Powerful adviser Al Haymon has added yet another top fighter to his growing stable. Just a couple of weeks after signing junior middleweight titlist Austin Trout, Haymon has signed welterweight contender Devon Alexander, a former unified junior welterweight titlist and St. Louis attraction.
"Team Alexander and Al Haymon is official," Kevin Cunningham, Alexander's trainer and manager, told ESPN.com by email late Tuesday night. When I saw Cunningham in Houston late last month, while I was there covering the Danny Garcia-Erik Morales fight, Cunningham mentioned he and Haymon were in talks.
Like many of Haymon's top clients, Alexander is represented by Golden Boy Promotions.
Alexander (23-1, 13 KOs) left behind the 140-pound division to move up to 147 pounds and made an impressive debut on Feb. 25, easily outpointing big puncher Marcos Maidana, a junior welterweight titleholder who was also testing out welterweight (but is now headed back to 140).
Alexander has been a staple on HBO and has an Aug. 18 Showtime date on deck, so it remains to be seen what Haymon can do for him. However, Haymon's influence at the premium cable networks is unparalleled.
Haymon, who refuses media interview requests, is the man behind the scenes for Floyd Mayweather Jr., which is where he gets so much of his leverage. But he also works with fighters such as Andre Berto, Adrien Broner, Jermain Taylor, Cristobal Arreola, Paul Williams, Gary Russell Jr., Antonio Tarver and Garcia, among others.