SONAHR Sports: Sept. 29, 2013- Adonis Stevenson had something to prove when he stepped into a Montreal ring on Saturday night: namely, that his shocking first-round knockout of Chad Dawson was not a fluke. Stevenson proved his point in spades as he systematically took apart one-time IBF 175-lb king Tavoris Cloud at the Bell Centre. Although Cloud never went down, he suffered cuts over both eyes and absorbed an artful beating that prompted his corner to call a halt to the proceedings after the end of the seventh round. Stevenson thus retained his WBC and Ring magazine titles.
This has not been a good year for Cloud. Earlier, he lost his IBF belt by decision to the ageless Bernard Hopkins. Now this. It looks as though Cloud, who not so long ago was a rising force among the light-heavies, is on a downhill slide that he may not be able to reverse. � As for Stevenson, his star is shining brighter than ever. Only recently risen from super-middleweight, he was a decided underdog going into his challenge for Dawson�s crown, even though �Bad Chad� had been stopped by Andre Ward in his last fight, which was contested at 168 lb. Stevenson had done little of note during his career � until he knocked Dawson cold during the opening three minutes of their abbreviated encounter.
With his follow-up beatdown of Cloud, Stevenson has established himself as one of the two hottest fighters in the light-heavyweight division. The other is Sergey Kovalev, who recently crushed the highly-regarded Nathan Cleverly, taking Cleverly�s WBO belt in the process.
A match between Stevenson and Kovalev, a pair of hard-hitting warriors who can also box, would be a light-heavyweight dream fight � the best vs. the best. A cynic would say that situation virtually guarantees such a bout will never happen. But one can always hope �
In the absence of Kovalev as an opponent, there is always Bernard Hopkins. Actually, over the past 20 years or so, there�s always been Bernard Hopkins, at middleweight and light-heavy (he chose to bypass the super-middles). The 48-year-old Methuselah of the prize ring is scheduled to defend his IBF title against Karo Murat of Germany on October 26. If Hopkins wins, he�ll be in a good position to take on either Stevenson or Kovalev � or ride quietly into the sunset of retirement.
Another option for Stevenson is a battle against fellow Haitian-Montrealer Jean Pascal, a former champion who lost his title to Hopkins a few years ago. Pascal knocked out a journeyman on the Stevenson-Cloud undercard. A �Mayhem in Montreal� showdown between Stevenson and Pascal would be the biggest fight that city � arguably Canada�s last true fight town � has ever seen.
Some advice for Stevenson: Take the Pascal fight and rake in the big payday. If you win, go after Kovalev if he�s still available. But by all means, don�t go anywhere near Bernard Hopkins. He will take you to school and make you look like a fool.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
