SONAHR: May 25, 2014 – WBC and Ring light-heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson was Fighter of the Year for 2013, based on his stoppage wins over Darnell Boone, Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud, and Tony Bellew. And his grueling encounter with Andrzej Fonfara on Saturday turned out to be a strong candidate for 2014 Fight of the Year.
The fight certainly had all the qualifications: multiple knockdowns, shifts in momentum, and numerous demands on both fighters? reserves of courage and stamina. Even though the encounter went the full 12-round distance, the fans who witnessed it got every bit of their money?s worth every minute of the way.
According to the judges? scorecards ? 115-110 twice, and 116-109 ? Stevenson won by a comfortable margin. But it?s probably safe to say that the champion didn?t feel very comfortable when Fonfara put him on the canvas in the ninth round. That wasn?t where Stevenson was supposed to be ? not after knocking his Polish challenger down in the first and fifth stanzas. But Stevenson got up and proceeded to dominate the last three rounds to ensure his victory.
Fonfara came into the fight with a respectable 24-3 record, with 15 KOs. However, he was really just expected to serve as a marking-time opponent for Stevenson, who is awaiting big bouts against the likes of WBO champion Sergey Kovalev, the ageless Bernard Hopkins, or super-middleweight king Andre Ward. Instead, Fonfara made Stevenson work hard for 12 brutal rounds. Fonfara is not as good as Dawson or Cloud, but is certainly better than Boone, and at least on a par with Bellew. His performance raises his stock in the division. But has Stevenson?s stock declined, given his struggle with an opponent he was expected to blow away?
Not necessarily. The unheralded Fonfara showed a lot of heart in rising from those early knockdowns, and his ensuing rally forced Stevenson to call upon his own considerable fortitude to prevail. The win showed that Stevenson cannot be considered a front-runner who will fall apart under continued pressure from a persistent foe.
Having won his unexpected war, Stevenson can now set his sights on bigger game. A showdown against fellow Haitian-Montrealer Jean Pascal would make a mint of Canadian money, and Stevenson would have a 50-50 chance to win. His chances against Kovalev would be less than 50-50, though. Stevenson has enough power to be a dangerous proposition for the Russian. But the Fonfara fight disclosed weaknesses that the power-punching Kovalev could exploit.
Hopkins and Ward are both master boxers, which spells trouble for Stevenson. Of course, Dawson was an excellent boxer as well, and Stevenson took him out in one round. But Dawson, in retrospect, was on the downside after being stopped by Ward ? a downside that wasn?t exposed until Stevenson turned Chad?s lights out with a single punch. Taking that factor into account, it stands to reason that Stevenson would have only the proverbial ?puncher?s chance? against either Hopkins or Ward.
But there?s another career path available for Stevenson. His legion of fans in Montreal, and the Canadian province of Quebec as a whole, would fill the local arenas to see him in the ring with anybody who has a modicum of credibility. Fighters like Beibut Shumenov, Juergen Braehmer, and Isaac Chilemba could earn him decent paydays while he marks time.
However, Andrzej Fonfara clearly showed Stevenson the perils of marking time. Here?s hoping Stevenson lands at least one of the big matchups he covets before this year ends.
