The Rundown with Rene Knott
The Rundown with Rene Knott is a weekly online news and culture show which aims to keep St. Louis informed, inspired, and connected. Hosted by trusted journalist Rene Knott, the show highlights the people, stories, and moments that define the city.
The Rundown with Rene Knott
Devon "The Great" Alexander
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Past the streets of St. Louis to World Champion
In this episode of The Rundown with Rene Knott, Devon Alexander shares how boxing saved his life.
He opens up about the sacrifices behind becoming a champion, the mindset he carried into his first world title fight, and the emotional moment he finally held the championship belt after years of hard work and discipline.
Today, through his foundation, Devon is giving back by teaching kids life skills, discipline, faith, and the importance of education over titles.
A powerful conversation about purpose, perseverance, faith, and redemption.
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Did boxing save you from the streets?
SPEAKER_02It did.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Let me rephrase it. Okay. Yes and no. I was. God took that. I never wanted to be in the streets. You know, I was around it. I was around blood, crib, whatever you can name, I was around it. You know, guys used to walk down the street with red rags, blue rags. I was around it, but it never intrigued me. Never intrigued me to sell drugs, to be out there on the corner. God didn't give me that. I I honestly can say God didn't give me that. And I'm I'm telling you, he changed me for a bigger purpose.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Because I didn't want to do none of that.
SPEAKER_03Greeting.
SPEAKER_02My man, long time.
SPEAKER_03It's been a while. It has been a while. And I've known you all, I think since I came to town, I've known you. You're one of the first true St. Louis stories that I did because of your growth in the world of boxing. When did you win the championship?
SPEAKER_022010.
SPEAKER_032010. Here we are, 2026. I'm still calling you champ. Do people still call you champ? Yes.
SPEAKER_02And you you saw the rise, Brittany. Oh, yeah. You saw the rise. Oh, yeah. From from the beginning, from humble beginnings to the rise. You saw it. So I bet you that was a hell of a uh sight to see. But yes, 2010, it was a hell of a journey. I know. Of a journey. I'm grateful, man. I'm grateful. Like I just told you, I'm grateful that God chose me out of all these young men that I was around. And I was around a lot of kids, man. A lot of young men. And somehow, this little snight-nosed big head kid, God chose out of all the young men, he chose me for some reason. And I don't take that lightly. I really don't.
SPEAKER_03Well, now you don't take it lightly. Yes. But back then did you take it lightly? Did you take it for granted that you had the skill?
SPEAKER_02A little bit. Okay. I can really say a little bit, but I was always disciplined.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_02Because you have to, you have to be dedicated. You have to be, you couldn't do nothing else. You couldn't do nothing else. When I tell you I had no job growing up, I had no job growing up. Boxing is all I did. From time I was eight years old till I retired at 36. Boxing is all I did. From every day for the rest of my life, eight years old became the rest of my life in boxing. Did you get to be a kid? No. No. Honestly, I thought about that. I'll talk to my wife about that all the time. I was never able to do what my peers were just doing. I don't even have any friends, honestly. I have no friends.
SPEAKER_03A charismatic guy like you did not have a friend.
SPEAKER_02I have no friends at all. I got associates, but I have no close friends. Because I was always traveling. I've been overseas boxing, or I was at a world tournament, a duel against another country. Because I was a top amateur. I had over 300 amateur fights. So I was, they had me going.
SPEAKER_03Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02And I'm grateful for that too.
SPEAKER_03But uh so what was it like the first time you got hit in the face? Because that's the thing that kept me from boxing and wrestling and other things. Football, I got a face mask. But boxing, at some point, someone's gonna hit you in the face.
SPEAKER_02That's the that's the uh that's the million time I heard that from people that tried it. It's like, oh, that hitting from once again. Oh no. I tell people, it is a acquired thing. Yeah. You gotta be willing to put, yeah, you gotta be almost kind of crazy a little bit. Okay. You gotta look past the hurt.
SPEAKER_05Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02And because you know, God didn't make our body to just keep getting punched on like that. So if you can do it, you gotta almost be mentally strong to do it. And I had it. I had that, you know, once I was able to get past that first hit, which I was crying. My nose, my nose, my nose, my I he busted my nose.
SPEAKER_03Oh, really?
SPEAKER_02And I was crying.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And that really taught me, no, that really is probably the reason I became world champion. Because it taught me so much on what boxing was not.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02You cannot get upset in the ring. I got upset. I was upset, I was mad, and I was just rushing in. I was just, and he was just, my head was doing more like a bobblehead like that. And no matter what I did, he was just tagging me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So I learned that day that the streets and boxing is totally different things.
SPEAKER_03Totally different.
SPEAKER_02It's the art. It's art.
SPEAKER_03Did boxing save you from the streets?
SPEAKER_02It did.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Let me rephrase it. Okay. Yes and no. I was. God took that. I never wanted to be in the streets. You know, I was around it. I was around blood, crib, whatever you can name, I was around it. You know, guys used to walk down the street with red rags, blue rags. I was around it, but it never intrigued me. Never intrigued me to sell drugs, to be out there on the corner. God didn't give me that. I I honestly can say, God didn't give me that. And I'm I I'm telling you, He saved me for a bigger purpose.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Because I didn't want to do none of that. Any of it. Like my like my peers did. They they jumped right in with no hesitation. I didn't think it was cool. I didn't I didn't find it intriguing. I thought it was silly. I thought it was. Why would I want to go stick on a stand on a corner and just do nothing all day? I just thought it was crazy. I thought I didn't see the logic.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02Basically, early. And I'm thankful for that.
SPEAKER_03Your brother didn't take that path though.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Did that show you something? Did he tell you something? Did he help? Did his experience guide you to stay closer to boxing? Or did he during the time tell you some things about life behind bars and you go, I am never ever going to be there?
SPEAKER_02Both. Both. Um I honestly, I don't know what my brother was thinking. He was a decorated amateur all the way up to 17. And when 17 was when he started to do Divin and Dabin and Robin. I I don't know why. It was the people around, the young man he was around. I don't know if he need money. I don't know. Um I that's a touchy subject for him, so I try not to even touch on it. But I got locked up one time. And I'm gonna tell you the story about it. So, and that that taught me a lesson.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_02I mean, I it's so many, I was able to look and see and analyze what the hell am I doing. So, my mom told me I got my first car when I was 17. And y'all know you know where I'm going with it. I I drove the car anyway. I said, boy, do not get your boy in that car and don't get that car registered. You go get a you go rack up a bunch of tickets and you're gonna go to jail. You go, I did it anyway. So now the police pulled me over. I get a ticket for no insurance, no registration, and it went warrant. Wow. And so I forgot about it. I I didn't even think about it. Just so happened this day, I get a new car. The first day I got a new car, the police, woo-hoo. I said, I'm scared to death. Now, mind you, Rena, I'm I'm a I'm a square. I'm from the hood. I saw death, I didn't hear gunshots. But really, I was really a square. I didn't want to do none of that stuff. So I'm scared to death. You know, I'm wondering if she sees this warrant, is this something? So she said, license registration. I only had my license. Said uh, you know, she went back to a cruiser, got out. I mean, I'm when I tell you I was sweating, I was sweating. And uh she said, can you get out the car, please? Oh. I said, oh snap. I said, is it something I did wrong? It's turn around. Okay, cling, cling. Man, when I tell you I could have died, my heart was racing. Man, when I tell you I was scared. When I I I thought my life was over. Really? I really did. I went through the process. I said, I said, ma'am, can you please let me call somebody? I will I will give you money. I will whatever it I was I was a square. I was naive about the system. I'd never been in trouble. So she I went to um jail just thinking where my life has been, and it's it has gone, man. I said, I said, I would never get locked up. I'm here, man. And then after hours, I said, you'll never, this would never happen to me ever again. That scared me straight. Yeah. I man, that I don't see it. Was guys in there coming out laughing, joking. I'm seeing here like this. Like, eh. And they just laughing. Hey, where's my commissary? Give me my commissary. I mean, man, please let me out. Can I call somebody? Man, I was that less that taught me a lesson.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I never want to go to jail.
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SPEAKER_03Well, we're back now with the rundown with Renin Nodd and uh Devin Alexander is in the house. The champ himself, we went through your brief criminal career. Um that one time behind bars, like you said, scared you straight, put you on the path. And that path leads you all the way to the championship. Yes. So I want to start here. What was it like to walk into the ring knowing that I could come out of this ring the champion? Or was your mind even at that point?
SPEAKER_02No, I was zoned in. When I when I were in the when I forced, when I when they told me I was fighting for my first world title, there is nothing. When I tell you, there is nothing that was gonna stop me from coming out with that world title. And I also zoned in and focused. I forgot I was what I was forgot I was fighting for world title. I wanted to win so bad that I, man, I need to get in, I need to get in and go to work and get this win. So when when I when I started, I I knocked him out, I stopped him. And when they put the belt on me, that's when all the feelings, all the um trauma, all the mouths, all the blood, sweat, tears. If I can explain, and it was a million pictures, Judge.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And just it, I I did it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I really became world champion. I didn't understand that until I got back to my hotel. I didn't go out. My my they was mad at me because I'm not a club. You're a square. Yeah, you're a square. Man, I they said, man, we gotta go celebrate, man. I said, I'm not going to the hotel. I'm out. I'm I'm gonna go to so I I went to the uh hotel room. I slept with my belt, of course. And when I tell you, because usually when I go to the fights, I got about four calls, four calls, mom, wife, kids. Good luck, daddy, good luck. And so when I turn my phone on this time, when I tell you I had a thousand voicemails, a thousand text messages, that's the most we can get on any phone. Yeah, it was four. Wow. My life changed instantly. Instantly I felt being world champion, instantly.
SPEAKER_03When it changes like that, are you are you able to accept it? Or is it almost like a nervous feeling of, oh no, now I'm the champion. Now I have to live up to this title.
SPEAKER_02So I'm gonna go back to the guy thing. He gave me the ability to see who's doing it and what for. I know it was all him, it wasn't me. I I of course I did the work, I stayed consistent, I worked hard every day, and I had to tell myself, Devin, look, we're in a different realm now. This is different territory. You're not this poor kid from St. Louis no more. You're not this kid that you can just walk down the street and just be, I had to change a lot of tunes, a lot of everyday things that I did do, I had to change it up. So in that regard, yes. I had to switch it up and be careful what I'm doing, who I'm talking around, who I'm around. And in that aspect, yes, I had to switch it up a lot.
SPEAKER_03Did you get challenged on the streets? Did people want to come up and go toe-to-toe with the champ?
SPEAKER_02Really, I never had a street fight. You know that, right? I never had a street fight. I never had a street fight a day in my life. I started boxing when I was eight years old. Yeah. And that's what I'm trying to get everybody else to understand about my foundation and why I'm doing it. Because it teaches you, boxing teaches you. Just say for you. There's nothing you can say to me to make me want to fight you. There's zero you can do to me, say to me, that makes me want to fight you at all. Words, uh talking belligerent, I don't care. They don't, they don't do nothing for me. I learned that early. So if I did get into altercation, I was always saying, You got it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You got it. You yes, you're right. I am whatever you call me, my mama, whatever it is. They usually don't even know my mom's name, so why would I even fight this person? But I was always able to walk away. Yeah. So nobody never tried me in their regard. And I don't, and I don't, I don't approach it like I'm this tough, bro. Usually people that does martial arts or or some type of combat, they don't walk like they don't, they don't walk around like I can fight. Uh you don't even know somebody in the uh uh black belt. Because they don't even approach you like that. You just never, I ain't finna walk around. I'm champion. You can you can mess with me if you want to. Yeah. That's corny too, man, honestly. But I was never like that anymore. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Uh tell me about the foundation. Because now you're taking all the things you acquired over your lifetime in boxing and giving it back to the community. Tell me about what you're doing with the foundation.
SPEAKER_02Full circle. Yeah. Because you know my son boxed too. My son's pretty good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Pretty good. I was skeptical at first because all dads are. Because he's privileged. You know, he didn't grow up like I did. I man, I had to. I had to become world. I when I rented, I had to become world champion. There was no other option for me but to become world champion. Because the way I, I think 13 brothers and sisters. So the way I I had to. There's no other outlet from me. I mean, what I'm gonna do. So now that I got the foundation and got a different perspective, and I know what the kids are going through, I think I went through all the trauma and all the things that I went through for me to come back and show the kids, yes, you can start this way, but it don't have to be forever. You can work hard and you can accomplish anything. Victimhood mentality, I try to teach them not to have it. Don't please do you're in control of your own destiny. Nobody's, when you get up every day, you got the free will. Rene, you got the free will, everybody got the free will to do whatever they want to do. I use, I tell my son, I know he's trying to hear it too. Son, you got the free will. Nobody's grabbing you by your leg and saying, no, you can't do this, you can't, no, no. It's not like that. So you can be whatever you want to be, no matter what. So with the foundation, I'm really trying to teach them not to have that victimhood mentality and also work hard, no matter if they want to compete, if they got other aspirations. The gym is for kids to come in. I don't care if they want to compete or not, it's just to get them in there to show discipline, uh, hard work, dedication, commit to something. Once I get them in, I can control the narrative any way I can. Just get them through the door. So that's how, that's that's bits and pieces on the reason why.
SPEAKER_03I I know when I talk to people about the foundation, your foundation, they'll go, I don't want my kid learning how to fight. You know, I don't want my kid to now he's got the skills to go do it on the playground, or that's what they want is for the kids to get the skills to go do it on the playground. Why is that dangerous for a kid to to give the kid the skills to say, okay, go defend yourself?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I so also I hate that. Um I hate when a parent or anybody goes straight to, I mean, that's dangerous. That you shouldn't do that. You shouldn't, because boxing is so much more. It's so much more. And I I was just telling Danny, before you even put or get inside that ring, there's so much more you gotta even do to even get in there. I gotta teach you how to hold your guards, protect yourself, and actually teach you the fundamentals of the sport. So it'd be two or three months before you even get in there. So, and by that time they're gonna be prepared mentally to even get in there. And typically it's in a safe environment. We do it safe because we understand CTE and all that stuff. We do it safely. So when people try to talk against it, I I break it down to them, verbatim. Look, this is how it goes. What you see on TV is not boxing at all. It is something, it's a tool that you can use. Every young man, every young man, every young lady that got troubles, I think it should box. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_02If they need to learn assertiveness, if they need to learn how to uh be, if they can be bullied, if they got attitude issues, it will work with any young person that needs something and they got issues. Okay.
SPEAKER_03So here's a question for you. Kid comes through your boxing program, comes to the foundation. What would make you prouder? The kid that graduates from college with the diploma because he learned all of the disciplines and all that that it takes to be successful, or the kid that goes on and wins a world championship?
SPEAKER_02Oh, that's a good question. I thought I think about that all the time, honestly. I think about that all the time. So I'm honest with every last person that comes through my door. I'm honest with them. I tell them, look, man, winning a war title is hard. It's like the lottery. It's like hitting the lottery. It's hard. I think I'd be better than with them uh going to college and finishing college. Okay. Because I know how dangerous a sport is. And you gotta have a certain level, like I said, of I don't care. I gotta, and you gotta have a dog, you gotta somehow gotta have a dog in you to have you gotta have a chip on your shoulder and not want to lose at all. So the odds, like could it happen? Yes. I got some very talented young young men at the gym that can become world champion. The odds, I started with a like 50. 50 young men, and only me made it to world champion. So it's kind of, man, they got better odds of going to college.
SPEAKER_05Okay. And I would love to see that. Okay.
SPEAKER_02I tell them too, man, look, because a lot of them around a lot of gang, a lot of violence. I said, two things can happen with you and this foundation. I said, you can come back. You could pull up to my gym with a nice car outside and say, look, I listened. I understood what Coach was saying. Or you can come here and say, look, I wish I listened. I did 15 years in jail, 20 years in jail. I wish I would listen to Coach. Man, I wish I could go back. Please listen. It can go two ways. And I want you guys to come back with a nice car, whatever car that is, and say, look, I listened. So I give them two options.
SPEAKER_03All right, I appreciate that. Can you show them the bicep real quick?
SPEAKER_02Oh my goodness. It's still there, still got it. It's still there, too. They say Roy uh muscle is as big as mine, but I don't think so. What y'all think?
SPEAKER_03Looks pretty good.
SPEAKER_02It's always in shape. It's a lifestyle.
SPEAKER_03Well, with that, I say thank you, my friend. Thank you for it. It's always a pleasure to see you.
SPEAKER_02Yes, sir. Yes, sir.