Things have gotten heated between Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey, after Bailey withdrew from their previously scheduled fight citing injury, and Kevin Cunningham, Bailey’s trainer, called BS and promised to basically punish him for that move. Well, Alexander vs. Bailey is coming up in just over a week’s time now, and the two men and their teams got together for a media conference call to discuss the fight, their preparations and their plans. Take a look right here.
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.
