Devon Alexander: “Bradley Feels Threatened By Me”

Devon Alexander: “He said he wasn’t trying to avoid me but here’s the facts. He gave up the WBC – I won the WBC. But he gave up the WBC because he said I wasn’t a big enough draw. So I won the WBC. Then he say he don’t want to fight me because I wasn’t a big enough name. So I unified the titles. Then he said he wanted to let it marinate. So we let it marinate now. So he clearly didn’t want to fight me. I think HBO kind of forced this fight on him because this is a fight that the fans want to see. And that’s why we fighting.”

BoxingInsider.com: Do you feel you gain a mental edge over him from him showing that reluctance, which will help you in the fight?

Devon Alexander: “Yeah, yeah [smiles]. I don’t think he has – if you know something I don’t – he hasn’t fought a slick southpaw. He hasn’t fought any southpaws at the top level that he’s at now. So I know – I think he knows that and tried to avoid me.”

BoxingInsider.com: How do you explain the last performance vs. Kotelnik, it was a little disappointing by Devon Alexander standards. Is that an example of a very good fighter being brought down by a mediocre fight, like Holyfield vs. Czyz?

Devon Alexander: “Yeah. I think people say you are as good as your last fight. And people measure my last fight off that Kotelnik fight. They’re not attributing off my fights beforehand. I just gotta go out there and do what I do. I know in my heart it was an off night. And I gotta show people again. People thought I was too young for Urango. People thought I was too young for Junior Witter. So I gotta show people again why I am in the position that I’m in.”

BoxingInsider.com: Of all your fights, what do you think was your finest performance, where you showed the best of Devon Alexander?

Devon Alexander: “I haven’t. I haven’t shown my best. The thing is, I’m still 23-years-old and I’m still learning, so the best is not my best. You can say I have a highlight of my career but the best – it hasn’t come yet.”

BoxingInsider.com: Talk about Tim Bradley and what skills he brings.

Devon Alexander: “He just throws punches, he never throws straight punches with his arms. He’s gonna come ready for 12 rounds, he’s gonna come prepared for 12 rounds. I have to be ready to go 15 rounds. That’s the only thing I see that he’s gonna bring to the table. Holt was gonna give it to Bradley for a minute, until he stopped. The jab was killing him and everything was on point. But after the fourth-fifth round, Bradley kept coming on and that’s why I said he’s gonna come ready to go 12 rounds. And if I’m not ready – that’s how he gets past these fights. He’s more ready than the other guy. Not that he’s better or he’s got more skills. I think Lamont Peterson got more skills than Bradley but he wasn’t ready or prepared to go 12 rounds.”

BoxingInsider.com: Kendall Holt said Bradley is a sneaky body puncher. Do you sense that?

Devon Alexander: “He does throw a lot of wide stuff like that. I don’t know. I don’t sense that.”

BoxingInsider.com: At the New York press conference, you seemed more relaxed and confident, and Tim showed glimpses of being frustrated and angry. Your comment?

Devon Alexander: “He feels threatened by me I guess. I don’t know. I’m happy, I’m ready to fight. I’m gonna do what I normally do, I’m not letting my emotions get involved. This is a fight. So I’m going in there and do what I normally do. He wants to psyche himself up and get mad and get all riled up, say he’s a beast. Put it in his head he can do this. He has to psyche himself up, (saying to himself), he can do this, and he know he got more skills than me. And that’s what he’s doing. I don’t care. I’m just gonna do what I normally do.”