by David P. Greisman
Fight fans by the very nature of this sport enjoy picking one boxer to root for and, symmetrically and diametrically, one to root against.
Those who follow boxing the closest are just as likely to take sides when there is conflict or rivalry outside of the ring. You need look no further for proof than the years of debates at water coolers, on bar stools and in message board forums over Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao and the reasons that bout remains unsigned.
It was only logical, then, that people opted to opine on another pair who went unpaired: lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson and titleholder Sergey Kovalev.
Those opinions began last year as part of the debate about which power-punching 175-pounder would win, particularly after both men shared a card and scored knockouts over their respective foes.
The opinions ventured into discord when Stevenson signed earlier this year with villainized boxing adviser Al Haymon, then asked for more money from HBO for a fight with Andrzej Fonfara than the network was willing to pay and offered fewer guarantees than HBO wanted him to provide — Stevenson didn’t want to promise to face Kovalev later in the year. Showtime, HBO’s chief competition, bid on Stevenson-Fonfara and aired the bout, ostensibly to set up a fight between Adonis and another light heavyweight appearing on Showtime programming, famed titleholder and future Hall of Fame inductee Bernard Hopkins.
And the opinions veered toward delight on one side and defensiveness on the other when the proposed bout between Stevenson and Hopkins fell apart, as Hopkins no longer wanted to wait for the deal to be consummated and instead signed to fight Kovalev, a match that took place this past weekend on HBO.
Those who had been turned off by Stevenson’s move had turned on him. They had already enjoyed when Stevenson needed to come off the canvas against Fonfara to get the win. They saw the making of Hopkins-Kovalev as karmic. And when it took Stevenson additional time to have another bout signed — a December date with the lesser-known Dmitry Sukhotsky was recently announced — Stevenson’s critics viewed it as another case of egg on his face.
From a more objective standpoint than some fight fans are prone to take, Stevenson’s move to face Hopkins was somewhat regrettable but somewhat understandable. It was frustrating that he appeared to be ducking a threatening challenger, one whose style seemed as if it would guarantee an entertaining clash. Yet Stevenson, who was 36 at the time and is 37 now, had turned pro later in life than most boxers do and had only recently reached a point in the sport where he could earn significant paydays. There was money in facing Hopkins, a 49-year-old who still had star power and who had unified two world titles. And there was pride in testing one’s self against a legend whose ring savvy had embarrassed many younger opponents.
Perhaps, in Stevenson’s mind, a Kovalev fight could wait until later. Then again, perhaps in Stevenson’s mind there never was any intent of facing Kovalev at all. That’s an answer only Stevenson and his close advisers know, though it’s a topic that the defenders and detractors will continue to debate.
Prior to Hopkins-Kovalev being signed, the best hope for Kovalev was to face whatever opponents were available, continue to win in impressive fashion, build up his fan following and market value, and hope that pressure and pride would bring the winner of Stevenson-Hopkins his way.
After Hopkins-Kovalev was signed, some felt that Stevenson should be embarrassed that his political maneuverings had blown up in his face. A certain result in the bout would mean only that this would be a case of gratification being delayed, not denied. That is, had Hopkins defeated Kovalev, he could’ve then brought a total of three world titles back to Showtime and into a fight with Stevenson.
That’s not what happened, though.
Kovalev didn’t just get the match with Hopkins and the money and attention that came with facing him. He got the victory, too, knocking Hopkins down in the first round, out-boxing the master technician, and doling out damage in deliberate and dominant fashion en route to a unanimous decision win in which the judges had a complete shutout on the scorecards.
When Stevenson departed for Showtime earlier this year, Kovalev was left to keep busy against lower-level opposition, scoring technical knockouts over Cedric Agnew in March and Blake Caparello in August. Now that Kovalev’s defeated Hopkins, his promoter, Kathy Duva of Main Events, believes opportunities will open up.
“This all was for the glory. Next time we’re fighting for money,” Duva said at one point after the bout, soon adding: “It’s all about the money. Now it’s time to make the money. That’s how you become a great fighter and you build a legacy. You take the fights. You don’t worry about the money. You do what you have to do, and once you get there, now it’s time to get paid.”
At another point after the bout, she said of Kovalev: “He’s got three belts. If somebody wants to be the champion in the division, they’re going to have to fight him now. That’s kind of nice. That’s the argument in favor of collecting the belts. Everybody can duck all they want, and I think Adonis has made himself completely irrelevant, to be perfectly honest. Somebody’s going to beat him. In my view, he is a fringe contender who could lose to absolutely anyone. So I don’t know if this is about Adonis Stevenson so much as it’s about someday going after the WBC title, whoever has it.”
Stevenson may feel he already has the glory himself, though. He may feel that his win over Chad Dawson to gain the championship in 2013 was a career-defining accomplishment, while the wins he’s picked up in front of hometown Montreal crowds since then further enhanced his stardom.
The money for him comes from the faithful Quebec fans, those who show up at Bell Centre in Montreal and Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City and who watch him on television. If they continue to fund his fights, then Stevenson may not feel as much pressure to face Kovalev.
It’s already expected that Stevenson could face another local light heavyweight attraction, former 175-pound champion Jean Pascal, at some point in 2015.
This is a sport where the obligations of glory remain even after the trappings of success enter the picture. The onus, then, remains on Stevenson to prove himself against the man who defeated Hopkins. The question will be whether Stevenson wishes to shoulder that burden — if he will be a champion in name only or a champion in deed as well.
The 10 Count will return next week.
“Fighting Words” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
