Alexander had a tough fight against Matthysse
Devon Alexander won a split decision over Lucas Matthysse in his attempt to reestablish himself as one of the top fighters in the sport.
When he boxed his opponent, Alexander looked like the potential-filled prospect he did before fighting Timothy Bradley and Andreas Kotelnik. A flash knockdown in the fourth didn’t seem to hurt him too badly.
However, Matthysse’s power and pressure clearly bothered and fatigued Alexander. Alexander’s worst moments came when he decided to show off to his hometown of St. Louis and brawl with the Argentine in the seventh and eight rounds.
He came back and boxed well to win the ninth, but Matthysse managed to overwhelm him and take the tenth and final round.
The final scores were 96-93 and 95-94 Alexander and 96-93 Matthysse. Not everyone agrees, like commentator Larry Merchant and writer Kevin Iole (who tweeted “No way no how no sir: Alexander DID NOT win that fight”).
Scoring it 96-93 for Alexander is plain wrong. The fight was likely a draw, but the knockdown in the fourth puts Matthysse up a point. Really, Alexander would’ve had a clear victory if he had boxed the seventh and eighth instead of going toe-to-toe.
There was definitely some home-cooking, but that isn’t to say Alexander didn’t fight well. It’s just that Matthysse fought the better fight and deserved the win.
Writin' Words 