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:

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Garcia vs. Lopez: Engaging, Explosive, or at the very least Entertaining

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Mikey Garcia made a statement in his last fight when he disarmed tough as nails pressure fighter Orlando Salido from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 19th. The same Orlando Salido that took Juan Manuel Lopez’s “0” in a battle of Mexico vs. Puerto Rico in 2011 and followed that performance up just short of 11 months later with another TKO victory. Which Juanma will show up to the ring this Saturday for his fight versus unbeaten Mikey Garcia at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas?

Bob Arum had to have a tear in his eye the night of April 16th 2011. One of his prized pupils from Puerto Rico had his boxing heart ripped out of his chest, in what was a nightmare scenario to any Puerto Rican boxing fan, by the hands of a Mexican fighter. Yeah Bob Arum made money that night and the fight set up a rematch that also filled the Top Rank coffers. Fight fans were happy with the war that added to yet another classic installment to the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry. But deep down inside Arum had to feel the pain Lopez felt in his boxing soul, only it wasn’t his soul but a hole he felt in his deep pockets considering what was at stake that night.

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Hopkins vs. Murat Showtime fight on July 13 is cancelled over visa issues?

004 Hopkins and Murat IMG_7077Veteran Scribe Steve Kim of Maxboxing.com has reported via Twitter that the scheduled fight between the Legend of Longevity Bernard Hopkins and Karo Murat has been cancelled due to Murat having visa issues.
Not long ago Kim, who can be followed on twitter @stevemaxboxing tweeted this “It looks like the Hopkins-Murat card on July 13th is off, from what I’m told. Murat has Visa issues”. Minutes later he added this, “Btw, SHO is now going ‘dark” on July 13.”

Visa issues have been a thorn in the side of many events throughout the history of boxing. With that said you can’t help but to speculate that there may be another reason for the possible cancellation of this fight. Murat’s Visa issue if he has one could be legit. It could also be perfect timing for Bernard Hopkins to move in another direction. The fight was made quickly and for a man who has limited fights left before he hits the age of 50, there could be other factors that are dictating the fight being called off.

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Will Canelo weigh 170+ for Mayweather fight or come in lower?

WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KO’s) came into his last fight at junior middleweight weighing 172 lbs. for his fight with WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout last April.

That’s pretty heavy for a fighter that spends a lot of time fighting welterweights instead of junior middleweights. Canelo will now be fighting a welterweight in Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26 KO’s) on September 14th, and one of the questions about the fight is whether Canelo will come into the fight over 170 like he was for Trout or will Canelo try to come in lower in the 160s?

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Pacman to Host Manny Pacquiao National Boxing Championships

pac67No, Manny Pacquiao National Boxing Championships is not a title of a video game or some upcoming book or movie about Manny Pacquiao, it’s an actuality event that Manny himself plans on promoting and even hosting himself in Manila in order to scout out top grade boxing talent.

According to a recent report, the event will feature eight boxing teams from all over the country, to pit eight boxers in eight weight categories, and fight from six to eight rounds in rotation matches among winners. The winner will be awarded with a Manny Pacquiao Trophy and a cash grant of P100,000 each.

This will most certainly be a very successful boxing event or show in the Philippines, but will it gain any international attention?

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Roach says he’ll tell Pacquiao to retire if he loses to Rios

roach2As far as trainer Freddie Roach is concerned, 34-year-old Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) is a do or die situation in his next fight against former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) on November 23rd at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

Roach says he’s going to tell Pacquiao to retire from boxing if he loses that fight because it’ll have been Pacquiao’s third straight loss and obviously a clear sign that he’s over-the-hill as a fighter.

Roach said in an interview with ESPN “Yeah, if he loses I will tell him to retire. If you lose three in a row it’s your time. He’s up there in age, I’ve got to keep a close eye on him. I will do the right thing. I don’t want him to be a stepping stone.”

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Broner expects to rule the boxing world within two years

broner4534Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s) believes he’s poised to be #1 fighter in boxing within the next two years, as his role model Floyd Mayweather Jr. is on the verge of wrapping up his own career after he completes the remaining 5 fights on his Showtime/CBS contract.

With Mayweather gone in the next year and a half, and Manny Pacquiao appearing to be near the end of his own career, there’s a possibility that a fighter like Broner can take over.

Broner said this as quoted by Golden Boy Promotions “I will be the ruler of boxing in a year or 2.”

If that’s the case then Broner is going to have to make sure he doesn’t have any slipups, starting with his fight on June 22nd against WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

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Golovkin respects Macklin, thinks fight will be competitive

golovkin34WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (26-0, 23 KO’s) has a ton of respect for his June 29th opponent Matthew Macklin (29-4, 20 KO’s), and he believes he is pretty evenly matched with him in terms of power, speed, and skills for their fight at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, USA.

Golovkin said to esnewsreporting.com, “I respect him, he’s a good man. It’s a very difficult fight for us because he is the same size, same speed, same power; different style. It’s a great fight.”

Macklin is about the same size as Golovkin, but there’s a difference in power and skill. Golovkin is just a much better fighter on the surface. Macklin has the same kind of speed, but the difference in skills and power will likely be enough for Golovkin to have a huge advantage in this fight.

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