Post Fight Quotes
Timothy Bradley: “If that’s the best in the world, that’s weak. He didn’t want to get hit with the big shot. Throughout the fight, we were both coming in, back and forth. Devon is a tough, tough warrior. He will be champion again.
“Regarding the last headbutt, we were both coming in trying to land the big shot. Give Alexander time, and he will box you to pieces. I didn’t give him that time.”
Devon Alexander: “I couldn’t see after the headbutt. He’s got a big head, he came at me full force. My eye was burning, I couldn’t see.
“You can’t work on a headbutt [in the gym], only skills. He didn’t stop me from using my skills. No excuses.
“There’s a rematch clause in the contract, and I want a rematch with Timothy Bradley.”
Kevin Cunningham: (Alexander’s trainer) “I told the referee before the fight that Bradley’s last six opponents have been cut by headbutts. I told him, I told him, I told him.”
Frank Garza: (Referee) “I ruled it an accidental headbutt, completely different from the earlier headbutt. I stopped the fight after consultation with the ringside physician.”
Dr. Peter Samet: (Ringside Physician) “I told Devon that he had to open his right eye or the fight would be over. I asked him to open his eye three times, but he couldn’t do it. I feared temporary nerve damage or temporary paralysis was preventing him from opening his eye, so I recommended to the referee that the contest be stopped.”
Bermane Stiverne: (Who burst into tears in his corner immediately after the fight) “It’s been a bad year for me and the emotion came out. I lost two cousins this year and we had the earthquake in Haiti.
“My win tonight means a lot. I have never won a championship belt before, amateur or professional, and now I have three. I had a new training regimen for this fight. I trained in Las Vegas with my strength and conditioning coach Dwight Yarde. I’ve never worked that hard or felt this good.
“I owe a big thanks to Hasim Rahman who came in and sparred with me for over three weeks just to help me. And thanks to Don King and my team. This is great.
Kendall Holt: “My purpose was to get back into everybody’s mind in the boxing world and let them know I stumbled but I’m back. If Roy Jones Jr. is Captain Hook, I’m his first lieutenant.
I completed the first step of coming back into the world championship picture. I’m taking no time off from the gym. I’ll be back in working on Monday because there are still things I’m working on that I want to correct and show the world when I go longer than one round.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
