Don King Boxing: Bunema Meets Martinez For Interim WBC Title This Saturday

Alex Bunema was born in Kinshasa, Zaire, nine months after the city hosted the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle,” Muhammad Ali’s stunning upset knockout of George Foreman in October, 1974.

Before and long after the fight, an unprecedented boxing buzz engulfed Zaire and Alex was immediately drawn to the Sweet Science.

“The thing that really got me into boxing was the Ali-Foreman fight in ’74,” said Alex, who tallied a 39-1 amateur record before turning professional in August 1996. Growing up, everybody was talking about that fight.

“That was one of the greatest fights of all time and it happened in Zaire. For months and years, that was the only thing people were talking about. It inspired a lot of kids to pick up the gloves and pursue a career in boxing.”

While the Ali-Foreman fight pushed Alex to learn the nuances and intricacies of one of the most difficult individual sports, it was his father’s calming influence that helped him stay motivated and dedicated to the sport.

“My dad used to be a boxer,” said Alex, who stormed out of the professional gates winning his first 13 fights. “He fought as an amateur. He would tell me about his fights and that would inspire me. I started boxing when I was just eight years old.”

Alex quickly turned heads with his advanced skills and strength. He would dispatch opponents with one-part finesse and one-part power.

He would become a four-time national champion in Zaire. He did it in 1992 at 132 pounds, and from ‘93-‘95 he would terrorize the 139 pound division.

Alex’s hard work and determination led him to qualify for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga., but, through no fault of his own, Alex was unable to compete.

“I was one of the youngest fighters to make it to the national team,” Alex said. “I won the Central African tournament. I was ready to go to Atlanta, but the sports federation wanted my family to give them a certain amount of money, and they didn’t have it.”

Alex would now focus on his professional career.

At the age of 21, on Aug. 30, 1996, Alex said goodbye to the amateur world and said hello to professional boxing. Alex would knockout his first opponent, Scan Ione, in the opening stanza.

Alex would face one of his toughest challenges only a year after turning professional. On Sept. 9, 1997, in Bay St. Louis, Miss., Alex got in the ring with former National Golden Gloves amateur champion Orlando Hollis.

Alex didn’t waste anytime as he got off to a hot start and never looked back. He scored one knockdown in the second round. He dropped Hollis a second time in the third, latter stopping him at 1:48, registering a technical knockout victory.

On March 2, 2000, in Las Vegas, Nev., Alex proved he was capable of winning a tough, close fight against a quality opponent. Alex took home a 10-round split decision victory against former world-title challenger Tony Marshall, who came into the fight with more experience and ring savvy than Alex.

Marshall kept the busier pace, but Alex was the harder puncher. He rocked Marshall in the fifth round and staggered him in the eighth. His hard-hitting style won him fans in the audience and points from the judges. Alex won a split decision where two judges favored him 96-94, and the third judge gave it to Marshall, 97-93.

By now, Alex was gaining experience and momentum. He had only two losses on his resume and a handful of quality wins against tough opposition.

His next challenge would come in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight title eliminator on Oct. 26, 2001 in Temecula, Calif. against the veteran and crafty Bronco McKart.

It was an exciting fight which earned a standing ovation from the crowd as there were many give-and-take rounds that were close and hard to score. Both fighters were exchanging leather as if it were going out of fashion.

Alex stood a great chance of winning since he applied constant pressure throughout. The judges, however, didn’t see it that way. Alex lost a hard-fought 12-round split decision with one judge favoring him 115-113 while the remaining judges saw it for McKart 116-112 and 117-111.

After the fight McKart admitted, “I almost went down in the fifth. He hit me hard with a body shot and I was very close to going to a knee. Bunema can box and punch with the best of them.”

To date, Alex’s most visible fight came against former world champion Jermain Taylor.

On March 27, 2004, Alex challenged Taylor for his World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas title in Little Rock, Ark. At the time, Taylor was an undefeated, rising contender.

Alex came out aggressively in the early rounds in an effort to wear down the harder-hitting Taylor. Alex is known for his incredible stamina that can wear out even the most conditioned athletes.

Taylor was able to keep a busy pace and consistently landed the harder punches.

Taylor scored two knockdowns in the seventh round, both coming after a series of right hands, and the referee stopped the fight without a count with 44 seconds left in the round.

After the fight, Alex said, “I’m very disappointed. I felt like the referee let me down. I take a knee and he stops the fight. I’ve been down before and have come back to win the fight.”

Alex rebounded nicely after the Taylor loss, winning four of five fights.

The Zaire native took on the biggest challenge of his career when he faced former International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion Roman “Made in Hell” Karmazin at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 19, 2008.

On paper, it looked as though Karmazin would cut through Bunema. In fact, only one of the three judges gave Bunema a single round in the first nine.

That all changed early in the 10th round when Bunema landed a devastating left hook that sent the Russian to the canvas. Bunema knew he had Karmazin in trouble, but he waited for the right moment to unleash a three-punch combination that left Karmazin crumbled on the floor in his own corner. The only thing left was for the referee to call of the action.

“I knew Karmazin was in very good shape from the opening bell,” Bunema said. “I also believed that he watched a lot of tape on my fights because he changed his style for me.

“He was trying to counter-punch more. The fight was close until I knocked him into the corner in the 10th round. I knew he was in trouble then. I thought it was over when I hit him with the big right but he stayed up.

“I followed him and landed the big hook that knocked him down. I was not surprised I did what I said I was going to do. Now I want a title shot against WBA champion Joachim Alcine.”

Karmazin’s trainer, Freddie Roach, summed it up simply after the fight.

“He told me in between rounds that he had no power and felt really weak,” Roach said. “He got caught and after that he never really recovered.”

Bunema’s next challenge came from respected Argentinean contender Walter Matthysse (26-3) at the beautiful outdoor Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Canada, on July 11, 2008.

Bunema started out where he had left off with Karmazin delivering a three-punch combination in the third round that began and ended with left hooks—with a left uppercut in between for good measure—that sent Matthysse down flat on his back. While Matthysse gamely rose to his feet, referee Michael Griffin deemed him unfit to continue.

Alex is married and has two daughters.