Comments Thread For: Bombs Away: Stevenson, Kovalev on Collision Course

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

by Cliff Rold - 36-year old Haitian lineal World Light Heavyweight Champion Adonis Stevenson (23-1, 20 KO) of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, dropped 31-year old challenger Tony Bellew (20-2-1, 12 KO) in round six and finished him in the corner for the second successful defense of the crown he won from Chad Dawson with a first round knockout in June.

Stevenson also retains the WBC title in the division. Bellew loses in his second attempt at a title, his lone other loss coming via majority decision in a challenge of then-WBO titlist Nathan Cleverly in October 2011.

Stevenson came into the bout just under the division limit at 174 ½. Bellew weighed spot on the mark at 175. The referee was Michael Griffin.

The first two rounds were a chess match, Bellew working the perimeter and not allowing the southpaw champion room to find the countering options he desired. An exchange late in the second saw Bellew take a big power shot and fire back. In the third, Bellew drew blood from the nose of Stevenson and landed a counter near the middle of the round that pushed Stevenson off balance.

It may have woken Stevenson up.

The champion roared to life in the final minute of round three. With Bellew going to the ropes, Stevenson started to find a home for his thudding left hand and Bellew was clearly affected. [Click Here To Read More]

[yoshik]

No collision course.

Stevenson knows or should well be advised to steer clear of this collision. For a pretty average boxer with power he has been fortunate. Kovalev is the real deal.

It's much like the little foxes on Arctic tundra trying to pull meat off a fresh caribou kill. When the Russian Bear shows up they run like hell. Stevenson is the little fox. Kovalev of course is the Russian bear. Time for the little opportunist to run for the safety of his hole. Adonis would cave by the 6th.

[hitking]

Stevenson knows or should well be advised to steer clear of this collision. For a pretty average boxer with power he has been fortunate. Kovalev is the real deal.

It's much like the little foxes on Arctic tundra trying to pull meat off a fresh caribou kill. When the Russian Bear shows up they run like hell. Stevenson is the little fox. Kovalev of course is the Russian bear. Time for the little opportunist to run for the safety of his hole. Adonis would cave by the 6th.

I would pick Kovalev. But, I think Kovalev's style could play into Stevenson's hand. Stevenson is basically turned into a counterpunching powerpuncher. And Kovalev offers up a lotta counter opportunities.

[Foreign Soil]

I think the opposite - Bellew had his best success when he pushed forward, instead of waiting and staying on the ropes. Pushing forward is what Kovalev does best.

[FrenchDeLaHoya]

stevenson better take this fight soon, hes getting pretty old at 36
kovalev takes out stevenson in 6, too many opening, especially in exchanges. stevs is robotic nd slow w 1 punch, left straight. kovs is more free nd loose nd attacks w both hands while stevs likes countering. they both have power but kovs has more of the ability to land it sooner nd more accurately. as ling as he swims left, moves laterally left away from stevs power. kovs win by ko in 6

[hitking]

I think the opposite - Bellew had his best success when he pushed forward, instead of waiting and staying on the ropes. Pushing forward is what Kovalev does best.

stevenson better take this fight soon, hes getting pretty old at 36
kovalev takes out stevenson in 6, too many opening, especially in exchanges. stevs is robotic nd slow w 1 punch, left straight. kovs is more free nd loose nd attacks w both hands while stevs likes countering. they both have power but kovs has more of the ability to land it sooner nd more accurately. as ling as he swims left, moves laterally left away from stevs power. kovs win by ko in 6

We have such a small sample of seeing what Kovalev can do against legit contenders makes me kinda leery of being all in when it comes to him. He definitely seems like the better of the two fighters in question. But Stevenson is fighting the better competition. But, its not like Kovalev is going life-n-death with the guys he is fighting. So its a fight I'm very much interested in. But it seems like Stevenson would like to do it later rather the sooner.

[Frank Ducketts]

We have such a small sample of seeing what Kovalev can do against legit contenders makes me kinda leery of being all in when it comes to him. He definitely seems like the better of the two fighters in question. But Stevenson is fighting the better competition. But, its not like Kovalev is going life-n-death with the guys he is fighting. So its a fight I'm very much interested in. But it seems like Stevenson would like to do it later rather the sooner.

This is a good post. Stevenson is caught between taking a fight the fans want to see against Kov, and making money. A.S does deserve a vacation.

Now while I believe that Kovalev should step his comp up, he is eye candy to fans who love boxer punchers. I love Kovalev's style and would pick him to beat Stevenson based on him being the better boxer.

The good thing is that there are some good fights that both guys can take until the public truly demands this fight. This fight is in demand, but Stevenson has had 4 fights against some good comp while Kovalev has not. Kovalev just has to keep marching on until Stevenson is ready to make the fight.

[oneon11]

HBO, what a joke .......... none of their fighters have any skills, and they either have to knock their opponent out or get put on the shelf like Rigo as punishment. Even their commentators aren't worth listening too. Poor RJ JR. Dude signed a deal with the devil to continue to pay his bills. HBO fighter wouldn't stand a chance agqinst a skilled boxer, so they put them in against bumx with hyped records.

[sugarsmosley]

"Happy new year!!"

- Adonis Stevenson on Nov. 30th, 2013

[Dat]

Stevenson knows or should well be advised to steer clear of this collision. For a pretty average boxer with power he has been fortunate. Kovalev is the real deal.

It's much like the little foxes on Arctic tundra trying to pull meat off a fresh caribou kill. When the Russian Bear shows up they run like hell. Stevenson is the little fox. Kovalev of course is the Russian bear. Time for the little opportunist to run for the safety of his hole. Adonis would cave by the 6th.

Ha ha, I think your use of nature in your analogy is a bit inaccurate. I think the better analogy is that of the Siberian Tiger and the Canadian Brown Bear. Both are on the top of the food chain, both have a lot of power. Who prevails in a fight? The Siberian Tiger has the slight edge. The Brown Bear knows this, that's why in nature the Brown Bear typically avoids the Siberian Tiger's territory although the Brown Bear can very much defeat the Siberian Tiger.