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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Adonis Stevenson: "If Cloud Is
Hesitant Like
He Was Against Hopkins Or If He Is Very Aggressive, The
Fight Will Be Very Short"
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL - Adonis Stevenson is like a roaring tiger in a
cage. He is just waiting that his trainer open the cage, and
he will jump on his opponent with the fangs out. The
southpaw from Montréal will proceed to the first defense of
his WBC light heavyweight championship of the world Saturday
evening in the ring of the Bell Centre, in fighting the
former IBF champion, Tavoris Cloud. “ Yes, I am like a tiger
in a cage,” said Stevenson. “I am so ready to chase Cloud
and make him suffer. I saw what Cloud did against Bernard
Hopkins March 9th. He looked very bad. If he is hesitant
against me like he was against Hopkins, the fight will be
very short. And if he attacks constantly, like he did in
some fights, the result will be the same for him. If he is
aggressive, he will give me the perfect opportunities to
connect him solidly with a power punch like I did with Chad
Dawson. I am sure that all my power punches will hurt him
badly. If he find a way to resist several rounds, he will
suffer like he never suffered in a boxing ring. Trust me,
the WBC crown will stay in Montréal.”
June 8th at Bell Centre, Stevenson (21-1-0) dethroned Dawson
(31-3-0) as WBC champion of the world, in stopping him in 76
seconds of action. Stevenson floored Dawson with his first
power punch of the fight, et few seconds after, the fighter
from Connecticut was declared TKO. “Adonis is incredibly
strong physically,” said Sugar Hill, the nephew of Emmanuel
Steward and Stevenson's trainer. “And he is very energetic
and determinate. I think sincerely that Cloud will live the
most painful minutes of his career in front of Adonis. He
will suffer each time that Adonis will connect him with a
power shot. Saturday, you will see in action a Adonis
Stevenson hungrier than ever. Cloud will pay the big price
for that.”
March 9th at the Barclay's Arena in Brooklyn, New York,
Cloud (24-1-0) lost his IBF championship of the world, when
Hopkins (53-6-2) beat him by unanimous decision in 12
rounds. “I got a very bad evening against Hopkins, it's
true, but believe me, Saturday, you will see in action the
real Tavoris Cloud,” said Cloud after the weigh in Friday at
the Delta Hotel in downtown of Montréal. “Hopkins is a
tricky fighter, a boxer with an incredible experience, but
nobody will persuade me that Stevenson is that league.
Hopkins has been involved in 29 or 30 world championship
bouts. Stevenson has less than two minutes of experience in
world championship bouts. Stevenson never faced a boxer of
my caliber, and you willunderstand what I mean when the
fight will begin. Stevenson makes me laugh when he is
predicting a short bout with me in the losing shoes. I never
lost by KO or TKO, I never been floored, then, trust me, its
not Stevenson who will stop me. My prediction is that my
skills, my energies and my strategy will make all the
difference in that bout. I am sure I will dominate the fight
from the beginning to the end, and this WBC belt will be in
my luggage when I will return in Florida Sunday afternoon.”
Al Bonnani, Cloud's trainer, said his fighter is wiser than
Dawson. “If Stevenson looked so good June 8th, it's because
Dawson made look him good,” said Bonnani. “Dawson stayed
passive in front of Stevenson, and it’s exactly why he was
on the floor after only one minute and a half of action.
Tavoris will not commit a stupid mistake like that. Tavoris
is in constant movement in the ring, and he is certainly a
more dangerous puncher that Dawson. If Stevenson believes he
will have a picnic Saturday evening in the ring of the Bell
Centre, he will have the surprise of his life. Tavoris is so
energetic, so solid and sostrong physically. I am really
expecting a clear win for my fighter.”
Yvon Michel, the boss of the GYM Group, who is co-promoter
of the event with Gary Shaw and Don King, believes his
fighter will be more popular than ever after that bout.
“Adonis is the most destructive puncher of the light
heavyweight division, and Cloud is probably the best
contender of the division,” said Yvon Michel. “In few hours,
you will see in action an Adonis Stevenson better than ever,
stronger than ever, and more confident than ever. Actually,
I cannot see who can beat my fighter in the light
heavyweight division. Before his dead, Emmanuel Steward has
predicted that Adonis would become a star on the
international scene, and I know he was right.’
The two fighters registered a perfect weight at the official
weight in. It was 173.8 pounds for Stevenson, 174.6 for
Cloud. “More the great moment is close, more I believe
Adonis will win clearly that fight,” said Gary Shaw. “Adonis
is a pure killer puncher. If Cloud wants to dominate all the
rounds, like he said he will do, he will have to attack
constantly. And if he does, I am afraid he will be out
before the seventh round.”
The Montrealer Mike Griffin will be the referee of this
world championship fight televiseD by HBO around 10 o'clock
P.M., eastern time. The juges will be Claude Paquette, from
Montréal, Steve Morrow, from California, and Daniel Van De
Wiele, from Belgium.
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