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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Adonis Stevenson: "The
Attention I Have Received Since Saturday Is Amazing"
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL --- Yvon Michel, the promoter of the GYM Group,
lost the world champion of his organization in 2010 when
Jean Pascal (27-2-1) lost his WBC light heavyweight crown to
Bernard Hopkins in Montréal, but he gained one Saturday at
Bell Centre, when the southpaw Adonis Stevenson won this WBC
light heavyweight crown.
Stevenson (21-1-0), a fighter of 35 years old living in a
Montréal suburb, shocked the world Saturday evening. He
needed only 76 seconds of action to dethrone the veteran
Chad Dawson (30-3-0) as WBC champion of the world. It was
the first time in 16 years that a light heavyweight
championship of the world ended in the first round.
“I threw only one power shot, but it was certainly the most
important one of my career,” said Stevenson. “A shot that I
will remember all my life. Dawson was clearly hurt after his
visit on the floor. He could barely stand on his legs. The
referee Mike Griffin got no other choice than stop the fight
and declare Dawson TKO’d.”
Sunday, Stevenson started his new life as new world
champion. “I received over 1,500 E-Mail from fans who
congratulated me,” said Stevenson. “The attention I got
since Saturday night is pretty amazing. It's difficult to
believe it's happening to me. However, trust me, I will keep
my feet firmly on the ground. I will take a week off, I will
celebrate a few days my victory, and I will be back in the
gym in Detroit. And believe me, when I will get the
confirmation of my next bout, I will train again like hell,
I will work with the energy of a challenger hungry to
dethrone a champion. For every fight as world champion, I
will train with the determination I got in preparation for
Dawson.”
Yvon Michel got a very busy Sunday. “There are several
options on the table for Adonis,” said Yvon Michel. “It is
not impossible that he could fight in September on the same
card that Jean Pascal, who wants to be active before his
huge fight with Lucian Bute (December 7th or January 25th).
Adonis is hoping to face eventually Bernard Hopkins to unify
the WBC and IBF crowns, but Tavoris Cloud, Tony Bellew and
Beibut Shumenov are figuring among the potential next Adonis
opponents.”
Cloud (24-1-0), a fighter from Tallahassee, Florida, lost
his IBF crown to Hopkins (53-6-2) March 9th in Brooklyn, the
place where Hopkins will face the German Karo Murat (25-1-1)
July 13th. Murat is the mandatory challenger for the IBF
crown. Tony Bellew (20-1-1), a British, is the WBC mandatory
challenger, and Shumenov (13-1-0), a boxer from Kazakhstan,
is the WBA champion of the world.
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