Hometown hero and unified World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation 140-pound champion Devon Alexander “The Great” (20-0, 13 KOs) will be challenged by former World Boxing Association super lightweight champion Andriy Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs), from Lviv, Ukraine, and IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (20-0, 18 KOs), from Tallahassee, Fla., will meet former IBF light heavyweight champion Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson (50-13-2, 34 KOs), a Jamaican now of Miami.

A domestically non-televised third world championship will be included on the card when IBF junior middleweight champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks (37-5, 11 KOs), from St. Louis, takes on IBF mandatory challenger Cornelius “K9” Bundrage (29-4, 17 KOs), from Detroit, Mich.

The fourth championship fight, which also can only be seen live, pits another proud St. Louisan, undefeated cruiserweight contender Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne (14-0, 4 KOs), against fellow unbeaten Warren “The Hit Man” Browning (12-0-1, 8 KOs), from London, Ky., for the vacant WBC USNBC cruiserweight crown.

Tickets priced at $17.50, $35, $70, $150 and $300 are on sale at Scottrade Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or online at ticketmaster.com.  The event is being promoted by Don King Productions.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m.  The above-mentioned world championships will be televised live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT (9 p.m. CT).  Cloud vs. Johnson is presented in association with DiBella Entertainment and Warriors Boxing Promotions.

Here is what all the fighters in the four championship fights had to say on Wednesday:

Devon Alexander “The Great”: “I want to thank Don for giving me another opportunity to showcase my talent and HBO for putting me on because only the best prevail.  Kevin Cunningham is the best trainer in the world.  For the fight, all the talk is over.  When we had the first press conference I said that I was leaving to Las Vegas for camp to get ready.  Well, now I’m ready.  I’m ready.  You all want to see the rock? (flexes his freakish 15” bicep) I’m ready.”

Kevin Cunningham: “This is all a blessing.  I want to thank Don King, the greatest promoter of all time.  I want to thank Scottrade, HBO and last but not least you all, St. Louis.  We could have fought wherever, but you all make us want to fight here.  There has been a lot of talk about Devon being in these mega-fights with Kahn, Pacquiao and Mayweather, but we don’t get caught up in that.  Kotelnik is talking about coming here and taking these belts.  We are focused on the Ukrainian right now.  We don’t get distracted.  So I just want to say to everybody, whoever doesn’t have tickets, get them because you really don’t want to miss the destruction of this Russian.”

Andriy Kotelnik: “I feel very special and very fortunate to be fighting in St. Louis.  Today I can see that he is really on for this fight.  Last time we were here there were not many people but this time the room is very full.  I would like to thank Don King and HBO for making it possible for me to have the hardest match in this evening of boxing.  It is an honor for me to be in the main event when there are many superstars on this card like Cory Spinks and Glenn Johnson.  This is a great opportunity for me and for every superstar that is in this event.”

Pavel Govzman (Don King Productions consultant and translator for Govzman): “Thanks for having us and we hope to pay you all back when you come to Ukraine. You are all invited by the way, good news for you and bad news for my friends on my right (Alexander camp).  You always here the Russians are coming, but bad news for them, the Ukrainians are here.  Don’t take it personal.  We are here to take two titles back to the Ukraine.  On the night of the fight, just be fair and make sure you cheer Kotelnik like he is the best fighter in the world.”

Stacey McKinley (trainer of Kotelnik): “I am glad to be back home in St. Louis.  These two fighters are not soft.  Devon started boxing when he was 7 years old, when he was a baby, and Kotelnik when he was 6 and he went on to get a Silver Medal in the Olympics—and should have gotten the gold.  Devon has won the IBF & WBC championship.  This guy here (Alexander) has two world titles.  These guys are tough and it’s going to be a hard fight.  It’s not going to be easy for us and not easy for the guys over here.  You may think Kotelnik is from the suburbs, but he’s not from the suburbs, he’s from the salt mines, he’s from the hood, and Devon’s from the hood.  These two hood rats are going to be face-to-face.”

Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud:  “We are going to win.  We are definitely going to win.  I appreciate you all having us and we are going to put on a great show.  Don King, thank you for putting on this great card.  I am in great shape.  My style is fan-friendly.  I fight with both hands, and let’s get in on.

Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson: “St. Louis, we are going to have a great fight on the 7^th.  I want to say thank you to Don King and HBO and my manager, my trainer and my beautiful wife Julia.  You guys are going to have a beautiful night of fights.”

Cory Spinks: “I would like to thank you all for coming out and supporting us.  I would like to say congratulations to Devon on his last victory.  I watched the fight and I was very excited it came out the way it did.  It was a great knockout win, and it was a pleasure for me when I trained with Devon.  I’ve been in camp for a while and I’m ready.  I’m fighting a tough guy in Bundrage, and I know he’s going to bring his ‘A’ game.  Cory Spinks is ready for anything he brings.  Expect a spectacular performance from Cory Spinks on Saturday night.”

Buddy McGirt (new trainer of Cory Spinks): “St. Louis, you have nothing to worry about.  Cory was with Kevin Cunningham and that made my job so much easier.  Good luck to everyone up here.  One other thing: I was told St. Louis had some of the best Soul Food and I’ve been here since Monday and nobody has taken me anywhere.  SO can you help a brother out?  That’s all I ask.”

Cornelius “K9” Bundrage: “It has been a long camp for me.  This fight has been cancelled like three times.  It has been about a year and I’m really excited it is finally here.  God gave us all of this, so I feel like I’m at home even though I am here is St. Louis. Love me or hate me, come Saturday you’re going to love me, because the ‘K9’ is here GRRRRRR.”

Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne: “Saturday night is a great opportunity not only for myself but for everybody on this card.  I am privileged to be a part of four championship fights.  I trained hard and you can tell by looking at me, I look like I’ve been in a cave for the past 10 weeks.  I look at all these fighters up here and I can see that my time is coming and this is a big step to get to where I want to be.  I have a very tough opponent in this undefeated guy who is coming here to fight, and it’s going to be tough.”

Warren “The Hit Man” Browning: “Ryan is a great fighter.  I’ve seen him fight.  I love S. Louis, I love the atmosphere and I love boxing.  I’ve been here to watch fights, and it’s a great place to watch fights.  I’m 12-0.  I’m undefeated, and I’ll be undefeated and the WBC USNBC cruiserweight champion when I leave.”

King visited Cardinals announcers Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky and Dan McLaughlin in the FOX Sports Midwest telecast booth during the game to promote his boxing event and FSMW’s telecast premier on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. CT of the 30-minute special “Gateway to Greatness: The Devon Alexander Story.”

King and undefeated cruiserweight Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne (14-0, 4 KOs), from St. Louis, also threw out ceremonial “first pitches” with the help of Cards mascot Fredbird prior to the Cardinals game against the Astros.  The Cards won, 8-4.

THE SPECIAL ONE
Alexander — who is on the verge of true fame and fortune with a $2 million purse for the Kotelnik fight that could lead to a string of bigger and more glamorous fights because HBO officials are eager to promote him as one of boxing’s rising young stars — just keeps trudging away at the same resolute pace.
He’s become the embodiment of an old saying that speaks to the shameful cruelty of poverty: Crush a thousand men and 999 may die. But the one who survives will be special.
Devon Alexander is that Special One.
“This is an amazing story when you truly understand and appreciate what he’s really done in his life,” says Dr. Darryl Bradley, who was Alexander’s seventh-grade science teacher at Webster Middle School and now serves as his chiropractic physician at the Vegas camp. “To come out of that environment … (Devon) wasn’t necessarily better, he was just more disciplined, more dedicated. He had no interest in the streets. He had no interest in the gangs, the drugs, the violence that was always just outside our doors.
“To see him now, I’m just so proud, so pleased,” Bradley says. “Kevin worked so hard with so many of those kids, good kids, nice kids, talented kids. But no matter how much direction he provided, those streets, man … those streets. They just pulled on so many of them. What a shame that Devon was the only one who resisted. But it tells you a lot about what sort of young man Devon must be to be the one who made it when so many others couldn’t.”

‘MILLIONS OF DOLLARS’
They try not to talk about it, but it’s impossible to ignore. If Alexander wins this fight against Kotelnik, the big-money fights are just beyond the horizon. HBO president Ross Greenberg has made it clear that if Alexander wins his title defense, there will be a Jan. 29 fight against WBO title holder Tim Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs) that could bring Alexander the largest payday of his pro career. HBO knows that the 140-pound division might be the deepest, most talented division in boxing now. Along with Bradley and Alexander, there is England’s 23-year-old WBA king, Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs), and Argentina’s 26-year-old WBA interim champ, Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs).
If Bradley and Alexander face off in January and Khan and Maidana duel shortly after that, perhaps the last man standing in the 140-pound bracket could end up cashing in on a mega-fight against welterweight studs Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao.
But first, Alexander has to win Saturday. “I think about (what’s beyond the Kotelnik fight) all the time,” Alexander admits. “But I stop myself and try to stay focused on what’s right in front of me. That’s motivation in itself. I’m on the verge of making millions of dollars.”

Surviving SIN CITY
Las Vegas is a curious choice for a training camp for a young man like Alexander. The house where he, Cunningham and Devon’s older brother Lamar are staying is in a gated community a few blocks off the Strip. It is owned by promoter Don King, and it is the same house he used to loan to former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. There is an irony there, too. Alexander, the ultimate disciplined man, following in the footsteps of Tyson, perhaps boxing’s most tragically undisciplined ex-champ.
Every afternoon, Alexander ends up at Barry’s Boxing Gym, a quaint, old cinder block building that sits just about a half-mile away from the northern tip of the Strip in a seedy neighborhood that practically screams old Las Vegas. The towering casinos glitter in the distance, but only a few steps away from the large, red metal doors that greet you with a big sign above the entrance that heralds “We Teach The Science, Not the Violence,” there are multiple tattoo parlors and welding shops (that look suspiciously like chop shops) and more than a few of the town’s more popular strip joints like Foxy’s, Treasures and Sheri’s Cabaret and Tattoo Parlor.
This is Devon Alexander’s incongruous sanctuary, a place where he works religiously in defiance of all these lusty enticements. They have been there for nearly two months, and the only time he has set foot on the Strip was when Cunningham twice took Devon, Lamar and a training partner to one of the casinos’ lavish, all-you-can-eat buffets.
Alexander scoffs at the notion that Vegas’ sinful pleasures might test his spartan-like resolve. “Nah, we run a tight ship,” he says, waving his hand in the air like he’s swatting flies. “Temptation don’t mean nothin’. I had my vacation time after the last fight. I come here to work. I don’t have no business doing what I ain’t supposed to be doing. Temptation’s been around me my whole life.”

A LIFE OF TEMPTATIONS
You cannot tell the Devon Alexander story without it somehow always coming back to this life-long journey with the devil constantly lurking over his shoulder.
“Been around temptations all my life, 24/7,” he reminds you. “OK, maybe not 24/7, but at least 21 hours out of the day.”
And what was happening the three other hours?
“I was in the gym,” he cackles.
Inside the sanctuary of a boxing gym, no matter where it was, Devon Alexander felt safe. The gangs couldn’t touch him in the gym. The gym and boxing always kept him out of harm’s way.
“None of that stuff made much sense to us,” Lamar says. “Fightin’ over gang colors? Shooting someone ’cause they wore red or blue or black or whatever? Naw, that stuff just didn’t make no sense at all, we used to say to each other.”
Sadly, the ills of the streets made way too much sense to nearly everyone else around the Alexander boys, including their oldest brother Vaughn, another gifted boxer who seemed destined for a championship future until he got caught up in the streets and is now serving an 18-year sentence in a penitentiary in Potosi, Mo., for armed robbery.
This is a topic that Alexander has been asked to explain far too often. For him, though, there is no complicated riddle. “We started out with a large group of people,” he says. “We used to all come to the gym. We’d laugh together, we’d play hard and train. They were all my brothers. But as time went by, you began to see them all fall by the wayside, doing things they shouldn’t have been doing. But I just stayed focused. I had no desire to do that stuff … it wasn’t in me.”

WINNING …. AND LOSING
Three years after he began boxing, Alexander won his first national title. He was 10 years old and a national Silver Gloves champion. “When I won the Silver Gloves, man I loved that feeling. When they put that belt around me for the first time and I was only 10 years old, but I loved that feeling and thought, ‘I gotta keep doing this. I have to get more belts.’ ”
Cunningham has been listening quietly in the background but now blurts out his own recollection of that glorious day.
Cunningham: “You weren’t the only one who won a belt that day. It was three of you. Do you remember the other two, Devon?”
Alexander: “Yeah, I sure do. It was Quintin (Gray), Willie (Ross) and me.”
Cunningham: “And where are they now?”
Alexander just shakes his head. He knows the answer, but he doesn’t bother to answer. Instead, it is Cunningham who provides the sad end to the story.
“Quinton’s in jail for life for murder and Willie Ross is dead,” he says. “I still remember that picture that ran in the St. Louis American of the three of you.”

LEADING HIS OWN LIFE
Twelve years later, Alexander seems almost numb to the tragic circumstances of his fallen “brothers.” If the losses have affected him in any outward way, it manifests itself in how he leads his own life now. Most boxers surround themselves with layers of glad-handing toadies and men of unspecified purpose. But walk into a gym when Alexander is training and you are struck by how few people are a part of his circle.
Other than the sparring partners who wander in and out, normally it is only the boxer, his manager and his brother. “I don’t need all those extra people,” he says. “Whenever I start seeing so-called friends and relatives I ain’t seen in ages, I just say ‘Hi and bye. Oh, long time no see,’ and I’m gone. The people around me, I’m comfortable with. I don’t like a bunch of new people around me, you know the people who want to come around acting like they’re only here just for my well-being.”
Near the end of one demanding sparring session, an interloper is in the gym and he is in a particularly complimentary mood. He is gushing all sorts of glad-handing platitudes Alexander’s way as he winds down his workout.
“Whooowee CHAMP . . . sure looked gooood today! Yeah baby, champ was lookin’ good!”
The more the man squawked, the more indifferent Alexander became.
“Champ was on a roll TO-DAY Bay-beee!!! Champ was NO JOKE!”
Alexander greeted this chirping with bored indifference, never once acknowledging the noise with a smile, a smirk or even a knowing glance. Instead, he looked right through the man, marching from the edge of the ring over to the heavy bag and began pounding away at the heavy leather.
When asked about it later, Alexander shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t like that stuff,” he says. “It’s too fake. I don’t need that. Before long, you have to pay those guys for that stuff, and I really don’t need or want that entourage, because the longer they’re around, sooner or later they’re going to want something. That’s why I have my team around me. They know who is supposed to be in the circle. I know who’s supposed to be in the circle. We’re not going to let anyone in who doesn’t belong.”
And so the lonely journey to the top of the boxing world continues as if Devon Alexander is still on that imposing mountain, trudging along with his eyes riveted toward the summit. “I’m so close now,” he says with a gentle smile spreading across his face. “I’m so close to being able to get the fame and the fortune, but I haven’t accomplished what I want to accomplish just yet. I’m not on the (best) pound-for-pound list yet. I’m not Hall of Fame material yet. I’m not doing all of this, working this hard, sacrificing so much just to be in the fight game. I’m in this to be well known. I’m in this to be great. I’m in this to get rich, too.”
It doesn’t sound so bold when he says it. It doesn’t sound like bragging or wishful thinking, or anything dripping in egocentric blather. What it sounds like is, well, the unvarnished, inevitable truth.
“When I’m done,” says Alexander, “I want people to say, ‘Ahh man, he was one of the greatest ever.’ That’s what I want to be, and I think I’m inching my way on up there slowly but surely.”

Celebrities Don King, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and T-LUV have already confirmed their attendance.

Alan Hopper
DKP
Photo Credit: Bob Barton

ST. LOUIS—An interesting fact emerged in June when Don King planned to present IBF 154-pound champion Cory Spinks against mandatory challenger Cornelius “K9” Bundrage in St. Louis: Bundrage’s Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward revealed he has never set foot inside the city of St. Louis.

As fate would have it, the fight was postponed, but King this week added the match to his already-loaded “Gateway to Greatness” card at Scottrade Center on Aug. 7 featuring two undefeated world champions. WBC and IBF 140-pound champion Devon Alexander “The Great” (20-0, 13 KOs) will defend against former WBA junior welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs) and IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (20-0, 18 KOs) will face the former holder of that belt, Glen Johnson (50-13-2, 34 KOs).

But the questions remain: Will Manny Steward, the proprietor of Detroit’s famed Kronk Gym, ever set foot in St. Louis?  Will the legendary trainer ever gaze upon the inspiring Gateway Arch?  Will he ever sip his favorite beer, Bud Light, in its home city?  Could it be that a man who has accepted all challenges, inside the ring and out, has run into a new type of Spinks Jinx?

“I really can’t explain how I have gone all over America and the world and never been able to visit St. Louis,” Steward said..  “But maybe it’s for the best that I have to wait until Aug. 7 because Don King has put together a great card.  The people of St. Louis should know this is going to be a big-time star-studded boxing event from top to bottom. This is the type of card Don loves to do, exactly the kind that has made him so famous, and it is what has been missing in so many of the recent fights I have attended.”

Another noteworthy fact is Steward—for all he has achieved as a boxer, manager and trainer—may be best known now for his longtime role as the premier boxing analyst for HBO Sports.

“I love every aspect of the fight game,” Steward said.  “I’ve been blessed.”

Luminaries of the sport will abound at this fistic explosion.  While Steward is training Bundrage, Spinks’ will have a new trainer in his corner, former two-time world champion James “Buddy” McGirt.  Since hanging up his gloves, McGirt has followed in Steward’s training footsteps.  He has guided notable world champions Arturo Gatti, Antonio Tarver, Vernon Forrest, Tomasz Adamek, Lamon Brewster and Paulie Malignaggi.

Steward says Bundrage (29-4, 17 KOs), from Detroit, is younger than his 37 years would indicate due to his brief amateur boxing background.

“The bottom line is Cornelius learned how to fight as a professional,” Steward said, “He learned on the job.  I don’t think he ever participated in an amateur tournament.  Like Larry Holmes and Bernard Hopkins before him, Cornelius has learned his craft while working professionally.  This helps to explain some of his earlier losses against top-flight opposition, but what I’ve seen in the last two years tells me he’s putting it all together now.”

Steward points out that when K2 Promotions (who promotes Steward-trained heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko) was looking for an opponent in 2008 to face then-undefeated 154-pounder Zaurbek Baysangurov (19-0, 16 KOs), they selected Bundrage.  After traveling to Germany on short notice, Bundrage shocked the Russian by stopping him in the fifth round.

“Cornelius has long arms, fights tall and can control a fight with his left hand,” Steward noted..  “Not only does he have skills, but he will come into the gym and box 15-to-20 rounds, so he’s in great shape too.

“If he can put pressure on Cory by focusing his energy and placing his punches—but not reckless pressure like just running in—he can win this fight.  Speed slows with age and Cory was never a big puncher, so the opportunity is there for Cornelius, who I view as fresher in the ring at 37 than Cory is at 32.”

Bundrage has always fought for the Kronk Gym but was trained by Steward’s nephew, Javan Hill.  Steward has been Bundrage’s manager but will join Hill in the corner for this vitally important match.

Steward knows and admires Spinks and thinks he made a good move by hiring McGirt as trainer.

“Buddy is a beautiful guy,” Steward noted with enthusiasm.  “You know who he reminds me of?  He’s just like Muhammad Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee.  Angelo and Buddy are two of the nicest people I have ever met.

“I told Angelo the other day that I was facing Buddy, and I told him Buddy’s got his personality.  Both guys are very talented and they never have a bad word to say about anyone.”

When informed of Steward’s kind words, McGirt was appreciative but said it didn’t surprise him.

“There is a reason why Emanuel has been so successful, which goes beyond his undeniable talent as a trainer and manager,” McGirt said.  “Manny looks for the good in people, not the bad.

“Having said that, don’t think for a moment this means he’s not trying to out-train me or that he doesn’t want Cornelius Bundrage to upset Cory Spinks in his hometown on Aug. 7.  You don’t get where Manny is in the sport of boxing by forgetting what your job is.  The difference with Manny is he can do that and still have class.  This is going to be an interesting chess match between Manny and me.”

In 1963, Steward won the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in Chicago.  McGirt became IBF junior welterweight champion in 1998 and was the WBC welterweight champion from 1991 to 1993.

“Manny’s from the Old School,” McGirt said.  “I’ve learned a lot from him and all the Old School trainers.  They should be a guide for all the young guys that are into boxing.”

With Spinks, McGirt believes he’s got an edge in this intriguing matchup.

“I keep saying that all I have to do with Cory is remind him of how great he is,” McGirt said.  “This guy has all the ability in the world, much of which comes from his family tree that includes his father, Leon (whom Steward managed at one time), and uncle, Michael, both former heavyweight world champions.  At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who is training who.  It’s who has the better fighter and who wants it the most inside the ring.  So far, I’ve won the first two.”

Tickets priced at $17.50, $35, $70, $150 and $300 are on sale at Scottrade Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or online at ticketmaster.com.  A per ticket facility fee will be added to all tickets purchased at all locations, including at the Scottrade Center Box Office.  Additional Ticketmaster service charges and handling fees apply.. For disabled seating, call 314-622-5420. The event is promoted by Don King Productions.  Doors to the event open at 5:30 p.m.

About Scottrade Center

Scottrade Center is a contemporary, 12-story glass and concrete structure located in the heart of downtown St. Louis. Opened in 1994, the arena is home to the St. Louis Blues Hockey Club and also features a full range of arena programming, including concerts, ice shows, family shows and other sporting events. The building is operated by SCP Worldwide, owner of the St. Louis Blues, under the leadership of its chairman, Dave Checketts. For more information, please visit www.scottradecenter.com.

About Don King Productions

Don King Productions has promoted over 600 world championship fights with nearly 100 individual boxers having been paid $1 million or more.  DKP also holds the distinction of having promoted or co-promoted seven of the 10 largest pay-per-view events in history, as gauged by total buys, including three of the top five:  Holyfield vs. Tyson II, 1.99 million buys, June 1997; Tyson vs. Holyfield I, 1.6 million buys, November 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, 1.58 million buys, August 1995.

DKP has promoted or co-promoted 12 of the top 20 highest-grossing live gates in the history of the state of Nevada including four of the top five: Holyfield vs. Lewis II, paid attendance: 17,078, gross: $16,860,300 (NOTE: Also second-highest live-gate gross for any event in the history of the world.), date: Nov. 13, 1999; Holyfield vs. Tyson II, paid attendance: 16,279, gross: $14,277,200, date: June 28, 1997; Holyfield vs. Tyson I, paid attendance: 16,103, gross: $14,150,700, date: Nov. 9, 1996; and Tyson vs. McNeeley, paid attendance: 16,113, gross: $13,965,600, date: Aug. 19, 1995.

Hometown hero and unified World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation 140-pound champion Devon Alexander “The Great” (20-0, 13 KOs) will be challenged by former World Boxing Association super lightweight champion Andriy Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs), from Lviv, Ukraine, and IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (20-0, 18 KOs), from Tallahassee, Fla., will meet former IBF light heavyweight champion Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson (50-13-2, 34 KOs), a Jamaican now of Miami.

A domestically non-televised third world championship will be included on the card when IBF junior middleweight champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks (37-5, 11 KOs), from St. Louis, takes on IBF mandatory challenger Cornelius “K9” Bundrage (29-4, 17 KOs), from Detroit, Mich.

The fourth championship fight, which also can only be seen live, pits another proud St. Louisan, undefeated cruiserweight contender Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne (14-0, 4 KOs), against fellow unbeaten Warren “The Hit Man” Browning (12-0-1, 8 KOs), from London, Ky., for the vacant WBC USNBC cruiserweight crown.

Tickets priced at $17.50, $35, $70, $150 and $300 are on sale at Scottrade Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or online at ticketmaster.com.  The event is being promoted by Don King Productions.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m.  The above-mentioned world championships will be televised live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT (9 p.m. CT).  Cloud vs. Johnson is presented in association with DiBella Entertainment and Warriors Boxing Promotions.

Here is what all the fighters in the four championship fights had to say on Wednesday:

Devon Alexander “The Great”: “I want to thank Don for giving me another opportunity to showcase my talent and HBO for putting me on because only the best prevail.  Kevin Cunningham is the best trainer in the world.  For the fight, all the talk is over.  When we had the first press conference I said that I was leaving to Las Vegas for camp to get ready.  Well, now I’m ready.  I’m ready.  You all want to see the rock? (flexes his freakish 15” bicep) I’m ready.”

Kevin Cunningham: “This is all a blessing.  I want to thank Don King, the greatest promoter of all time.  I want to thank Scottrade, HBO and last but not least you all, St. Louis.  We could have fought wherever, but you all make us want to fight here.  There has been a lot of talk about Devon being in these mega-fights with Kahn, Pacquiao and Mayweather, but we don’t get caught up in that.  Kotelnik is talking about coming here and taking these belts.  We are focused on the Ukrainian right now.  We don’t get distracted.  So I just want to say to everybody, whoever doesn’t have tickets, get them because you really don’t want to miss the destruction of this Russian.”

Andriy Kotelnik: “I feel very special and very fortunate to be fighting in St. Louis.  Today I can see that he is really on for this fight.  Last time we were here there were not many people but this time the room is very full.  I would like to thank Don King and HBO for making it possible for me to have the hardest match in this evening of boxing.  It is an honor for me to be in the main event when there are many superstars on this card like Cory Spinks and Glenn Johnson.  This is a great opportunity for me and for every superstar that is in this event.”

Pavel Govzman (Don King Productions consultant and translator for Govzman): “Thanks for having us and we hope to pay you all back when you come to Ukraine. You are all invited by the way, good news for you and bad news for my friends on my right (Alexander camp).  You always here the Russians are coming, but bad news for them, the Ukrainians are here.  Don’t take it personal.  We are here to take two titles back to the Ukraine.  On the night of the fight, just be fair and make sure you cheer Kotelnik like he is the best fighter in the world.”

Stacey McKinley (trainer of Kotelnik): “I am glad to be back home in St. Louis.  These two fighters are not soft.  Devon started boxing when he was 7 years old, when he was a baby, and Kotelnik when he was 6 and he went on to get a Silver Medal in the Olympics—and should have gotten the gold.  Devon has won the IBF & WBC championship.  This guy here (Alexander) has two world titles.  These guys are tough and it’s going to be a hard fight.  It’s not going to be easy for us and not easy for the guys over here.  You may think Kotelnik is from the suburbs, but he’s not from the suburbs, he’s from the salt mines, he’s from the hood, and Devon’s from the hood.  These two hood rats are going to be face-to-face.”

Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud:  “We are going to win.  We are definitely going to win.  I appreciate you all having us and we are going to put on a great show.  Don King, thank you for putting on this great card.  I am in great shape.  My style is fan-friendly.  I fight with both hands, and let’s get in on.

Glen “Road Warrior” Johnson: “St. Louis, we are going to have a great fight on the 7^th.  I want to say thank you to Don King and HBO and my manager, my trainer and my beautiful wife Julia.  You guys are going to have a beautiful night of fights.”

Cory Spinks: “I would like to thank you all for coming out and supporting us.  I would like to say congratulations to Devon on his last victory.  I watched the fight and I was very excited it came out the way it did.  It was a great knockout win, and it was a pleasure for me when I trained with Devon.  I’ve been in camp for a while and I’m ready.  I’m fighting a tough guy in Bundrage, and I know he’s going to bring his ‘A’ game.  Cory Spinks is ready for anything he brings.  Expect a spectacular performance from Cory Spinks on Saturday night.”

Buddy McGirt (new trainer of Cory Spinks): “St. Louis, you have nothing to worry about.  Cory was with Kevin Cunningham and that made my job so much easier.  Good luck to everyone up here.  One other thing: I was told St. Louis had some of the best Soul Food and I’ve been here since Monday and nobody has taken me anywhere.  SO can you help a brother out?  That’s all I ask.”

Cornelius “K9” Bundrage: “It has been a long camp for me.  This fight has been cancelled like three times.  It has been about a year and I’m really excited it is finally here.  God gave us all of this, so I feel like I’m at home even though I am here is St. Louis. Love me or hate me, come Saturday you’re going to love me, because the ‘K9’ is here GRRRRRR.”

Ryan “The Irish Outlaw” Coyne: “Saturday night is a great opportunity not only for myself but for everybody on this card.  I am privileged to be a part of four championship fights.  I trained hard and you can tell by looking at me, I look like I’ve been in a cave for the past 10 weeks.  I look at all these fighters up here and I can see that my time is coming and this is a big step to get to where I want to be.  I have a very tough opponent in this undefeated guy who is coming here to fight, and it’s going to be tough.”

Warren “The Hit Man” Browning: “Ryan is a great fighter.  I’ve seen him fight.  I love S. Louis, I love the atmosphere and I love boxing.  I’ve been here to watch fights, and it’s a great place to watch fights.  I’m 12-0.  I’m undefeated, and I’ll be undefeated and the WBC USNBC cruiserweight champion when I leave.”

Light heavyweight world champion Cloud said his fight with Johnson will be a good one.

“Glen comes right at you and nobody will be running in this fight,” Cloud said. “That’s not my style. Glen is a good fighter and so am I. St. Louis will get more than their money’s worth come Aug. 7.” ]]> http://www.donkingtv.com/2010/08/tavoris-cloud-takes-on-glen-johnson-aug-7-in-st-louis/feed/ 0 http://www.donkingtv.com/2010/08/don-king-productions-signs-jorge-%e2%80%9csharp-shooter%e2%80%9d-espinoza-undefeated-junior-lightweight-prospect/ http://www.donkingtv.com/2010/08/don-king-productions-signs-jorge-%e2%80%9csharp-shooter%e2%80%9d-espinoza-undefeated-junior-lightweight-prospect/#comments Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:21:10 +0000 hwear http://www.donking.com.vhost.zerolag.com/?p=5 JORGE “SHARP SHOOTER” ESPINOZA Undefeated Junior Lightweight Prospect Born on Feb. 25, 1985 in Guadalajara, Mexico, now residing in Marysville, California Trainer: Taj Fields – Home Gym: Hit Squad Boxing Center in Marysville, California Height: 5’ 8” – Weight: 130 (Junior Lightweight) Record: 5-0, 2 KOs U.S.A Boxing & Federacion Mexicana De Boxeo, Amateur Boxing Record: 155-20 Amateur International Boxing Association, Amateur Boxing Record: 35-8

Jorge Alonso Espinoza Marin was born on Feb. 25, 1985, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. At the age of 8, his family moved from Mexico to Los Angeles in the United States.He began to box at age 11, and became one of the top amateur boxers in the United States, winning several state, regional and national championships while compiling an outstanding record of 155 wins against just 20 defeats. Notable U.S.A. Boxing amateur opponents that he defeated in his weight divisions were: Abner Mares, Cleotis Pendarvis, Christopher Rizo, Carlos Molina, Rafael Valenzuela and Philip Manganaan.

Some of his outstanding U.S.A Boxing accomplishments include:

3X – State Silver Gloves Champion

2X – Region 8 Silver Gloves Champion

1X – National Silver Gloves Runner Up

3X – State Jr. Golden Gloves Champion

1X – National Jr. Golden Gloves Runner Up

2X – State CAL PAL Champion

1X – National PAL Runner Up

4X – National Blue & Gold Champion

4X – Boxers for Christ Champion

1X – State Jr. Olympics Champion

2X – Gene Lewis Invitational Champion

2X – John Flores Invitational Champion

1X – California Diamond Belt Champion

At age 15 and not being able to compete in the United States at the National level as a senior due to citizenship issues, he returned to his native Mexico where he quickly established himself as one of Mexico’s elite amateur boxers. Notable Federacion Mexicana De Boxeo amateur opponents that he defeated in his weight divisions were: Abner Mares, Juan Briones, Gilberto Armenta, Rodrigo Manzano and Julio Cruz.

Some of his outstanding Federacion Mexicana De Boxeo accomplishments include:

2X – State Jr. Olympics Champion

1X – National Jr. Olympics Champion

2X – State Golden Gloves Champion

2X – National Mexican Golden Gloves Champion

2X – National Mexican Champion

He later went on to earn a spot on the Mexican National Team and to represent Mexico in several different international amateur world championship where he had the opportunity to compete against some of the best competition that the world had to offer

World Cup – Astana, Kazakhstan

06-05-02 – Defeated on Pts Guillermo Rigondeaux (Cuba) 17 – 10

06-06-02 – Lost on Pts Kim Won Il (S. Korea) 18 – 10

Batalla De Carabobo – Venezuela

06-23-06 – Lost on Pts Alejandro Espinoza (Venezuela) 21 – 11

Festival Olimpico Mexicano – Mexico City D. F., Mexico

07-25-02 – Defeated on Pts Antonio Nunez (Spain) 11 – 5

07-27-02 – Lost on RSC 2 (Cut Eye) Alejandro Espinoza (Venezuela)

Cheo Aponte International – Caguas, Puerto Rico

08-10-02 – Lost on Pts Juan Manuel Lopez (Puerto Rico) 18 – 17

Juan Evangelista Venegas International – Salinas, Puerto Rico

08-14-02 – Defeated on Pts Juan Manuel Lopez (Puerto Rico) 13 – 8

08-15-02 – Defeated on Pts Tyson Carl (United States) 9 – 5

08-16-02 – Defeated on Pts Jonas Hernandez (Puerto Rico) 14 – 13

Torneo Internacional del Boxeo Santiago de Cuba – Havana, Cuba

09-10-02 – Defeated on Pts Georgy Balakshin (Kazakhstan) 25 – 13