‘I’M STILL THE CHAMPION’
Stevenson prepares for title bout
Adonis Stevenson is in good spirits, his trainer said Thursday. His weight’s good and he’s eating well.
“He’s fighting,” Javan Hill said before the World Boxing Council light-heavyweight champion commenced an open workout for the media at his north-central gym.
Never have two words been so profound.
When Stevenson, a resident of Blainville, steps into the ring at the Bell Centre on June 3 against Andrzej Fonfara, a native of Poland who lives and trains in the U.S., it will be almost four years to the day since he captured the 175-pound title from Chad Dawson with a devastating one-round knockout. Fonfara will mark Stevenson’s eighth defence.
It’s been an incredible run, albeit one marked by criticism because of Stevenson’s long respites and his choice of opponents. He fought four times in 2013, twice within five months after capturing the title. Then it was twice in both 2014 and ’15, but just once last year. He hasn’t been in the ring since July 29, when he knocked out Thomas Williams in four rounds at Centre Vidéotron.
Stevenson hasn’t fought Sergey Kovalev, Bernard Hopkins, Eleider Alvarez or Jean Pascal. But this bout, to be televised in the U.S. by Showtime, marks his second fight in three years against Fonfara, 29-4 with 17 KOs.
Other than the fact Stevenson suffered a flash knock-down that night in the ninth round when he was caught off-balance — he sent Fonfara to the canvas in both the third and fifth rounds — nobody in boxing has been clamouring for a rematch. Why would they? Fonfara is ranked seventh by the WBC and 14th by the IBF.
At least when Stevenson (28-1, 23 KOs) stopped Darnell Boone in the sixth round of a March 2013 bout, he was avenging the only defeat of his career, three years earlier.
At this stage of his career, Stevenson, 39, said he ideally would like to fight twice per year. But he said, quite accurately, it’s his manager, Al Haymon, and television that dictates his schedule. Indeed, pugilists always will be someone’s puppet.
“I’m the king. It (the criticism) doesn’t bother me. It has been four years I’m the champ,” Stevenson said.
“Talk like that doesn’t mean anything. The opportunity, when it’s coming, it’s coming.
“It’s not my fault when Kovalev pulled out. It’s not my fault when Hopkins is on HBO. That’s the game. I don’t care and I don’t listen to people like that,” he added.
“I’m the king of the light-heavyweights. When you’re the king, for sure you’re going to be criticized. You have people who don’t like that. People talk, talk, talk. You can talk, but I’m still the champion.”
Promoter Yvon Michel, understandably, has long defended Stevenson, one of his primary meal tickets. As the champ, Stevenson always has a target on him. Boxers dream of challenging him for the title, Michel claiming Stevenson always has met the best available challenger.
“The division isn’t only Kovalev or Hopkins. It’s deep and talented. He’s fought anybody willing to get in the ring with him,” Michel said. “It’s just a perception. He avoids Kovalev, which isn’t the case. He avoided Hopkins? Not the case. Pascal? They all had opportunities to fight him and all turned it down.”
Three-quarters of the division is controlled by Andre Ward, who holds the IBF, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization titles. Ward’s preparing for a June 17 rematch against Kovalev, and should he lose to the Russian, they will undoubtedly meet a third time.
Stevenson, meanwhile, was supposed to meet Joe Smith, who ended Hopkins’ career. Then there was talk of a bout against Sean Monaghan, but neither failed to materialize.
While Michel said ticket sales are progressing at a decent pace, that might be the result of the cofeature between Alvarez and Pascal. Alvarez is the mandatory challenger to Stevenson’s title.
“What he has accomplished to become world champion is exceptional,” Michel said. “You have to be an exceptional fighter. To stay champion for long, it’s phenomenal. He’s a phenomenon. Maybe people will realize that only when he retires.”
Fonfara, 29, comes in with some credentials. Since losing to Stevenson, he has defeated Dawson, Nathan Cleverly and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. But Fonfara also was stopped in the first round last June by Smith.
“He’s dangerous. He’s a good fighter,” Stevenson said of Fonfara. “This kind of guy, he wants to go 12 rounds. When he’s tired, he’ll try to knock you out. I know him very well.”
Hill, meanwhile, said he and Stevenson have been concentrating on the champ’s footwork, knowing that’s the essence of everything in boxing. Without balance, a fighter can’t deliver the most rudimentary punch — or take one.
“He got hit, but it wasn’t a knockdown where Adonis was hurt,” Hill said. “He was off balance. His feet were crossed. It’s a knock-down. You can’t do anything about that.”
“I wasn’t worried that he was hurt. It just happened.”
I’m the king of the light-heavyweights. When you’re the king, for sure you’re going to be criticized.