Hopefully, Alexander And Urango Will Show As Much Fire As Don King

He will be 79 years old in August, and Don King's presence in our fair sport will not last forever. Sad to say, I know, for King has been a welcome presence for keyboard tappers since the 70s; the high-haired one makes good copy, once you are done running to Wikipedia and deciphering the myriad references to rulers of centuries past, and Teutonic philosophers and the like which typically pop up during a King press conference oratory.

But we've all noticed that the Don hasn't been as active in the last couple of years. His roster, of fighters and DKP personnel, has shriveled, and so we try and make the effort to soak in this one-of-a-kind specimen when he makes one of his now-less-frequent forays into the pugilistic promotional scene.

DK did his thing recently talking up one of the remaining bright spots on his thing roster, Devon “The Great” Alexander, and we're happy to report that King isn't wheelchairing his way into the shadows like another blustery magnate, George Steinbrenner, whose failing faculties are covered up by a slick PR staff. Nope, King artfully and spiritedly broke down the March 6 140 pound title consolidation scrap between Alexander, the WBC champ, and Juan Urango, the IBF junior welter titlist.

After Alexander, the 23-year-old St. Louis hitter with a 19-0 (12 KOs) mark, and Urango (22-2-1, with 17 KOs), the 29-year-old Colombian bruiser, offered some God talk, and exceedingly polite banter, King brought us back to reality.

“We want to go in there and beat the guy,” King said after Urango wished God's blessing on his foe, and Alexander wished his opponent the best.  “We don't wish him no good luck, we don't wish him nothing, you know, nothing but hardship, aches and pains and headaches and stomachaches and cracked rib cages, you know what I mean?  That's what we want.  And then, we can talk about the healing process on the 7th.”

Amen, brother Don. DK's still crystal clear mentally, still knows what sells fights, that benevolence and sportsmanship is all well and good post-bout, after the punches, sweat and blood have been traded, but on a conference call, a little spark of antagonism is preferable.

King most likely broke into a grin when he heard Alexander's trainer, Kevin Cunningham, bring the feisty to Urango's guide, Pete Fernandez, after Fernandez chided Cunningham for talking smack. “What do you mean I don't need to be asking questions about any–we on a conference call, man.  I mean, is this your first conference call or something?  What are you talking about?”

Fernandez indeed showed more spice than Urango, who in fact admitted he wasn't all that geared up when he stepped up to 147 for a crack at Andre Berto's WBC crown last year. “What business of yours what his remark was about when he fought Berto?” Fernandez said to Cunningham.  “Berto's in the past, man.  You know, worry about March 6th, what's coming–what's ahead of you.”

Cunningham settled that spat, in his mind, when he finished with, “This dude's a clown.”

The southpaw vs southpaw clash will be shown on HBO, and will unfold at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. No word on whether King will be able to convince Cunningham and Fernandez to glove up in a prelim…

TSS-EM thinks there will be times in the fight when Devon questions his nickname, and wonders if he's bitten off more than he'd can chew, but that his agility, and hand speed, and ability to keep Urango on the end of his punches, will earn him a decision.

And TSS-EM also thinks that both fighters can learn from the Don, who is still clear-headed on his job: sell the fight, and make us all that much more curious to see what will go down on March 6 in Connecticut. His fastball may not sizzle as much as it did back in the day, but he can still rear back and deliver the pill with more zest than most can muster.He will be 79 years old in August, and Don King's presence in our fair sport will not last forever. Sad to say, I know, for King has been a welcome presence for keyboard tappers since the 70s; the high-haired one makes good copy, once you are done running to Wikipedia and deciphering the myriad references to rulers of centuries past, and Teutonic philosophers and the like which typically pop up during a King press conference oratory.

But we've all noticed that the Don hasn't been as active in the last couple of years. His roster, of fighters and DKP personnel, has shriveled, and so we try and make the effort to soak in this one-of-a-kind specimen when he makes one of his now-less-frequent forays into the pugilistic promotional scene.

DK did his thing recently talking up one of the remaining bright spots on his thing roster, Devon “The Great” Alexander, and we're happy to report that King isn't wheelchairing his way into the shadows like another blustery magnate, George Steinbrenner, whose failing faculties are covered up by a slick PR staff. Nope, King artfully and spiritedly broke down the March 6 140 pound title consolidation scrap between Alexander, the WBC champ, and Juan Urango, the IBF junior welter titlist.

After Alexander, the 23-year-old St. Louis hitter with a 19-0 (12 KOs) mark, and Urango (22-2-1, with 17 KOs), the 29-year-old Colombian bruiser, offered some God talk, and exceedingly polite banter, King brought us back to reality.

“We want to go in there and beat the guy,” King said after Urango wished God's blessing on his foe, and Alexander wished his opponent the best.  “We don't wish him no good luck, we don't wish him nothing, you know, nothing but hardship, aches and pains and headaches and stomachaches and cracked rib cages, you know what I mean?  That's what we want.  And then, we can talk about the healing process on the 7th.”

Amen, brother Don. DK's still crystal clear mentally, still knows what sells fights, that benevolence and sportsmanship is all well and good post-bout, after the punches, sweat and blood have been traded, but on a conference call, a little spark of antagonism is preferable.

King most likely broke into a grin when he heard Alexander's trainer, Kevin Cunningham, bring the feisty to Urango's guide, Pete Fernandez, after Fernandez chided Cunningham for talking smack. “What do you mean I don't need to be asking questions about any–we on a conference call, man.  I mean, is this your first conference call or something?  What are you talking about?”

Fernandez indeed showed more spice than Urango, who in fact admitted he wasn't all that geared up when he stepped up to 147 for a crack at Andre Berto's WBC crown last year. “What business of yours what his remark was about when he fought Berto?” Fernandez said to Cunningham.  “Berto's in the past, man.  You know, worry about March 6th, what's coming–what's ahead of you.”

Cunningham settled that spat, in his mind, when he finished with, “This dude's a clown.”

The southpaw vs southpaw clash will be shown on HBO, and will unfold at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. No word on whether King will be able to convince Cunningham and Fernandez to glove up in a prelim…

TSS-EM thinks there will be times in the fight when Devon questions his nickname, and wonders if he's bitten off more than he'd can chew, but that his agility, and hand speed, and ability to keep Urango on the end of his punches, will earn him a decision.

And TSS-EM also thinks that both fighters can learn from the Don, who is still clear-headed on his job: sell the fight, and make us all that much more curious to see what will go down on March 6 in Connecticut. His fastball may not sizzle as much as it did back in the day, but he can still rear back and deliver the pill with more zest than most can muster.