After Kovalev crushed Sillakh, the one person he called out was Stevenson. After Stevenson TKO?d Bellew, the one person he didn?t call out was Kovalev. …
Saturday night at the Colis?e Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada, WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KOs) and WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs) both scored knockouts, over Ismayl Sillakh (22-1, 17 KOs) and Tony Bellew (20-2-1, 12 KOs) respectively, setting up a potential showdown in the hopefully not too distant future.
Fighting out of the red corner in black trunks with silver trim, Kovalev got things started with a bang. Originally from Chelyabinsk, Russia, but now fighting out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, he was as relaxed and focused as usual and won the first round by a hair.
Sillakh, from Simi Valley Park, California, by way of Zaporozhye, Ukraine, and fighting out of the blue corner in blue and gold trunks, was competitive in round one. Tall and rangy with good skills and power, he was also effective in the opening stanza.
But all that changed dramatically in the second. Thirty seconds into the round, a Kovalev right caught Sillakh and dropped him hard. He managed to get to his feet, but his nose was bleeding and his unfocused eyes suggested he was in another world. Another right caught Sillakh looking and put him down and out for good.
After the fireworks in the first fight, the bout between Stevenson, from Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, by way of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and Bellew, from Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, took a while to ignite.
Fighting out of the red corner in Kronk gold, Stevenson came out stalking, whereas Bellew, fighting out of the blue corner in blue trunks with white trim, came out boxing. The contrasting styles enabled Bellew to make a good show of it, albeit in a losing effort.
The fighters were feeling each other out in round one. Stevenson controlled the action, such as the action was. He landed 12 punches to Bellew?s 5 and looked the stronger, if not necessarily the smarter, fighter in the ring.
Round two was a better round for the southpaw Stevenson. Left hand leads to the head and body set the tone, but Bellew, who was boxing beautifully and staying out of range, got in a few licks of his own.
Bellew drew fight blood in round three. With his nose oozing claret, Stevenson went on the attack. He landed a left to Bellew?s forehead, a left to his chest, followed by two body shots. The Liverpudlian?s offensive output began a precipitous decline. He was fighting smart, but he had yet to win a round.
Stevenson started the fourth in fine fettle. He landed two more lefts to the head and a third left to Bellew?s midsection. But then the British Bomber connected and hurt Stevenson. He fought back, but he is basically a one-handed fighter. Whatever knowledge Stevenson gained working alongside Emanuel Steward, it didn?t include incorporating a jab, hook or uppercut into his arsenal.
In round five Stevenson regrouped. He was still only throwing his straight left one punch at a time, but he was landing more than his opponent. Bellew seemed content to bob and weave and fire off ineffectual punches. He landed a combination. Stevenson countered with a rare jab. Superman took the round.
Bellew continued to box in round six. An occasional punch landed, but an offensive machine he is not. Bellew tossed a punch in Stevenson?s direction?and Adonis countered with a straight left that put Bellew down. He struggled to his feet and beat the count, before zigzagging to a corner where Stevenson unloaded another bomb. Bellew was out on his feet and the ref waved it off.
After Kovalev crushed Sillakh, the one person he called out was Stevenson.
After Stevenson TKO?d Bellew, the one person he didn?t call out was Kovalev. He said something about wanting to fight Carl Froch. He mentioned Bernard Hopkins. But most of what he said made little sense. Stevenson hits hard, but he is limited, and he knows, as we know, that should they ever meet, Kovalev will destroy him.
