The International Boxing Federation (IBF) Welterweight World Championship bout between Devon Alexander and Randall Bailey has been added to boxing’s debut event at Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center on Saturday, October 20. An already star-studded fight card now features four compelling world championship bouts with titlists in the 140, 147 and 160-pound divisions defending their belts. An undercard featuring the most promising and talented New York fighters rounds out a historic night as world championship boxing returns to Brooklyn for the first time since 1931.
Alexander vs. Bailey, a 12-round bout for Bailey’s IBF Welterweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella Entertainment and will be part of an unprecedented four-title-fight telecast on SHOWTIME. The fight was originally slated for Saturday, Sept. 8 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, but was postponed when Bailey suffered a back injury.
“We are thrilled to not only be re-announcing this hard-hitting match-up, but also to be able to add it to the already powerful night of boxing planned for Barclays Center on October 20,” said Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions. “With four world championship fights and a great undercard to kick off a new era of boxing in Brooklyn, this show is going to be like the Super Bowl of boxing and definitely will be a night to remember.”
“I really didn’t think the Barclays Center event could get any bigger, but that is exactly what has happened,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®. “It’s been our strategy at Showtime to increase the quality and the quantity of our boxing coverage. For this network to televise four title fights on one night, not on pay-per-view, demonstrates the commitment we’ve made to our subscribers and to boxing fans. Thanks to the promoters and to Devon and Randall for bringing this fourth fight to the table. What a special night this will be for these talented fighters, for Brooklyn and for the sport of boxing.”
“We are extremely excited to be apart of this boxing extravaganza,” said Kevin Cunningham, CEO of The Great Promotions. “Brooklyn has produced some of boxing’s biggest stars, so it’s an honor to get this opportunity.”
“Randall is the hardest puncher in boxing and he is a true champion,” said Lou DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment. “If Devon Alexander wants his belt, he is going to have to take it and withstand the hardest right hand in the sport.”
“A night of this magnitude is made for Brooklyn,” said Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark. “Barclays Center is launching its first boxing event with an unprecedented four-title-fights in one night. Brooklyn has raised some of the greatest world championship fighters and it deserves an event of this caliber.”
Devon Alexander “The Great” (23-1, 13 KO’s), no stranger to facing and beating powerful knockout artists as evidenced by his last two wins coming against current World Champion Lucas Matthysse and former World Champion Marcos Maidana, has the skill and will to baffle any opponent he faces. An eight-year professional who held both the World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Lightweight and IBF Junior Welterweight World Titles before losing them via a controversial and close technical decision to Timothy Bradley in 2011, the proud 25-year-old St. Louis native has since reinvented himself at 147 pounds. After his big wins over two of Argentina’s best in Maidana (W10) and Matthysse (W 10), Alexander is looking forward to proving himself once again by beating Bailey and becoming a two-division world champion.
“The opportunity to be a part of this piece of boxing history means a lot to me,” said Alexander. “Randall Bailey and I have some unfinished business and I plan on starting the night off right for all of the fans watching at the new Barclays Center and at home on SHOWTIME. I am going to walk away as the IBF Welterweight World Champion on October 20.”
A veteran of more than 16 years in the professional game, Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KO’s) has not slowed down a bit at age 37. In fact, if his recent one-punch knockout of previously unbeaten Mike Jones in June is any indication, he may be more powerful than ever. The Miami resident has always had a gift for blasting out anyone who stood in his line of fire. Bailey utilized his trademark power to claim his first world title in 1999 when he knocked out Carlos Gonzalez for the WBO Junior Welterweight World Championship in just 41 seconds. In 2002, Bailey won a second title by knocking out Demetrio Ceballos, but his victory over Jones earlier this year for the IBF Welterweight crown, which extended his unbeaten streak to five in a row, may have been the sweetest win yet. Now, he looks to defend that title for the first time on October 20, in Brooklyn.
“I am so happy to be able to get back in the gym and continue to train,” said Bailey. “At my age you can’t take anything for granted and injuries are harder to overcome, but I am totally healed and ready to shock the world again by beating another young fighter like Devon Alexander. I said I would knock Devon Alexander out before and I am going to say it again. It’s going to be a great fight.”
In the evening’s main event, unbeaten Danny “Swift” Garcia defends his World Boxing Association (WBA) Super, WBC & Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Championships as he rematches with legendary Mexican warrior and future Hall of Famer Erik “El Terrible” Morales. In the evening’s other co-featured bouts, also to be televised live on SHOWTIME, Brooklyn’s own Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi puts his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against hard-hitting Pablo Cesar “El Demoledor” Cano and undefeated, number one rated WBO middleweight contender Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin of Manhattan takes on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam in a 12-round battle for N’Dam’s WBO Middleweight World Championship.
The undercard is stacked with a bevy of New York’s best including Brooklyn’s hot middleweight prospect Daniel “The Golden Child” Jacobs, former World Champion Luis Collazo, the Bronx’s rising star Eddie Gomez, former world title contender Dmitriy Salita and Brooklyn prospect Boyd Melson.
The fights will mark the first event of the previously announced deal between Barclays Center and Golden Boy Promotions under which at least 12 boxing events per year will be hosted at the new sports and entertainment venue.
The inaugural night of fights at Barclays Center is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Box Latino and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona, DeWalt Tools and AT&T with N’Dam vs. Quillin being presented in association with Asventure Promotion and Alexander vs. Bailey being presented in association with The Great Promotions and DiBella Entertainment. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 are on sale now and available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.
