WBC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION ADONIS STEVENSON MAKES SHOWTIME DEBUT SUNDAY
Las Vegas, NV– Much controversy has arisen over 175lb champion Adonis Stevenson’s sudden move from HBO to Showtime. Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs), Haitain born, but now based in Montreal, had fought his last three fights on HBO, the first being his title winning effort over first round knockout victim and former WBC champ Chad Dawson (31-3, 17 KOs).
Stevenson KO’s Dawson
Coinciding with that rise to stardom, was another light heavyweight making his own mark. Russian born WBO light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev (22-0-1, 20 KOs) has appeared to just bludgeon his way through recent competition, stopping his last 8 opponents. Adonis has done so to his last 10. It appeared inevitable that the two would meet in a super fight considering both appeared in their last fight on an HBO doubleheader. Proceeding the bout however Stevenson decided to hook up with influential boxing adviser/promoter/manager, Al Haymon.
It’s extremely difficult to figure out at this point specifically what role Haymon plays in a fighters career as it appears he wears many hats. Either way his ability to get fighters the easiest fights for the most money from the networks has led to the Haitians title defense Saturday on Showtime against the capable but perceived as limited Andres Fonfara (25-2, 15 KOs). Haymon’s alleged interference in a potential title unification between Stevenson and Kovalev has led the Russians promoter Main Events, headed by outspoken CEO Kathy Duva, to file a lawsuit against Haymon, Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Goldenboy Promotions among others filed in the suit. Haymon’s allegiance with Showtime has led to Stevenson basically turning his back on HBO to run to the other side of the street.
STEVENSON UNDER A LOT OF HEAT FROM FANS AND MEDIA
Fonfara is a heavy underdog on Saturday, and the perception from many fans and media is that he used Haymon as a means to avoid challenging the dangerous Russian. However there are two sides to the coin here. While criticism of the Hatian born fighter may be warranted, he merely went with the more lucrative offer. There are reports that the money he would be receiving to fight Fonfara was actually more than what was offered to fight a much more dangerous opponent in Kovalev. Even if that is untrue but the numbers are close, the risk to reward factor is obviously in favor of Stevenson facing Fonfara. It’s obvious that at 36 years of age that Adonis has a short window of opportunity to make as much money as possible. His desire to fight the likes of near 50 year-old Bernard Hopkins adds to this notion. He appears to be a much safer fight than Kovalev, a murderous puncher, and for potentially a much larger purse.
STEVENSON LEFT WITH VARIOUS OPTIONS
There is also potential for a super-fight with former WBC light heavyweight belt-holder Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KOs). Pascal, also from Haiti and living in Montreal, is a big ticket seller. A fight between the two would do huge numbers in Canada. To be brutally honest, Kovalev has no fan base to speak of. Economically fighting Pascal and Hopkins make sense. When you throw in Fonfara, a fighter perceived as a tune-up for comparative money to fighting a beast in Kovalev it makes business sense. Not fun for the fans, but lucrative for the prizefighter. Overall it appears that for the time being Kovalev will just have to beat the opponents in front of him, until he can secure fights with the likes of an Andre Ward (if he moves up in weight) or someone of that ilk. It just doesn’t appear that there are any top level fighters with HBO at 175lbs. The talent pool appears to be mainly with Showtime and their partner Al Haymon.
-Kevin Perry