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Q&A: Injured Bailey vows KO of Alexander

Fighters Network
01
Sep

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RingTV.com caught up to IBF welterweight beltholder Randall Bailey on Friday evening, hours after news broke that a back injury would force the postponement of his Sept. 8 defense against former IBF and WBC junior welterweight titleholder Devon Alexander that was to be televised on Showtime from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Plans are for Bailey to defend against Alexander on either Oct. 20 from The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., or else on Oct. 27 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., according to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer.

Bailey (43-7, 37 knockouts) is coming off a come-from-behind, 11th-round knockout of Philadelphia’s Mike Jones on the undercard of Tim Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao, also in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in June.



The win over Jones was Bailey’s fourth straight victory, having last suffered defeat by 11th-round stoppage against Juan Urango in a failed bid to earn the IBF’s junior welterweight belt in August of 2009.

In his next fight, Urango was knocked out in the eighth round by fellow southpaw Alexander, who is coming off consecutive wins over hard-hitting Argentine countrymen Lucas Matthysse and Marcos Maidana by split- and unanimous decision, respectively.

Bailey shared what happened during the sparring session which led to his injury in this Q&A.

RingTV.com: How did the injury happen?

Randall Bailey: Well, I usually stop sparring about two weeks before the fight, but this time, we did some this week. We had been using bigger guys.

I thought that they would be able to be less intimidated where they could take shots. So I’m getting ready to throw my right hand, and the guy just came down right on top of me.

This happened in the midst of me turning my back foot and throwing my punch, and it just fÔÇöked up my whole right side.

RingTV.com: I understand that you went to an orthopedic specialist today, and, if so, what did he say you needed to do to rest your back?

RB: He gave me some medicine to take the swelling down, and I’ll go back and see him on Wednesday. Hopefully, depending on how it looks and everything, it will be better.

Then, depending on how it feels, then I’ll probably start doing some swimming therapy as early as Friday, if they say that’s okay to do.

RingTV.com: Are you frustrated?

RB: Like I said, I normally stop sparring two weeks before the fight, but this fight, I was continuing my sparring from the last week into this week. Yesterday would have been my last day.

That’s when it happened was yesterday. But I couldn’t get in to see the specialist then because they said that he was booked up.

I had gone to my regular doctor, and he just felt it and wanted to make sure that nothing was broken and that my hip wasn’t out of place.

Because yesterday, I was fÔÇöked up, you know? He just wanted to make sure that nothing was broken. But hey, man, sÔÇöt happens.

RingTV.com: Does this disrupt any momentum for the fight?

RB: I’m telling you, boy, I’m going knock this boy out. Don’t let me sit here and tell you that I’m not going to knock this dude out.

If I’m telling you that I’m going to knock him out, then trust me, I’m going to knock him out. I’m not going to bulls–t myself, and I’m not going to bulls–t people. I’m going to knock Devon Alexander out.

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Photo by Chris Farina, Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

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