A pair of unusual late-in-the-year boxing shows here Saturday night will keep more than the fighters busy.
England’s welterweight star, Amir Khan, will headline a card in the MGM Grand Garden, facing off against fast-rising Devon Alexander of St. Louis.
Khan (29-3) is a slight favorite. In his last three fights, he has beaten Carlos Molina, Julio Diaz and Luis Collazo. Alexander (26-2) has wins over Lucas Matthysse and Marcos Maidana.
A mile or so down the Strip from the MGM, in another welterweight main event, Tim Bradley of Palm Springs will take on Diego Chaves of Argentina. Bradley hasn’t fought since his loss to Manny Pacquiao, the only one in his 32-fight career. Chaves is 23-2 and lost his last fight to Brandon Rios, when he was disqualified for excessive penalties.
Bradley is a 7-1 favorite in the fight being held at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, in a cozy 2,500-seat venue.
The Khan-Alexander fight will be on Showtime, with undercard coverage beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific. The Bradley-Chaves card will be on HBO, with its undercard going on at 7 p.m.
Oscar De La Hoya, Khan’s promoter, also has a fighter in the other show and will move from one site to another during the evening. He will start at the MGM, head to the Cosmopolitan to see his fighter on the undercard, Mauricio Herrera, and then head back to MGM in time for the Khan main event.
Joel Diaz, who trains Bradley, will also start with the undercard at the MGM. That’s where another of his fighters, former champion Victor Ortiz, will be making a comeback attempt early on the undercard. Then, Diaz will move to the Cosmopolitan and the main event.
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