Between Fighters: Alexander and Kotelnik
When Devon Alexander put his light welterweight titles on the line against Andreas Kotelnik on August 7, 2010, he will be auditioning for possible fights in the future against either WBA Light Welterweight champion Amir Khan or the undefeated WBO Light Welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. The fight will take place in Alexander’s hometown in St. Louis, and with a bright future at stake for the hometown kid, Alexander looks to put on a spectacular show on August 7, increasing his status even further and his chances for a showdown with one of the other elite fighters in the division.
Devon Alexander, also known as “Alexander the Great,” is the current undefeated WBC and IBF Light Welterweight champion. Alexander grew up on tough streets of St. Louis, and turned professional at the age of seventeen years old. Alexander the Great is a sharp, fast fighter, showcasing an elusive but increasingly powerful style that allows him to throw precise counter-punches and move out of harm’s way. He has victories over fighters such as Demarcus “Chop-Chop” Corley, Junior Witter and most impressively, his stoppage win over Juan Urango.
Alexander faced off against Juan Urango in his last fight back in March of this year. Alexander proved to be Great in this fight when he used his skills to outclass Urango by knocking him down twice in the fight, first with an uppercut and then with a hook, which finished Urango in round eight, handing the tough fighter the first KO loss of his career.
Andreas “Kotelya” Kotelnik is the former WBA Light Welterweight champion. As an amateur, the Ukrainian boxer won a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics and turned professional the same year. Kotelnik has a notable victory over Marcos Maidana. Andreas is a defensive fighter who will throw out the jab every chance he gets as a fighter is coming in on him, hoping to catch his opponent before his defense gets blown through.
In Kotelnik’s last fight, he was blitzed and blanketed by Amir Khan’s superior speed, size and combinations. Kotelnik tried to catch Khan coming in, but to no avail. Khan dominated Kotelnik for most of the fight, which resulted in Khan taking away the WBA Light Welterweight title.
On August 7, 2010, Devon “Alexander the Great” Alexander and Andreas “Kotelya” Kotelnik will bring their different counter-punching styles together in a championship showdown that can be a bang or bust deal for boxing fans.
Kotelnik has come to a crossroad in his career, and knows he needs to win in Alexander the Great’s hometown. If Kotelnik loses, he may not get another meaningful fight in the light welterweight division.
With the deceptive counter-punching style of Kotelnik, and the quick, elusive fighting style of Alexander, the fight on August 7 may be one that will rely on one of these two fighters to step out of their comfort zone and take on the aggressor role in order for the fight to produce interest for fans to watch.
Alexander the Great has everything to gain with yet another win in front of his hometown crowd on. With a win over Kotelnik, Alexander – already recognized as the number 2 junior welterweight boxer on the planet, will be in more of a spot to dictate the terms and force a fighter like Bradley into a huge fight in the 140 weight class for his next fight, but if Devon looks too spectacular against Kotelnik on August 7, there may not be many elite 140 pound fighters with their hands raised to fight him.
