SCR Boxing

Say what you will about Don King, after all the man served 4 years in prison for the stomping death of an employee, was questioned by the Senate in the early 90′s allegedly keeping ties with organized crime and even Mike Tyson, a true role model in his own right, has said King “would kill his own mother for a dollar.” Still, the man has a place in boxing, as fans appreciate his willingness to put together a complete undercard, layered with top billed talent and multiple title belts on the line. In his career as a boxing promoter, King has twice put together cards featuring (an almost unheard of) 6 title bouts. August 7^th‘s Gateway to Greatness event in St. Louis showed he hasn’t lost his touch for match making, as three separate fights had championship implications.The most anticipated bout of the night took place when local St. Louis hero Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs) defended his 140-pound World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation belts successfully, by means of unanimous decision, against Ukranian challenger Andreas Kotelnik (31-4-1, 13 KOs), a former World Boxing Association super lightweight champion in his own right. After originally attempting to schedule a fight with Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs), Alexander turned to Kotelnik with his second choice, suitable as Kotelnik was responsible for the only mark against Maidana’s otherwise flawless record.Cory Spinks (37-6, 11 KOs), a fellow St. Louis native and longtime friend of Alexander, joined in on the festivities as well, attempting to defend his IBF junior middleweight title against Cornelius Bundrage (30-4, 18 KOs), with less favorable results for the hometown crowd. Spinks lost his belt in a fifth round stoppage, after Bundrage had asserted his will for the majority of the contest. Prior to the fight, Bundage was perhaps most famous for his run on Season 2 the ESPN reality show The Contender, walking away with the bronze prize after being picked last in the season debut.Though the card was full of intriguing matchups all the way through, the only other title fight of the night will pitted IBF lightweight champ Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (21-0, 18 KOs) against the belt’s former holder Glen Johnson (50-14-2, 34 KOs). The punches flew for a full 12 rounds, with Cloud retaining his titles in unanimous decision.