Three Punch Combo: The Unlikely Comeback of Vaughn Alexander and More

THREE PUNCH COMBO — Vaughn Alexander (12-0, 8 KO’s) turned pro in 2004 and was once considered a very promising prospect. He was featured in his early fighting days on the undercard of several high profile events including Roy Jones Jr-Antonio Tarver II and Felix Trinidad-Ricardo Mayorga. After coming out victorious on the Trinidad-Mayorga undercard, Alexander moved his record to 5-0 with 4 knockouts and seemed destined to one day be headlining big cards.

However, an armed robbery conviction stemming from an incident in December of 2004 put Alexander behind bars. An ill-fated escape attempt shortly after the conviction set him back further. Alexander was set to do 18 years in prison and his boxing career seemed to have come to an end.

Alexander would serve 11 of those 18 years. Released in March of 2016, he decided to resume his boxing career and would eventually sign with promoter Main Events. Alexander, now 32, is 7-0 in this comeback which continues this coming week against Dennis Douglin on the Sergey Kovalev-Eleider Alvarez undercard in Atlantic City.

Main Events has wisely been taking it slow with Alexander. They stepped up the competition in his last two fights which were against Elvin Ayala and Devaun Lee. Alexander had some tough moments in those contests but came out on top. He now takes another mild step up in facing Douglin (20-6, 13 KOs) who gave current 168-pound title holder David Benavidez a mild test a few years ago.

Alexander, the brother of former welterweight champion Devon Alexander, fights in an aggressive manner looking to use the jab to get into range to unload combinations. He has fairly heavy hands though he does not exhibit one punch knockout power. His hand speed and athleticism are average at best, and defense is certainly not a strong suit. At this point in his comeback, Alexander seems like a guy who could make for some entertaining fights given his style but it is difficult to envision him being competitive with the better fighters at 160 or 168 pounds.

The comeback of Vaughn Alexander is a fascinating story. How far can he go? My guess is with his back story and style he will at the very least get a shot at a big name opponent.

Under The Radar Fight Results

Not all fights in this sport receive the press coverage they deserve. This past weekend, there was an excellent card in China headlined by a pair of intriguing world title fights that fell under the radar.

Sho Kimura (17-1-2, 10 KO’s) made the third successful defense of the flyweight title he wrestled from Zou Shiming last year in knocking out Froilan Saludar (28-3-1, 19 KO’s) in round six of their scheduled 12-round fight.

Kimura, a pressure fighter, got off to a slow start but began to pick up the pace beginning in round three. His pressure and body attack in that round started to take away the movement of Saludar who up to that point had been out-boxing Kimura. With Saludar a more stationary target than he was in the first few rounds and also showing signs of tiring, Kimura took over the fight in the middle rounds, raking the challenger with hard combinations both upstairs and downstairs. In round five, a left hook to the body put Saludar on the canvas for the first time. The pressure from Kimura continued into round six when another left hook downstairs put Saludar down for a second time. This time Saludar would not make it to his feet.

Also on the card, Knockout CP Freshmart (18-0, 7 KO’s) successfully defended his 105-pound title with a unanimous twelve round decision against former 105-pound champion Chaozhong Xiong (27-8-1, 14 KO’s). It was a masterful boxing performance by Freshmart (aka Thammanoon Niyomtrong) who used a well-timed jab and skilled sharp counterpunching with both hands to control the fight. Xiong seemed perplexed throughout the fight and unwilling to let his hands go as when he did so he often ate sharp counters from Freshmart.

In round seven, Xiong landed his best punch which was a hard counter right to the temple of Freshmart. However, Freshmart absorbed the punch well. Xiong did not come close to landing anything more substantive after that moment and Freshmart coasted down the stretch in what was a dominant effort.

Under The Radar Fights

It is another busy week in the sport with televised cards on Bounce TV, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports and HBO. With so many fights on tap, there are bound to be a few that are flying deep under the radar.

On the undercard of the Devon Alexander-Andre Berto welterweight fight on Fox on Saturday, former middleweight champion Peter Quillin (33-1-1, 23 KO’s) takes on J’Leon Love (24-1-1, 13 KO’s) in a high stakes crossroads fight in the 168-pound division. Both Quillin and Love were once highly touted fighters. However, they each suffered a devastating knockout loss and have yet to get their respective careers back on track. Now they face each other with the winner poised to get back into title contention.

Once known for his hand speed, athleticism and heavy handed power, Quillin was stopped by WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs in the first round of their highly anticipated title fight in December of 2015. Since that loss, Quillin has had only one fight, winning an eight round decision over journeyman Dashon Johnson.

Love was also once considered a top prospect. But he suffered a shocking knockout loss to Rogelio Medina in August of 2014. Since then, Love is 6-0-1 but has faced vastly inferior opposition.

The match is fascinating as both combatants were once promising fighters who now face a ton of questions following a bad defeat. With Quillin there is the added question of whether he can carry his power north to 168. Quillin vs. Love is an evenly matched fight on paper and should be a solid entertaining contest.

Prior to the main show on Fox, Fox Sports 2 will televise some of the preliminary action. One fight that has piqued my interest is the welterweight contest between southpaws Luis Collazo (37-7, 20 KO’s) and Bryant Perrella (15-1, 13 KO’s).

Collazo has been the ultimate gatekeeper at welterweight for years and is coming off yet another upset win when he stopped Sammy Vasquez. However, that fight took place in February of 2017 and Collazo has been inactive since then.

In Perrella, Collazo is facing yet another opponent looking to leap up the rankings. As his record indicates, Perrella is a power puncher with thunder in both fists. He is also a natural counterpuncher. Perrella himself was once a very highly touted prospect but a knockout loss to Yordenis Ugas in September of 2016 put the brakes on his ascent up the ladder.

A win against Collazo would go a long way in getting Perrella back in line for a big fight in a loaded welterweight division. However, it won’t be easy. I anticipate a competitive back-and-forth type fight with plenty of action as well as drama.

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