Stevenson sighting: Champ puts belt on line in rematch with Fonfara
The names might change, but the story always seems to be the same for Adonis Stevenson. The World Boxing Council light-heavyweight champion fights infrequently and continues to be criticized for avoiding the leading contenders in the 175-pound division.
“I don’t decide who I’m going to fight. TV and my manager (Al Haymon) decides. It’s not about me,” Stevenson said on Friday.
“I want to be active. Two fights a year is good for me. It’s a long training camp. I don’t want three or four fights in a year. For a world champion, it doesn’t make sense.”
Stevenson, the 39-year-old southpaw from Blainville, will return to the ring June 3 at the Bell Centre to meets Polish-American Andrzej Fonfara in the 12-round main event. The bout will be televised in the U.S. by Showtime.
Stevenson, 28-1 with 23 knockouts, will be fighting for the first time since July, when he stopped Thomas Williams in four rounds at Quebec City. That was Stevenson’s only bout in 2016. He fought twice in 2015, against unheralded Tommy Karpency after going 12 rounds with Sakio Bika, the former WBC super-middleweight champ.
Stevenson captured the title in June 2013, with a crushing firstround evisceration of Chad Dawson. This will be his eighth defence.
Fonfara, 29-4 with 17 KOs, became only the second fighter to go 12 rounds with Stevenson when they met in May 2014. Although Fonfara was largely unknown at the time and was expected to provide little resistance, he rebounded from knock-downs in the third and fifth rounds to send Stevenson to the canvas in the ninth. Stevenson weathered the storm with some difficulty and won a convincing unanimous decision.
Fonfara, a 29-year-old who moved from Poland to Chicago and trains in Oakland, Calif., under Virgil Hunter, said he never imagined a rematch against Stevenson was possible.
“I’m mentally stronger for sure,” Fonfara said. “At that time, I was kind of a kid. Now I’m a grown man. It’s a different story. Mentally, I’m different. Physically, I’m stronger. I’m a better boxer for sure.
“I’m a different fighter. Three years ago, I was 26. I’ve had a couple of good fights. I’m ready for this fight. I’m ready right now. I’m fresh. I’m ready for the fight tomorrow. I’m ready for the best Adonis.”
Fonfara’s coming off a 10-round technical knockout victory against Dawson last month. That helped, in part, to erase the memory of a crushing first-round defeat he suffered against Joe Smith last June.
But since losing to Stevenson, Fonfara also has defeated Nathan Cleverly and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Cleverly now is a world champion.
Still, this rematch seemingly materialized from nowhere.
Stevenson had been expected to defend against Smith — the man who ended the career of the legendary Bernard Hopkins — this month. But when that deal failed to materialize, Stevenson was expected to face the undefeated Sean Monaghan. The proposed bout kept getting delayed before it finally was cancelled.
“Monaghan and Smith fell through because they’re not the same value as Fonfara,” promoter Yvon Michel said. “He’s a proven
I’m ready for this fight. I’m ready right now. I’m fresh. I’m ready for the fight tomorrow. I’m ready for the best Adonis.
warrior. Showtime wasn’t interested, or too thrilled, to have Monaghan or Smith.”
While Stevenson has remained largely inactive, he seldom stays away from the gym and calls it his second home.
“Being active is better. You get into a rhythm and keep your timing,” said Jovon Hill, Stevenson’s Detroit-based trainer. “Everybody wants to be more active. But Adonis stays in shape.
“If you’re staying in the gym, which a lot of fighters don’t ... it has never been a concern for me,” Hill added. “I’d like for him to fight more active. We wouldn’t be asking this question if we didn’t want him to fight more often.”
In the intriguing co-feature that night, Eleider Alvarez will meet former WBC light-heavyweight champ Jean Pascal.
Alvarez, undefeated in 22 bouts, is the mandatory challenger to Stevenson’s title, yet never seems able to get in the ring with him for the long-anticipated showdown.
He’s coming off a fifth-round knockout against Lucian Bute last February and has taken the Pascal challenge in order to remain active.
The best days for Pascal, 31-41, would seem to be behind him. Nonetheless, he keeps manoeuvring himself into position for these big fights.
“It’s not me. I’m the cash cow of the division. I’m also a crowd pleaser,” Pascal said.
“I always give a great show and I train for the biggest challenge possible.”