Stevenson Not Concerned By Cloud Missing Media Call

By Jake Donovan

Lineal light heavyweight king Adonis Stevenson is a busy man these days. In addition to preparing for his September 28 showdown with Tavoris Cloud, the left-handed knockout artist also has waiting in the wings a mandatory title defense due versus Tony Bellew, which could take place later in the year.

Despite the full plate, Stevenson is conscious of his audience—both fans and media. For that, he took time from his hectic schedule to discuss the particulars of the September 28 HBO-televised title fight in Montreal during a recent international media conference call.

His challenger, however, wasn’t quite as cordial.

Promoter Yvon Michel attempted to explain the absence of Cloud and his team—including Hall of Fame promoter Don King—as there was e-mail confirmation as of Tuesday assuring their participation. There were also concerns over Cloud attempting to firm up travel documentation in time for his trek north of the U.S. border.

Co-promoter Gary Shaw, who gained options on Stevenson following his 1st round knockout win over Chad Dawson—who fights for Gary Shaw Productions—this past June, wondered aloud why this prevented King or anyone else other than Cloud from joining the call.

To his credit, Stevenson offered no such speculation that Cloud and his team’s actions were deliberate, nor did he seem the least bit concerned of his whereabouts.

“I don't care what he is doing or his team is doing,” Stevenson insisted. “For me, I have a job to do on September 28, and my job is to knock him out. I know that next week he is coming to Montreal, so I will see him anyways.”

Cloud is coming off of a 12-round points loss to Bernard Hopkins, his first as a pro and also ending his alphabet title reign.

The bout marks the first defense of the light heavyweight crown for Stevenson, who moved up in weight for the aforementioned knockout of Dawson earlier this year.

It also serves as part of a rare three-site tripleheader, packaged together with the return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as well as a heavyweight clash between David Haye and Tyson Fury. Immediately following the tripleheader will be the first installment of “24/7 (Tim) Bradley/(Juan Manuel) Marquez.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox