By Ryan Burton
Tension have been high since a proposed September showdown between WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and then WBO champion Sergey Kovalev fell apart (Kovalev has since picked up the WBA and IBF titles with his victory over Bernard Hopkins) earlier this year. Kovalev's promoter Main Events had filed a lawsuit against Stevenson's team for breaching what they felt was a valid agreement to face Stevenson on HBO. The lawsuit was dropped when an agreement was reached for Kovalev to face Hopkins.
BoxingScene.com recently caught up with Stevenson who made it clear that he is still very interested in facing Kovalev next year in a fight that would determine who the undisputed light heavyweight champion is.
"A fight against Kovalev will happen next year for sure," said Stevenson. "You have Kovalev on HBO and I got Showtime. I think that Al Haymon, the best manager in the business, is going to make the fight happen. He will talk to Kovalev's promoter and make it happen. You have two fighters wanting the fight and you have HBO and Showtime who will both want the fight. I am sure it will happen."
As for the details on which network would broadcast the fight, Stevenson said that is a job for the people behind the scenes and that he is confident that an agreement will be worked out.
"It is the manager and promoters job to make the fight happen and decide where it will be shown. They will work the details out. That is their job while we need to worry about fighting," said Stevenson.
A lot of mudslinging has taken place on Twitter and in interviews on various media outlets that have suggested that Stevenson ducked Kovalev by signing with Al Haymon and not agreeing to face the Russian this fall. I asked Stevenson if he felt the fight would be even bigger and more lucrative in 2015 than if it had taken place in 2014.
"Of course it will be bigger. Kovalev has three titles now and I got a title. I got the WBC so its the big fight. You have(Manny) Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather and after that the fans want to see Adonis Stevenson and Kovalev. The fans want to see it and I think it will be a pay-per-view fight. That is why the networks and my promoter and manager Al Haymon will make it happen," Stevenson told BoxingScene.com.
Stevenson feels that the insults hurled on social media were childish and that by being patient and waiting a year, the fight will be even bigger. The Haitian said that right now the light heavyweight division is very exciting because of the presence of himself and Kovalev.
"That was stupid of them (to say those things). The fight is a lot bigger now. Kovalev is a power puncher and I am power puncher. We have changed the division," Steveson explained. "Before you had Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal and they weren't power punchers and they weren't exciting. Now with Kovalev and Stevenson the division is very exciting. The fans want to see these two power punchers fight. I am sure it will happen.The fighters want it so now its up to the networks and the promoters and Al Haymon to make it.
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