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Former WBC and IBF Light Welterweight champion Devon Alexander hopes to bounce back from his December 7, 2013 loss to Shawn Porter on June 21 at the Stub hub Center in Carson, California. But Alexander won’t only be fighting for a win over Mexican warrior Jesus Soto Karas, he will be fighting to get credit as one of the best fighters in the world.
A Statement Fight
Alexander has called the Soto Karas bout a “statement fight” because there has always been skepticism in his victories, especially in his wins over top caliber fighters. He believes that he has never gotten any credit for any of those victories and that there have been “a lot of excuses” instead of “praises”. Alexander though, believes that the “greats don’t get the credit that they deserve until they die.”
Alexander says that he just has to continue to fight at his best and stay on top of his game. Devon handles all the negativity by surrounding himself with people who motivate him and those who believe that he is “one of the best out there”. He said that he just needs to win more in order to counter the criticisms and prove all of his detractors wrong.
Loaded Resume
But despite all the issues surrounding his biggest victories, there is no denying that Devon Alexander’s fight resume is loaded with former world champions. In fact, Alexander has fought seven present or former world champions in his last nine fights, losing only two of them to Timothy Bradley and Shawn Porter. Two of those victorious fights have been back to back decision victories over top Argentinian sluggers Lucas Matthysse in 2011 and Marcos Maidana in 2012.
Among Alexander’s notable victories were against DeMarcus Corley, John Urango and Andreas Kotelnik. Against Jesus Soto Karas, he will be facing a one-time title contender seeking another run at a world title.
Dreaming of a Title
Although Soto Karas has been involved in a lot of big fights, he’s always ended up in the losing side of those bouts. But Soto Karas has been in a win streak as of late, winning four out of his last six bouts. Last year, he came up with the biggest win of his career when he knocked out Andre Berto in the 12th round of their NABF Welterweight title bout. His last two losses were knockouts suffered at the hands of Marcos Maidana and Keith Thurman. The bout against Thurman was for the interim WBA Welterweight title.
Although he is the underdog in the June 21 bout, Soto Karas relishes that role which he has played most of his career. Soto Karas says that the Alexander will be a tough one for him because he’s always struggled when fighting southpaws. Although Soto Karas still dreams to win a world title one day he’s decided to take it one fight at a time. He believes that if it’s God’s plan for him to be a world champion, it will happen. But otherwise, he’s thankful for what boxing has done for his life. For now, he says his main motivation is to give the fans another great fight come June 21.
So will it be Alexander’s recognition or Soto Karas’ dream? We’ll find out on June 21.
