Exclusive Interview: Adonis Stevenson

“If I fight Andre Ward at 168, I can go fight in his home town. Then we can have a rematch at 175 and he can come to my home town to fight. That’s what I’m proposing.”—Adonis Stevenson

Adonis StevensonAdonis “Superman” Stevenson (21-1, 18 KOs) made a huge statement when he scored an explosive first round knockout against “Bad” Chad Dawson (33-3, 17 KOs) to become the new light heavyweight king. This dazzling display of sheer strength and power catapults Stevenson into the spotlight of an already interesting 168-175 pound landscape, which includes Andre Ward, Carl Froch, and living legend Bernard Hopkins to name a few. Stevenson suddenly finds himself in a unique position where a slew of lucrative opportunities are likely to surface. I was recently afforded the opportunity to speak to Stevenson about his championship winning performance, his future in boxing, and his opinions of some of the other big names who reside in and around his weight class. Here is what the new champ had to say.

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello boxing fans. This is Geoff Ciani from East Side Boxing, and I am joined here today by the newly crowned light heavyweight champion of the world, Adonis Stevenson. Adonis, first of all, congratulations on your outstanding victory.

ADONIS STEVENSON: Thank you very much.

Audio:

Antoine “Action” Douglas 6th fight in 2013 on ESPN June 14, 2013

This week I conducted a phone interview with rising middleweight Antoine “Action” Douglas of Washington, D.C. who is scheduled to fight his 6th fight of 2013 against seasoned veteran Ibahiem “The Almighty” King on June 14th at the Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange, N.J. as part of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Antoine has had to overcome a lot of adversity in life. Douglas grew up with two drug-addicted parents, both of them in and out of jail. He and his sister and two brothers were raised by aunts, uncles, cousins, and strangers in the foster care system.

Q & A with super bantamweight prospect Jorge Diaz fighting June 14, in West Orange, N.J.

June 14th ESPN Boxing Show will be telecasting championship boxing from Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange N.J. The Main Event will feature Jundy Maroan vs. Juan Carlos Payano in a WBC Championship fight.

The co–main event features rising super bantamweight Jorge “King” Diaz 17(10)-1-0 of New Brunswick, N.J. battling Miami based Yenifel Vicente 24 (16)-1-2 for the WBC FECARBOX title in a scheduled 8 rounds. FECARBOX refers to Federacion Centroamericana de Boxeo Profesional–a Central American sanctioning body of the World Boxing Council.

Ronnie Shields: “Erislandy Lara deserves to fight for the universally recognized Junior Middleweight Championship”

Erislandy Lara winsOn Saturday, June 8th, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, top rated Junior Middleweight Erislandy Lara became the 154 pound interim WBA title holder when he retired the aggressive minded Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo in the tenth stanza of a scheduled twelve round contest.

After getting off of the canvas twice within the bout, the thirty year old southpaw displayed great physical and mental toughness by fighting through adversity and stopping his granite chinned opponent late in the fight.

The Cuban native’s world renowned trainer, Ronnie Shields, believes his fighter proved a great deal during his entertaining scrap against one of the hardest hitters in the talent enriched Light Middleweight division.

Mikey Garcia / Juanma Lopez Conf Call Transcript

16 abr 2013 LLEGAN A MEXICO JUANMA LOPEZ - JONATHAN BOMBA GONZALEZ - MC JOE ARROYO 04FRED STERNBURG: Welcome everyone. We have got two very hot fighters from a very hot division getting ready to take each other on in world championship fight on Saturday, June 15, at the American Airlines Center® in Dallas. It will be televised live on HBO® at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast will open with a ten-round bout between Top-10 contenders Terence Crawford and Alejandro Sanabria Jr. for the vacant NABO lightweight title. If it is two things Mikey Garcia and Juanma Lopez know, it is how to win and how to win by knockout.

BOB ARUM: We are delighted to bring to Dallas a card as outstanding as this card. A great featherweight championship fight between two very popular fighters – the undefeated defending champion Mikey Garcia from Oxnard, California, and the “Pride of Puerto Rico” and former two-division world champion Juanma Lopez.

Hopkins/Murat Quotes and Photos

005 Hopkins and Murat IMG_7088BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

“I just found out a month ago, the doctor will be here before the [fight week] press conference hopefully to explain this, but I must confess that I am not human. I am an alien. No, seriously. I realize that Pluto is no longer a planet now, so I’m from Mars. I’ve definitely retired the ‘Executioner.’ You will not hear me mention the Executioner.

“Now, I’m in this world but I’m not of this world. There is no aging process for me.

“The breaking news is that I am an alien.

“I reflect a little bit in my mind about not only defending my title, but also defending my historic career.

Charles Brewer Interview: “The Hatchet” Lists His Five All-Time Favourite Fights!

Former IBF super-middleweight ruler Charles Brewer gave us plenty of thrills during his 16-year pro career (think his classic with Joe Calzaghe for one great fight) and “The Hatchet” is fondly remembered by fans for his all-action style. But what are the gutsy Philly warrior’s own personal favourites when it comes to watching other guys do their stuff?

It’s always great talking boxing with Brewer, who walked away with a 40-11(28) ledger back in 2005, and in a recent talk with the 43-year-old, Brewer gave me his top-five favourite fights of all-time: