Junior Welterweight Unification Bout Between Devon Alexander and Juan Urango
On Saturday, March 6th in a fight to be broadcast live on HBO, undefeated WBC Light Welterweight Champion Devon Alexander will face IBF Champion Juan Urango in a unification match. Urango and Alexander are #6 and #8 in the 140 lbs. rankings, so the winner of this bout will instantly vault into the upper reaches of the division.
Alexander vs. Urango Preview – Meet the Fighters
Devon Alexander (19-0 with 12 KOs)
5’7″ with 71″ reach, southpaw, 23 years old
WBC Light Welterweight Champion
American
Devon Alexander is young, fast, talented and confident. What he is lacking in is experience. He took a good step up by beating Junior Witter to win the WBC’s green strap. Alexander was winning handily and leading on all cards by a good margin when Witter quit, complaining of a hand injury. However, his only other “name opponent” was Washington, D.C.’s DeMarcus Corley, who was clearly shopworn by then. Indeed, Corley had already been beaten a year and a half before by none other than Junior Witter! So, Devon Alexander’s big fight experience is very limited.
Juan Urango (22-2-1 with 17 KOs)
5’7″ with 71″ reach, southpaw, 29 years old
IBF Light Welterweight Champion
Colombian
Urango is a come-forward, all-action swarmer. His main assets are his high work rate and his solid chin. Although he has a decent pop, “The Iron Twin” is not the kind of fighter who knocks guys out with single blows. Instead, he wins by putting a grinding barrage of hurt down on his opponents. This was enough to stop Randall Bailey, a feat previously only accomplished several years before by Miguel Cotto and Diosbelys Hurtado.
Juan Urango’s two losses are nothing to sneer at. He hung in there with Ricky Hatton back when Ricky Hatton was the most feared thing in the 140 lbs. division. That was a simple case of Urango meeting someone who was better than he was at his own game plan. He then moved up in weight and took on Andre Berto, with predictable results. Berto was both the bigger man and the faster, slicker boxer, so Urango dropped a lopsided points decision.
Alexander vs. Urango Prediction & Analysis
Both men are the same size, southpaws and can fight all night, so this essentially comes down to the bull vs. the matador. If Alexander uses his mobility to stymie Urango’s aggression, he will box his way to a clean unanimous decision. Urango won’t stop trying, but he is no knockout artist and he lacks the footwork to cut the ring off reliably against a fellow southpaw. There is always the possibility that Urango will draw the still-green Alexander into a brawl, but that is unlikely.
Alexander UD 12
Undercard
Fighting on the undercard, IBF Light Middleweight Champion Cory Spinks defends his title against fringe contender Cornelius Bundrage of The Contender fame. Spinks should have few problems out-pointing the game, but limited Bundrage.
Check back in after the event for updated junior welterweight division rankings to see how far the winner of the Devon Alexander vs. Juan Urango bout jumps up in the division.
