The Canadian will be looking to KO Russian Sukhotsky to show he’s no understudy to the unified Champ.
About a year ago, Adonis Stevenson, as his nickname suggests, was the ‘Superman’ of Boxing. Boasting an incredible 80% KO ratio, he was the fighter everybody wanted to see.
Stevenson had an incredible year in 2013 which boosted him to no.1 in the World rankings. The 37-year-old destroyed the likes of Chad Dawson and Tony Bellew on the way to winning 4 fights by KO that year and cemented his place as WBC Champion.
However, 2014 saw the rise of big, bad Russian Sergey Kovalev, who undermined the achievements of the Canadian, showing off his 85% KO ratio and unifying the Light Heavyweight Division after dominating Bernard Hopkins to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF belts.
Stevenson fights Russian Dmitry Sukhotsky on Friday night in Quebec, in a tune up fight for a potential showdown with Kovalev in the New Year. However, it’s not a fight that’s likely to gain him many plaudits.
Dmitry ‘The Hunter’ Sukhotsky, aged 33, has years of experience but has never looked capable at the very top level. The Russian fought Juergen Braehmer for the Light Heavyweight World Title just 15 fights into his professional career and was completely outclassed losing by unanimous decision.
However, it’s a fight where Stevenson should be able to prove he still has immense power. Sukhotsky has never been stopped and has proven to be very tough, therefore a KO win for ‘Superman’ would make a significant statement.
At 37 years old, questions will be asked as to how long Stevenson can maintain his power. His entire career has been defined by his ability to end a fight with one punch.
The Canadian’s certainly not the prettiest of boxers, but he doesn’t need to be. Stevenson has arguably one of the most devastating straight lefts in the sport and his opponents often don’t see it coming. He tends to lead off with it in an attempt to catch fighters off guard and we saw it work to devastating effect as early as round 1 against Chad Dawson.
It’s a punch that Stevenson’s going to achieve great success with against Sukhotsky, who tends to look very flat footed and stands very square on when under attack.
‘Superman’ Stevenson needs to put on a sensational show come Friday night, to set up a mega fight with Super Champion Sergey Kovalev and for that reason I think we’re in for another devastating KO.
‘The Hunter’ is to become the hunted and I don’t see Sukhotsky lasting the 12 rounds.
Stevenson v Sukhotsky betting
