BAILEY TO DEFEND IBF TITLE VS. ALEXANDER ON SEP. 8

Press Release: Ex- junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander (pictured) will challenge IBF welterweight champion Randall  Bailey on September 8th for Bailey's title at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In the co-feature unbeaten Ajose Olusegun [continues to get screwed by the WBC] as he faces Lucas Matthysse for the vacant WBC interim title at 140 pounds [not the full title the WBC promised Olusegun]. Showtime Championship Boxing will air both bouts. Tickets go on sale on Friday, August 17th at noon PT at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office and www.Ticketmaster.com.

Alexander (23-1, 13 KO's) got his last two wins against punchers Lucas Matthysse and Marcos Maidana. An eight-year professional who held both the WBC and IBF 140-pound  titles before losing them via technical decision to Timothy Bradley in 2011, the proud 25-year-old St. Louis native has moved up to 147 pounds. After very close wins over two of Argentina's best in Marcos  Maidana (W10) and Lucas Matthysse (W10), Alexander hopes to become a two-division world champion.

A veteran of more than 16 years in the professional game, Randall Bailey (43-7, 37 KO's) is coming off a one-punch knockout of previously unbeaten Mike Jones. The Miami, Fla. resident, 37 years old, has always had a gift for blasting out anyone who stood in his line of fire. Bailey utilized his trademark power to claim his first world title in 1999 when he knocked out Carlos Gonzalez for the WBO 140-pound title in just 41 seconds. In 2002, Bailey stopped Demetrio Ceballos, but his victory over Jones earlier this  year for the IBF welterweight crown, which extended his unbeaten streak to five  in a row, may have been the sweetest win yet. Now, he looks to defend that title for the first time on September 8, in Las Vegas.

For a long time, boxing fans wondered if Nigeria-born Ajose Olusegun (30-0, 14 KO's) would ever get his shot at a big fight. He was simply [screwed by the WBC]. While awaiting his big shot, he kept winning, confident  that his time would come. Now making his home in London, England, Olusegun has wins over Colin Lynes and Ali Chebah.

Trelew, Argentina's Lucas Matthysse (31-2, 29 KO's) has built his reputation with an attack that few can withstand. A longtime standout in his home country, Matthysse began making noise on the international scene with razor-thin split decision losses to former Alexander and Zab Judah that saw him drop both fighters during the course of each fight. In recent fights, Matthysse has left the judges out of it, most recently dispatching respected ex-titlist Humberto "Zorrita" Soto in five rounds in June.