He’s a knockout artist with a million-dollar smile, he’s named for a Greek god and has the nickname of a superhero.
Yet Adonis “Superman” Stevenson, beloved in his home country of Canada, has another less-flattering name among many in the U.S. boxing media and fans on social media: “Ducker.”
Stevenson, 37, the WBC light heavyweight champion, has been accused of ducking the dangerous and unbeaten light heavyweight belt-holder, Russian slugger Sergey Kovalev, who since November has finished off Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal, two former light heavyweight champs Stevenson also chose not to fight.
Instead, Stevenson risked his title against lesser known Dmitry Sukhotsky and Andrzej Fonfara. He was knocked to the canvas against Fonfara, proving his vulnerability against a big punch. Stevenson ultimately won, going the distance for the first time since his only career loss in 2010, a second-round technical knockout against Darnell Boone, which he later avenged by KO.
On Saturday, Stevenson (25-1, 21 KOs) will return to the ring to christen CBS’ inaugural broadcast of the Premier Boxing Champions series, when the Haitian-born Quebecois puts his belt on the line in Quebec City against tough, unorthodox journeyman Sakio Bika (CBS, 3 p.m. ET).
Stevenson shrugs off the accusations, saying he doesn’t pick his fights.
“I never ducked anybody. I’m ready to fight anybody,” he told USA TODAY Sports by phone this week.
“I don’t pick opponents. I let my manager (Al Haymon) and my team take care of that. My job is to go in the ring and beat everybody and knock everybody out
