MOHEGAN SUN ? It had been two years since Curtis ?Showtime? Stevens (23-3, 17 KO) had been on television, and before Saturday night he had only been in the ring one time. On Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena Stevens went a long way towards erasing the memory of his last televised bout (a loss to Jesse Brinkley) by knocking Elvin Ayala (26-6-1, 12 KO) to the mat twice in the first round and stopping the fight in 1:10 by TKO to become the NABF Middleweight Champion and immediately putting himself in every conversation about middleweight contenders. When asked (after the fight) if he?d be interested in fighting Peter Quillin, Stevens laughed ?would he be interested in fighting me? You?re asking the wrong question.?
Prior to the bout the two camps had traded barbs and blood was hot when they met in the middle of the ring for referee instructions where Stevens wouldn?t even make eye contact with Ayala. ?I?m not gonna say animosity?but one thing that, I?m not gonna say pissed me off, was when he said I?m not Abraham. I?ve got heavier hands than Abraham? said Stevens. ?King? Arthur stopped Ayala in the 12th round in an IBF middleweight title fight. It turns out Stevens was absolutely correct, what Abraham needed 12 rounds to accomplish, Stevens did in 70 seconds. ?I don?t get paid overtime? said a happy Stevens after the fight when asked if he wanted to go more rounds as he?s only fought 2 rounds in 2 years.
After the bout the tension between the two sides boiled over when Elvin Ayala?s brother jumped the guard rail and got in the ring to engage in a WWE style pull-apart brawl with Stevens. Obviously getting in the ring as a spectator is a bad idea, but after watching your (professional fighting) brother literally get knocked out cold Ayala?s I?m not sure what would possess you (other than copious amounts of alcohol) to engage in a donybrook with the new NABF middleweight champion. ?I was on the ropes celebrating, I felt someone on my back, I thought it was pops or my cousin?his emotions override his thinking, but I got no problem with him, that?s his brother?if the same thing had happened to me I think my cousins would?ve jumped in.? When asked if he was afraid of someone coming from the crowd Stevens laughed ?no, I know I roll with a pack of ninjas.?
Elvin Ayala?s brother thought this was a good idea. Credit: Joe Roche
Not to be out done, the main event of the evening provided more fireworks, and a legitimate star-making performance. Sergey Kovalev said after the fight that he ?got lucky? when he knocked former light heavyweight champion Gabriel Campillo out in the third round ? but from my seat on press row there didn?t seem to be any lucky involved in the manner by which the ?Krusher? dispatched Campillo.
Kovalev came to the ring looking very relaxed draped in the Russian flag. I was told by someone who had been in the locker room with Kovalev before the fight that he was incredibly calm and relaxed right before the fight and it showed. Kovalev looked very smooth in the first round where he used his jab to walk Campillo down, break his defense and deal significant damage to a cagey fighter who is known for his slick boxing and defense. On this night it would be all Kovalev, the Campillo who many felt beat Tavoris Cloud (and did beat Beibut Shumenov) was absolutely out-gunned and out-skilled by Kovalev.
In the third round Kovalev used his counter punching skill to drop Campillo with a left. When Campillo beat the count, Kovalev went right back to work punishing Campillo against the ropes and sending him to the ground a second time. It wouldn?t be much longer until Kovalev had Campillo in trouble a third time and finally finished the fight before the third round ended, sending a significant signal to the light heavyweight division ? the Russian is a force to be reckoned with.
Credit: Joe Roche
After the fight Kovalev was humble in victory saying that he wouldn?t call anyone out but that he wanted to fight the best, and he wanted to fight for a title, and it didn?t matter who in the light heavyweight division stepped up, he was ready. Kovalev seemed very happy to be fighting in the United Stated, on U.S. television and acknowledged that from here on out his fights would be in the U.S., because it?s only by winning in the U.S. that you can become a star in boxing. ?Next for me will be a more important fight because I?m here in America? said Kovalev in broken English in the post-fight press conference.
Kathy Duva of Main Events said after the fight that from the time it took for Kovalev to get dressed after the fight and head to the press conference she had already been contacted by networks for Kovalev to appear on their airwaves and with good reason. I?m not always right about these things ? but I?d be shocked if Sergey Kovalev isn?t a star in the light heavyweight division before the end of 2013.
With the undercard (as well as the co-feature) it was a tough night for the local fighters. Providence, RI based super middleweight Vladine Biosse (14-2-1, 7 KO) suffered a significant career setback when journeyman Marcus Upshaw (15-8-1, 7 KO) battered ?Mr. Providence? for the majority of their 8 round bout before landing a straight right that sent Biosse down at 2:19 of the 8th round and stopping the fight. Biosse was seriously hurt, was down on the mat for awhile and struggled to exit the ring under his own power. It?s significant to note that Richie Cappiello of Classic Entertainment & Sports (Biosse?s promoter) said on press row that he told Biosse not to take this (Upshaw) fight.
Devastating knockouts were the story of the evening. Debuting Jimmy Williams (1-0, 1 KO) scored a KO of well-traveled Noel Garcia (2-16-2, 1 KO) from Springfield, MA in the fourth round. Garcia, who had BLOOD written on his trunks was knocked out @ 0:39 of the 4th round and spent some time on his back on the canvas. Joseph ?Chip? Perez (10-2, 3 KO) was also knocked out flat in the opening bout of the evening by Jason Sosa (8-1-3, KO), a fighter who came in to the night as an ?opponent? but was far more lively a fighter than anyone anticipated and who easily handled the slick punching Perez who was simply over powered before being knocked out. Those in attendance also saw something that I?ve never seen before when Edwin Cotto (1-0, 1 KO) landed a beautiful combination on ?Ironskin? Ian James (2-5-1, 1 KO) who was out on his feet, stumbling towards the ropes and got tangled with the referee. As the referee was falling and catching James he was waving off the fight with his free hand, ending the fight at 0:17 of the fourth round.
The only two fights that didn?t end in knockout where the first and last fights of the night. In the opening bout undefeated heavyweight Jarrell Miller (4-0-1, 4 KO) from Brooklyn, NY had two points taken in the third round for pushing the head of Joey Dawejko (7-1-2, 3 KO) turning an otherwise lopsided four round win for Miller into an unanimous draw with 37-37 scorecards across the board. The final fight of the night, which took place after the televised main event saw Shelito Vincent (7-0) outbox Nydia Feliciano (5-3-3)for the unanimous decision.
On a show with 8 fights, 6 fights ended in knockout, with each knockout being brutal. We saw Curtis Stevens make a statement in the middleweight division and Sergey Kovalev announced his presence in the light heavyweight division. Though everyone thought heading into the show that the Main Events card at Mohegan Sun was the ?B-side? of the boxing evening from my spot the show turned out to be one of the most action packed and enjoyable cards in recent memory.
