Stevenson would knock Kovalev out cold

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Saying that Stevenson only has his left hand, is akin to saying that all Ronda Rousey is her armbar; the armbar is the primary attack, but Rousey has schemed up 10-15 different ways to get you to fall into that armbar.

Stevenson's money shot is definitely the left hand, but his whole game has been set up to give him a ton of different ways to deliver that left.

Whether it be the body jab, good in/out foot movement, his herky jerky head movement (to bait you into leading in with something), his developing lead hook (to set up the right/left combination), or utilizing some of those old-school techniques (slip-counter/pull-counter to set the left hand), Stevenson is going to get himself into a position where he's going to hit you with that left.

How Kovalev stands up to that mule punch is on him; I don't see him reacting too well.

No one reacts too well to the left hand. Will Stevenson land it? Maybe but I doubt he will before Kovalev strikes. Kovalev doesn't walk into punches and would be ready to stay away from that left hand. If Fonfara can beat Stevenson which he nearly or possibly did, I don't see Stevenson beating Kovalev. And btw, where is Fonfara's rematch? All I've seen lately from Stevenson is him defending against farm boys he knows he'll beat.

[Scipio2009]

... Stevenson wasn't even able to stop Bika.

.... nobody's ever stopped Sakio Bika so what the **** are you talking about?

[Scipio2009]

No one reacts too well to the left hand. Will Stevenson land it? Maybe but I doubt he will before Kovalev strikes. Kovalev doesn't walk into punches and would be ready to stay away from that left hand. If Fonfara can beat Stevenson which he nearly or possibly did, I don't see Stevenson beating Kovalev. And btw, where is Fonfara's rematch? All I've seen lately from Stevenson is him defending against farm boys he knows he'll beat.

Fonfara is a whole different kettle of fish, physically, from Sergey Kovalev (6'2", 77" reach, a physically massive fighter for the weight, and a guy who hasn't seemingly been hurt in a fight since he was a 20 year old middleweight); Fonfara had to stand up to a sheer ton of firepower to make it to the point where he could hang. Frankly, I don't think Kovalev beats Fonfara either, but that's another conversation

Beyond that, the Fonfara rematch is simply a marketable fight for both guys at this point; with big money on the table, negotiations are had, with talks often being contentious until a final deal is done. Stevenson handles his WBC mandatory defense this summer, Fonfara gets a fight to knock off the touch of rust, the sides get back to talking again, and the rematch likely happens to close out the year.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Fonfara is a whole different kettle of fish, physically, from Sergey Kovalev (6'2", 77" reach, a physically massive fighter for the weight, and a guy who hasn't seemingly been hurt in a fight since he was a 20 year old middleweight); Fonfara had to stand up to a sheer ton of firepower to make it to the point where he could hang. Frankly, I don't think Kovalev beats Fonfara either, but that's another conversation

Beyond that, the Fonfara rematch is simply a marketable fight for both guys at this point; with big money on the table, negotiations are had, with talks often being contentious until a final deal is done. Stevenson handles his WBC mandatory defense this summer, Fonfara gets a fight to knock off the touch of rust, the sides get back to talking again, and the rematch likely happens to close out the year.

Well, good. I'd like to see it.