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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Well, that was quick.
Within mere seconds of Jimmy Lennon Jr. declaring him "winner and still" WBC light heavyweight champion on Saturday night in Montreal, some people couldn't step over each other fast enough to brand Adonis Stevenson with the perfect go-to "O" word – Overrated.
Never mind that nearly each one of these very same folks had been swept up in the “Superman” sentiment heading into the scheduled 12-rounder. Back then, they breathlessly said, nary a 175-pounder alive had the kryptonite to blunt such a man of Haitian-honed steel.
They’d seen him vaporize Chad Dawson in less than a round, bludgeon Tavoris Cloud and Tony Bellew into mid-round submissions and score two knockdowns in the first five rounds at the Bell Centre, after all – more than enough evidence for a still-active Canastota enshrinement.
But alas, when their would-be superhero stumbled, bled and, gasp... even fell down en route to a wide – and, by the way, correct – verdict over No. 3-ranked Andrzej Fonfara, the speeding bullet reaction was obvious: Stevenson was a shoddy facsimile and everything they'd said before… well, never mind.
Two hours before the fight, the idea of putting Bernard Hopkins in the same ring with Stevenson had been tantamount to premeditated homicide. But after 36 minutes with a foe 23 years younger, an inch taller and light years more active than “The Alien,” the champion was deemed imposter non grata and the future forecast was clear – a 49-year-old without a KO in a decade was the Lexxest of Luthors. [Click Here To Read More]
Within mere seconds of Jimmy Lennon Jr. declaring him "winner and still" WBC light heavyweight champion on Saturday night in Montreal, some people couldn't step over each other fast enough to brand Adonis Stevenson with the perfect go-to "O" word – Overrated.
Never mind that nearly each one of these very same folks had been swept up in the “Superman” sentiment heading into the scheduled 12-rounder. Back then, they breathlessly said, nary a 175-pounder alive had the kryptonite to blunt such a man of Haitian-honed steel.
They’d seen him vaporize Chad Dawson in less than a round, bludgeon Tavoris Cloud and Tony Bellew into mid-round submissions and score two knockdowns in the first five rounds at the Bell Centre, after all – more than enough evidence for a still-active Canastota enshrinement.
But alas, when their would-be superhero stumbled, bled and, gasp... even fell down en route to a wide – and, by the way, correct – verdict over No. 3-ranked Andrzej Fonfara, the speeding bullet reaction was obvious: Stevenson was a shoddy facsimile and everything they'd said before… well, never mind.
Two hours before the fight, the idea of putting Bernard Hopkins in the same ring with Stevenson had been tantamount to premeditated homicide. But after 36 minutes with a foe 23 years younger, an inch taller and light years more active than “The Alien,” the champion was deemed imposter non grata and the future forecast was clear – a 49-year-old without a KO in a decade was the Lexxest of Luthors. [Click Here To Read More]
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