even though you were just
talking about the couple of weeks off, is it 100% right now?
Bailey
I'm good right now. My sparring and everything went well. I did my last day yesterday and I'm good.
Q
Do you feel like in the
fight that you're going to have to be a little bit more active? I saw
your fight. I was at your fight with Mike Jones. You scored a great
knockout. You basically landed two great punches in the fight, one that
knocked him down and one that knocked him out.
The way that Devon seems to
fight with his style, I guess, that you might have to have a little bit
more punch output and a little bit more activity to do what you have to
do against him. Do you feel like you need to be more active when
you're in the ring with Devon Alexander?
Bailey
I keep telling everybody
that Devon is not the same size as Mike Jones. They've got Mike Jones
linked at six feet. He's at least six one and a half. He's very hard to
reach. Devon is smaller than me. He's not going to be hard for me to
find. And this is what they don't understand.
Q
Okay. Devon, what's your reaction to what Randall just said?
Cunningham
October 20th they will definitely see.
Q
Okay. Devon, do you have any remark about what Randall just said, comparing your size to Mike Jones' size?
Alexander
I don't see where size
matters in boxing. Koto was smaller than you, Urango was smaller than
you. You fought a lot of guys smaller than you, so I don't see-
Bailey
You're smaller than me, too. I'm going to show you what a big man do to a small man.
Alexander
Oh, okay. But I just don't see-
Bailey
No, no, no, cat doesn't have your tongue. Keep talking, don't stutter.
Q
Randall, let him answer the question.
Bailey
Damn, you're slow.
Alexander
I don't see what size has
to do with boxing. I could be two feet and still come in there and do
what I've got to do and win the fight, so I don't see what he's trying
to say or what he's trying to come up with. I'm going to put it like
this. It doesn't matter what Randall Bailey is coming to do, and it
doesn't matter what he's coming to do, what he's put out, what I have
either.
It's about what I'm going
to do to him. I'm going to implement what I'm going to do and we'll
come out of there with the IBF title. That's the name of the game.
Q
Devon, let me ask you this;
when you hear the talk that goes on between Kevin and Randall, you've
had your say, but Kevin is, obviously, an outspoken person and him and
Randall have been engaging, not only in this promotion building up to
October 20th, but before the fight was postponed the last time it was
scheduled, do you sit back and just kind of laugh because you and Kevin
have such different personalities, do you just sort of sit back and kind
of are amused by the whole thing?
Alexander
Yes, it's definitely is
funny, but my coach, he definitely knows what he's doing and I'm
definitely with him 100%. So, it's definitely entertaining and, like he
said, this is boxing, this is the entertainment field and you've got to
entertain people, you've got to make people want to see the fight. So,
like my coach, he did a great job promoting the fight, people want to
see the fight now because of the trash talking. And I love it because
he's part of my team so I don't mind it.
Q
One other question for both
of you guys. This fight was the main event on Showtime, that was
supposed to be a few weeks ago, now even though the fight is still
happening and the people would like to see it, you're moving on to an
undercard so maybe it's not going to get as much attention if it was the
main event, I think that's fair to say.
Do you have an opinion
about or a thought about not being the main event anymore or does it not
make a difference to either of you guys? Randall, maybe you can start.
Bailey
It don't make a difference to me, it don't make a difference to me.
Q
Okay, short and to the point. And, Devon?
Alexander
Everybody's got their own
job to do. Of course, with me being the lead fighter I definitely want
to be main event all the time, but sometimes you've got to do what
you've got to do. The fight was scheduled for September, but now it's
October so we've got to get on this card. Everything happens for a
reason, so we're not going to worry about that. We're just going to go
in there and do what we've got to do.
Diaz
I just want to remind
everybody this is four world title fights. Any of these fights could be
a main event. You've got eight great fighters fighting for a world
title, so any fight here on this card could be a main event.
Q
Devon, it was just
mentioned you being in a main event last month and to know being
basically the fight that opens up the show. Does that give you more
motivation to try to take this title next Saturday night?
Alexander
I'm already motivated. I'm
already motivated and it does motivate me to go in there and even put
on a more spectacular performance. But, like I said, in the last
question everything happens for a reason. I'm used to being on top, the
top bill, main event, but, hey, this is what happened. When a fight
falls off and you're put on somebody else's card or whatever, so I'm
okay with that. I've just got to do what I've got to do and get back to
where I feel comfortable at, which is main event.
Q
Let me ask you this, you've
been looking real strong at 47 the last two fights. Do you feel as
though 47 is the best class for you compared to how you was at 40?
Alexander
Indeed, definitely indeed.
Like everybody knows I was able to make 140 and now 147, I've got all
my power, all my legs, all my energy back and it's going to be trouble
for whoever I fight at 147 because it's a different Devon Alexander, so
it's going to be trouble for anybody.
Q
Randall, let me ask you
this. I know you had trouble with your back, but I have to mention
Devon is a smaller fighter. Do you feel as though your size is going to
complement you better going into the fight next week?
Bailey
Definitely. I don't know
what they're talking about. Even in the Marcos Maidana he was barely
making it. I'm going to show these fools.
Q
What's your response to that, Devon?
Alexander
Well, response to what? I don't even know what he said.
Q
He's basically saying that even in the Maidana fight you barely made 47, so do you think it will be difficult for you--
Bailey
Actually I was saying even
in the later rounds of that fight he wasn't doing as much and, in fact,
Maidana was really keying off on him and he wasn't the one controlling
the fight in the end.
Alexander
Did you see in the last round I did the shuffle?
Bailey
Yes, I saw that fight. I did see that fight. You watch it again.
Q
Hi, Devon. You've been in
the ring with some pretty big punchers and, obviously, you're going to
be in the ring with another big puncher on the 20th. Can you tell me,
of all your fights, who would you say is the hardest that you've eve
been hit by and by who?
Alexander
Well, I plan my boxing
career on not to get hit often. This is boxing, you're going to get
hit, but I... myself not to get hit as often. But if I was to say the
hardest puncher I faced, it would have been Matthysse.
Q
Lucas Matthysse?
Alexander
Yes.
Q
Did he ever hurt you in the fight? Do you feel you've ever been hurt in a professional fight?
Alexander
Not at all, not at all
because in boxing you've got to be alert and you've got to know what
you're doing in there and I don't think I have ever been hurt. Of
course, I get collar punches or whatever, but nothing to say oh man,
wow, so not at all.
Swanson
Okay. So, if everybody
could stand by and we're going to go ahead and thank Randall and Devon
for joining us. If we have any last comments from either one of you or
you want to go ahead and get back to training, that's fine. So, Randall,
any last minute thoughts there?
Bailey
Thank you all for having me and I look forward to October 20th.
Alexander
Again, thanks for having me. I'm excited about being in Brooklyn to be crowned the new IBF Champion, so I'm excited.
World
championship boxing returns to Brooklyn with an inaugural night of
fights at the new Barclays Center on October 20 headlined by Unified
Super Lightweight World Champion Danny "Swift" Garcia against future
Hall of Famer Erik "El Terrible" Morales presented by Golden Boy
Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona,
DeWalt Tools and AT&T. In the co-featured attractions, Brooklyn's
own Paulie "Magic Man" Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World
Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar "El Demoledor"
Cano, undefeated number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter "Kid
Chocolate" Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N'Dam for
N'Dam's WBO Middleweight World Championship and Devon Alexander "The
Great" faces Randall Bailey for Bailey's IBF Welterweight World
Championship in a bout presented in association with DiBella
Entertainment. The SHOWTIME® CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live
at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will
air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on
the West Coast).
.
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