Adonis Stevenson: I'm going to knock him out

LONDON (May 22) – Big-hitting Adonis Stevenson has promised another sensational knockout this weekend as he looks to etch his name amongst boxing’s best ever. 

The no-nonsense star takes on Polish ace Andrzej Fonfara, live and exclusive on BoxNation, at the Bell Centre in Montreal this Saturday night, with the proclamation he will continue his hot streak which has seen him lay out his last 10 opponents. 

The Haitian-born pugilist, now based in Canada, has amassed a frightening 20 knockouts in 23 wins, and with a reputation as the fight’s games biggest puncher, the WBC light-heavyweight world champion has declared it will be business as usual against Fonfara. 

“I’m very focused for this fight. I’m not overlooking him,” said Stevenson. “I know he’s going to be ready and I’m training for just him. I take it one fight at a time and I will take care of business. I’m ready for this fight. I’m not here to lose. I’m a champion and I’m here to win by knockout. That’s it and I’m not concerned about anything else. 

“I don’t know [about his strengths and weaknesses]. I’m going to knock him out. That’s what I’m going to do. I don’t know his game plan. I’m going to knock him out,” he said. 

Drawing comparisons to the formidable Mike Tyson due to his punching prowess, the 36-year-old is hoping to follow in the footsteps of boxing’s biggest names as he looks to cement his own legacy in the sport. 

“I want to be a legend and I want to be on par with all the boxing legends so that gives me a lot of motivation to push my body very, very hard and at a high level and keep training and focus fight by fight. I’m very motivated,” said Stevenson. 

“When you used to watch Mike Tyson fight, you knew someone was going to get knocked out. That’s what is going to happen on Saturday. Somebody’s going to get knocked out,” he said. 

A potential unification fight with IBF and WBA champion Bernard Hopkins is in the pipeline should Stevenson come through the challenge of Fonfara. 

However, the man known as ‘Superman’, has refused to look too far ahead with Fonfara, who has 25 wins in 28 contests, presenting an imminent threat to his reign at the top. 

“I don’t care about Hopkins now. Fonfara is in front of me, and that’s it. After the fight we can talk about Hopkins,” said Stevenson. 

Though the light-heavyweight star was more outspoken when asked why a fight with the ferocious Russian, and current WBO champion, Sergey Kovalev, never materialised when Stevenson switched allegiances from HBO to Showtime. 

“Those people don’t understand that boxing is a business. That’s our mentality. That we negotiate with the network and we make sure that everyone gets paid. That’s why I took it [the Showtime contract] because I’m working with the best managers in the world and they make sure everything is right with the network,” said Stevenson. 

“It’s not about ducking, it’s about business. I don’t have a problem fighting Kovalev. I have a feeling that Yvon Michel [Stevenson’s promoter] will one day make that happen,” he said. 

Having been spotted by the late and great Emanuel Steward in 2011, Stevenson has vowed to fulfil the prophecy of the respected Hall of Fame trainer who believed he would go on to dominate the 175 pound division.

“Emanuel gave me a lot of advice and motivation. And it’s not just about training. He was a friend to me and we spent a lot of time talking about life. And we talked about boxing and what it would be like to be a world champion,” he said. 

“A couple of years ago he didn’t have any money, he didn’t save nothing. And he explained that to me and I took his advice. He told me I was going to be the world champion and that I was going to be a star,” said Stevenson. 

Stevenson vs. Fonfara is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.