Randall Bailey Plans To Power Through And Knock Out Devon Alexander

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    Randall Bailey Plans To Provide A Knock Out Of The Year

    There’s no secret to why Randall Bailey is referred to as “The Knock-Out King”. With a right hand that can shake the foundation of a house, he has accumulated 37 KO’s over his 43 victories. On October 20th from the Barclay Center in Brooklyn New York, Bailey hopes to make it 38 KO’s over 44 victories as he steps in the ring against Devon Alexander to defend his IBF Welterweight title.

    Along with power, Bailey enters every fight with 16 years of ring experience on top of physical and mental toughness. All of those tools were on display in his most recent bout with Mike Jones. Over the first 9 rounds it might not have been an overly impressive showing for Jones but he was touching Bailey with each hand and using his footwork to escape that right hand. To any onlooker, Jones appeared as if he would cruise to a decision and take the vacant IBF crown home with him.

    With :18 left in the 10th round, a round in which Jones picked the pace up catching Bailey with an array of power punches, Bailey saw an opportunity. A thunderous right straight, setup by a quick jab sent Jones down for the 1st time in his career. Jones came out in the 11th firing on all cylinders and seemed to have the fight back under control. Then again with :18 left in the stanza, a beautifully placed counter right uppercut ended the night for Jones, leaving Bailey standing as the new IBF Welterweight champion.

    “That was my game plan going in. I’ve watched Mike Jones over and over and I knew that even in his earlier fights he would jump on his bicycle. He would run around on you and I knew that if I didn’t catch him early that’s what was going to happen. By him being so big every time I did jab, I was leaving myself open but he wasn’t just comfortable enough to exploit the disadvantages I had against him. Other then that I knew if I didn’t get him early he was going to take off on me and I would just have to wait him out,” Bailey said.

    And wait him out he in fact did. For a change in Bailey’s career he is in the driver seat and is now the hunted instead of the hunter. He attained the title in June and has wasted no time in defending it. To add to the long list of notable fighters he’s faced, Bailey has chosen Devon Alexander as his next opponent, “He was available and I felt like it was a winnable fight. I’ve always wanted to fight him,” Bailey remarked.

    It’s back to work in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida along with trainer and former fighter John Jackson. Like fighting Jones, Alexander will be a difficult task for Bailey. He’s a southpaw with quick hands and great feet but Bailey isn’t fazed by those attributes by saying, “He gets hit. That’s all I need.”

    When you have that “Knockout of the Year” type power like Bailey does in his right hand, just landing one is enough to get the win. But don’t expect Randall to sit back with his right hand cocked waiting to only unleash that hand. He acknowledged that he will be looking to land it frequently but also stated, “And a lot of other sh*t too. I’m definitely going to hit him with a right hand. If everybody else hit him, I’m definitely going to hit him.”

    In order to be able to land heavy shots on Devon “The Knock-Out King” will also have to absorb some punches but he doesn’t see that as being much of a problem, “I don’t feel he’s a big puncher. Everybody is talking about his speed but I don’t see him being that fast,” Bailey stated. Though he doesn’t believe Devon is all that fast the obvious two advantages Alexander will have over Bailey is hand speed and foot speed. Randall referenced historical bouts where the heavier puncher had success against the faster fighter, “I want this fight to be like Hagler-Hearns. Hagler-Hearns, that’s how I’m looking at this fight,” Bailey exclaimed. He also brought up another famous example of that notion, “Shane Mosley was one of the fastest Welterweights, other than Floyd before he came up. Vernon Forrest, god bless the dead, was not the fastest guy and was able to take that speed and throw it clean out the game with a jab,” Bailey proclaimed.

    So will we see something along the lines of those bouts? Will we see something historical on Oct. 20th? Bailey’s chance to turn this battle into his version of those fights will be to consistently cut the ring off and keeping the angles in his favor all night. “Yes we’ve been working on that overtime. We’ve got guys that are moving and we’ve got a couple of strong guys that are coming forward. So I’m working around both tables, crossing the T’s and dotting all the I’s as far as sparring is concerned. I just plan on being prepared for whatever he has to offer,” Bailey said.

    Physical preparation is one thing, but there is no physical preparation for having a feeling that your opponent can put you in danger in the ring, that’s mental. Bailey knows that Alexander is a gifted fighter, but he doesn’t feel Devon can ever get him in trouble won’t be much of a threat, “Truthfully no. I don’t see nothing. I’ll go in the 1st round and like I’ve said, the first 30 seconds of the fight I’ll know exactly what he wants to do,” Bailey stated.

    Within that first 30 seconds of the fight Bailey will understand which of his training tactics best fits what Alexander is looking to do. Along with cutting off the ring to nullify Alexander’s footwork, Team Bailey has to prepare for Devon’s southpaw stance. “Well being that he’s a southpaw and trainer was a southpaw fighter, we just been working on a lot of extra head movements. Different things that will work well to disguise some of my power punches,” Bailey added.

     As aforementioned Bailey has fought a variety of top fighters. Yes Alexander can be considered amongst the top of that list, touting a 23-1 13KO record and some impressive names on his resume as well such as Bradley, Maidana and Matthysse, to name a few. But Randall isn’t so quick to mention Alexander as being on the level of his past opposition. “I don’t know. I don’t look at fights like that. I’m very… I don’t want to say disrespectful but I don’t give respect, you’ve got to earn your respect with me. Win lose or draw you will have to eat your respect. If I knock him out in 2-3 rounds, how he carries himself in that fight is the way I will judge him afterwards. Even if he wins, that’s still not going to guarantee my respect. If it goes 12 rounds and I know I put a beating on his a** and he gets the decision, he ain’t earn sh*t. So with me, you’ve got to show me,” Bailey exclaimed.

    The best part of my interview with the champ was how blatantly honest he was. He doesn’t throw his tap shoes on and dance around any question asked, he’s a straight shooter. When I asked if he will need to knock Devon out or if he thinks he can outbox him to a decision victory Bailey mentioned, “I think I have to knock him out, but that was even my game plan going into the Mike Jones fight. I think I’ve got to knock him out and I’m going to do what I need to do to get it.” He may have admitted that a KO is his best way of retaining his title but he also admits that it will be harder than it was in the Jones fight, “Well being that he’s a lot smarter than Mike Jones I plan on being a lot more active. Putting a lot more punches together as far as my assault on him. It will be an assault,” Bailey mentioned.

    Can Bailey give us a second “Knockout of the Year” candidate like he did in the Jones fight? In regards to that topic Bailey said, “I don’t know how he’s going to react when he gets hit. A count of 10 can happen anyway. It can happen with his eyes closed, it can happen with them open.”

    The difference between this fight and the Jones fight is that Bailey will be entering as the champion. With Bailey he doesn’t it see it as much of a deviation, “Champion is just a name just like challenger is, they both start with a C. Once I get in the ring the belt is not wrapped around my waist. When I’m fighting the only thing I’m worried about is the W. When I win that’s all that matter,” Bailey declared.

    Opening the Barclay Center to its first showcase of boxing will be a major event. Combine that with the spotlight he will receive as being one of the feature bouts of evening would bring added pressure to most, but not Bailey, “It’s not pressure on me at all. I love to fight and going in I’m very comfortable, at ease. There ain’t no pressure on me. It is what it is. I just like to get in that ring and take care of business, it’s that simple.”

     A win over a fighter like Alexander and defending his crown will open up Bailey to so many opportunities he has yet to have in his long career. He is in no way looking past Alexander but the anticipation of what is to come after is a thought on the champions mind. So what’s next if a victory is in the cards for Bailey, “Over my career anything I’ve ever asked for never came to fruition. So I don’t really call fighters out. If they are available and they want to fight and I’m in the position to give them an opportunity like I did for this fight. I’ll throw something out there but it’s up to them to take it.” In victory the future will definitely be bright for Bailey.

     

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