SCR Boxing

The city honored St. Louis‘ proud son Devon Alexander on August 1st, with celebrities such as Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee, rapper Chingy and comedian Cedric the Entertainer, in a celebration that drew over 900 attendees to City Hall. The WBC and IBF boxing champion surely realizes exactly how far he has come since his humble days growing up in the rough Hyde Park neighborhood in the north part of the city. Hyde Park is notorious for its tough streets, characterized by gang activity and heavy drug presence, but with similar focus and strength to that displayed against opponents in the ring, Alexander has been able to beat back pressure and keep his head clean of negative influence on his way to an undefeated boxing career through 21 fights.While he has managed to steer clear from trouble on his own road to success, that is not to say Alexander has been unaffected by the pressures of the streets and the hard-knock community which he calls home. Alexander was one of 30 kids to join Kevin Cunningham’s boxing program, set in the basement of an old police station. Cunningham, a former police officer himself, started the program in an effort to shield kids from the troubles of the surrounding area and provide a positive influence amidst a sea of potentially life-altering bad decisions. While the program certainly has its success stories, in Alexander along with welterweight champion (and son of former heavyweight champ Leon Spinks) Cory Spinks, 12 of the 30 have been arrested and 8 have passed away. Devon’s own brother, Vaughn, a member of the class of 30, is serving 18 years in prison stemming from a robbery conviction.Through it all, Alexander has persevered, turning pro at age 17 and immediately besting each man to step in the ring, on his way to a 21-0 record (knocking out 13 in the process). Davon Alexander got the chance to wow his hometown crowd in his most recent fight on August 7^th, winning a unanimous decision over Andreas Kotelnik, with the city of St. Louis finally providing support as opposed to a burden.