Al Haymon wants you to know he is not playing. No for real, he’s not playing.
Yesterday his Premier Boxing Champions held the Gerald Washington vs. Amir Mansour fight that resulted in a split decision draw, and tonight they return with more action.
Not long ago, Devon Alexander was a two-time world champion who boasted a 25-1 record and a growing reputation as a dominating force in the 147-pound division. But after dropping two of his last three decisions, the St. Louis native now finds himself at a bit of a career crossroads.
Alexander (26-3, 14 KOs) will begin trying to rebuild his reputation when he takes on Aron Martinez in a scheduled 10-round PBC bout from Glendale, Arizona.
Alexander, who won titles at 140 and 147 pounds, will be returning to the ring for first time since December when he ended up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision against Amir Khan in Las Vegas. The 5-foot-9 southpaws only other fight last year was a 10-round unanimous-decision victory over Jesus Soto Karass in June.
That triumph came six months after Alexander, 28, was dethroned as 147-pound champ, losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Shawn Porter.
Im very excited to return to the ring, and Im anxious to show people that Im still an elite fighter, Alexander said. This is a huge opportunity to be on prime time, and Im going to make sure everything is in order at camp so Im there 100 percent mentally and physically on fight night.
Like Alexander, Martinez (19-4-1) enjoyed a very successful start to his career, only to fall into a bit of a funk lately.
The Mexico-born, Los Angeles-based fighter started out 18-1-1, but has dropped three of his last four contests. Most recently, the 33-year-old Martinez suffered a narrow 10-round, split-decision loss to Robert Guerrero on June 6.
That came on the heels of a five-round TKO loss to Josesito Lopez in April 2014. Martinez has just one victoryan eight-round majority-decision win over Alberto Herrerasince mid-2012.
Im very grateful for this opportunity to fight on such a big stage against a great fighter in Devon Alexander, Martinez said. Arizona has a huge Mexican boxing community, and I look forward to the support from their terrific fans.
Catch the action tonight live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
