| |
|
|
Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Stevenson Established Favorite
By 8 To 1
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL - In a few hours, the Montrealer Adonis Stevenson
will allow a rematch to the only fighter that he has been
unable to beat by KO or TKO since he has the statute of
world champion. His name? Andrzej Fonfara, an American
Polish living in Chicago.
This rematch televised by Showtime will be presented
Saturday evening in the ring of the Bell Centre in Montréal.
Stevenson (28-1-0), a southpaw, will proceed to the eight
defence of his WBC light heavyweight championship of the
world. Apparently, the Las Vegas bookies did not pay
attention to the fact that Stevenson won only by unanimous
decision against Fonfara (29-4-0) May 24th 2014. They
established the Montrealer favorite by… 8 to 1 this time.
“I am so enthusiastic and motivated to dispute this
rematch,” said Stevenson at the weigh in held at the
Montréal Casino. “If Fonfara has been able to stay on his
feet against me in May 2014, it’s for the only reason that I
injured seriously my left hand in the second round. I was
unable to connected power shots with my left fist during the
last 10 rounds of the bout. It was a huge problem, a real
handicap. It will be another story in few hours. You will
see the damage I can do with two hands in perfect health.
Fonfara has no idea of what I can achieve when I am
perfectly healthy. He will discover it in few hours. I know
I have the power to win the rematch by KO or TKO. If ever
Fonfara resist to my power shots for 12 rounds, he will
certainly be ugly to see at the end of the bout.”
Fonfara was smiling when he has been informed by the
Stevenson’s comments. “I mentioned it several times in the
last days, Stevenson won’t face the same fighter he fought
here in 2014,” said Fonfara. “In 2014, in spite of my lack
experience, in spite of the fact it was my first significant
bout on the international boxing scene, Stevenson has been
unable to knock me out… and I don’t think he was deserving
to win by unanimous decision. If he thinks seriously he will
knock me out this time, he is not realistic at all. I sent
him on the canvas in our first fight, and I believe
seriously in my chances to knock him out this time. I am so
happy that he mentioned publicly he is perfectly healthy
this time. Then, he will be unable to find an excuse when I
will beat him Saturday evening. I am a lot of more mature
now, I am better technically and strategically I was in
2014, and I proved it when I beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and
Nathan Cleverly in 2015. I know I have now the weapons to
beat Stevenson, and I will do it
Saturday evening. You will see, I will leave Montréal with
the statute of WBC light heavyweight champion of the world…
and my fans will be proud of me..”
The Montrealer Michael Griffin, a member of the WBC
officials committee, will be the referee of the main event.
The judges selected by the WBC championship committee are
the Montrealer Nicholas Esnault and the Mexicans Humberto
Olivares and Omar Mintum. The supervisor will be the Spanish
Houcine Houichi.
At the weigh in, Stevenson posted an official weight of
173.6 pounds, versus 174.2 pounds for Fonfara.
Just before the main event, the Montrealers Eleider Alvarez
(22-0-0) and Jean Pascal (31-4-1) will fight in a WBC Silver
light heavyweight championship. The winner will become the
mandatory challenger for the winner of the bout
Stevenson-Fonfara.
“I know perfectly what to do to beat Pascal, and I will do
it,” said Alvarez. “Pascal is the biggest challenge of my
pro boxing career, it’s true, but you know me, more a fight
is significant, more I am performing in the ring. No doubt,
I gonna win this crucial fight.”
At his previous bout, last February at the Videotron Centre
in Québec City, Alvarez beat the Montrealer Romanian Lucian
Bute (32-5-0), the former IBF super middleweight (168
pounds) champion of the world, by KO in the fifth round.
Pascal seems calm and confident at few hours of this crucial
fight for his future in boxing. “Yes, I am calm and
confident,” said Pascal. “I sparred many times with Eleider,
I know he is a very good fighter who can hit solidly with
his right hand and his left hook, but I know I have the
speed, the skills, the experience and the determination to
win this fight. I know exactly what to achieve to dominate
Alvarez, and I will do it.”
At his last significant fight, in January 2016 also at Bell
Centre, Pascal lost by TKO in the seventh round against the
Russian Sergey Kovalev (30-1-1). Pascal said he learned a
lot in this difficult fight with Kovalev, an ordeal who made
him better than he was.
According Mise-O-Jeu, the Québec boxing bets Centre, Alvarez
is established favourite to win by 2 to 1.
At the weight in, Pascal posted an official of 174.6 pounds,
the same weight for Alvarez.
The Montrealer welterweight Custio Clayton (11-0-0) and
Mikael Zewski (27-1-0), a welterweight from Trois-Rivières,
Québec, will take part to the two most important
preliminaries fights of the evening.
Clayton will dispute a WBC Continental and International
welterweight championship, but he will know the identity of
his opponent Saturday morning. He was supposed to face the
Mexican Oscar Cortez (26-2-0), but Cortez was 22 pounds
overweight at the weight in. Zewski was supposed to face the
Argentinian Christian Ariel Lopez ( 22-4-1), but he will
fight the Mexican Fernando Silva (15 -10-3).
The Montrealer Colombian heavyweight Oscar Rivas (20-0-0)
was supposed to fight in the third bout of the evening, but
he won’t. The GYM Group has been unable to find him an
opponent in time.
The first fight of the evening will involve the super
middleweight Dario Bredicean (13-0-0), a boxer from Cape
Coral, Florida, living now in Montréal.
Bredicean, who has the Montrealer Howard and Otis Grant as
trainers, will challenge the Mexican Manuel Garcia
(15-13-2).
At the weigh in, Clayton posted an official weight of 146.6
pounds, Zewski 150.8, Silva 151.0, Bredicean 167.2 and
Garcia 165.8 pounds.
|
|
|
