Adonis Stevenson
Thanks to all the media. I want to thank Al Haymon, my manager, great job. This is a good person for me and fight on CBS since like ‘80 like Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali. You know, this is amazing. And the first championship they want to start in Canada, Quebec City. This is amazing. And I’m very glad to be part of that.
L. Milner
Great. “Sugar” Hill, could you add anything to that about training or comments about how Adonis is doing at camp?
Kell Brook returned home to Sheffield tonight to successfully defend his IBF World welterweight belt against Jo Jo Dan, with a 4th round stoppage.
Once more the undercard was packed with a host of live fighters, very much fixated on progression and eager to impress on such an important night.
Sergey Khomitsky KO4 Adam Etches
Brit basher and veteran Belarusian middleweight Sergey Khomitsky once more brought his bucket of water with him to Sheffield and gleefully doused the home faithful’s hopes once more, knocking out home favourite Adam Etches in the 4th round of their IBF international middleweight title fight.
In the co-feature on SHOWTIME®, undefeated Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo (26-0, 11 KOs) of Houston, won a close, unanimous 10-round decision over Vanes Martirosyan (35-2-1, 21 KOs), of Glendale, Calif., in a clash of top-five ranked super welterweights. There were no knockdowns in a bout scored 97-93 and 96-94 twice.
Brook sent out a chilling message to the rest of the welterweight division by flooring Dan four times in front of a rapturous home support to finally consummate the championship he won superbly 7 months ago.
From the moment ‘All of the Lights’ erupted throughout the arena and the beloved champion rose from the bowels of his fortress, he looked up to the sky and you felt the weight of a tumultuous 6 months lift from his shoulders.
This was the Kell Brook from Carson City in August and Jo Jo Dan had absolutely no answer to him.
Brook came to the ring to a rapturous reception and rose to the occasion like an elite World ruler. The Sheffield star eased into the opening round and Dan felt the first of many right hands in the second half of the first stanza.
A sign of things to follow came in the second round as Dan hit the canvas early and then again after making the count, both from right uppercuts. The Romanian-Canadian was wobbled once more with a minute to go but gritted his teeth to hear the bell.
‘The Upsetter’ defied the odds once more to come on strong from the 6th round to turn the tide on the challenger who had built up a substantial lead through the first 5 sessions – certainly in my opinion at least.
Askin started the better, controlling the 1st round with sharp movement to keep the stalking McKenzie off balance, popping a stiff left jab catching his static looking foe.
From Hialeah Park Casino in Hialeah, FL, ESPN2 broadcasts another night full of top-notch boxing.
NON-TELEVISED BOUTS
The first bout of the evening was Robert Alfonso (4-0) of Miami, FL v. Raymundo Lopez (4-11) of Holland, MI. As the boxers were introduced, Alfonso appeared chiseled and lean. Conversely, Lopez looked significantly less conditioned, entering the ring with a thick layer of blubber encasing his frame. Like Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley in the famous Saturday Night Live “Chippendales” skit, it was comically clear which one of these competitors was in better physical shape.
The concretization of the The Ring, WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight unification fight between Adonis “Superman” Stevenson and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev has taken another important step. The World Boxing Council (WBC) has ordered a purse bid to take place April 17 in order to determine the promoter of this major event.
Initially requested by Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) to insure the required time to prepare for a major event like this super fight, the WBC agreed to host the purse bid on Apr. 17 in Mexico.
It will be Brook’s first defence of his crown, won in hostile territory when outpointing the feared American Shawn Porter in August of 2014.
Yorkshire above most, if not all, UK regions embodies the Ricky Hatton-esque spirit of the British boxing fan. You know what I’m talking about, that intangible connection between fan and fighter, which remains the envy of world boxing.
LAS VEGAS (March 26, 2015) – Two days before their important fights live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT), this Saturday, March 28, hard-hitting WBC Featherweight World Champion Jhonny Gonzalez, 2008 U.S. Olympian and former world title challenger Gary Russell Jr., undefeated super welterweight Jermell Charlo and once-beaten super welterweight Vanes Martirosyan participated in the final press conference at The Pearl Theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
In the second half of a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® doubleheader, the hard-hitting Gonzalez (57-8, 48 KOs), of Mexico City, will defend his WBC Featherweight World Title against talented once-beaten Russell (25-1, 14 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Md.