Tonight in Quebec City, Canada, HBO Boxing brought us a doubleheader with two of the sport’s hardest and most explosive punchers. Adonis Stevenson looked to defend his title against Tony Bellew, and Sergey Kovalev looked to defend his strap against Ismayl Sillakh, as a potential Stevenson vs. Kovalev bout loomed in the future.
Were the hard-hitting favorites able to prevail? Check out the Stevenson vs. Bellew and Kovalev vs. Sillakh results below.
Stevenson vs. Bellew Results
Adonis Stevenson scored a 6th Round TKO victory over Tony Bellew. Bellew came out looking to keep his distance and box, and make Stevenson work, and lead, as opposed to sit back and counter. The strategy kept Bellew standing for a while, but it wasn’t enough to keep Stevenson at bay.
Stevenson was of course the more powerful and more athletic fighter, and soon the punches he was landing were taking their toll. He was slowing down Bellew to the body, and finding a home for his left upstairs.
In Round 6, he was able to send Bellew down to the canvas. Bellew got up, but his face was battered and his legs were unsteady. Stevenson immediately went back to work, got Bellew trapped in the corner, and landed a vicious straight left, and then one more.
Bellew was trapped in a position where he was standing in the corner defenseless, and the referee properly jumped in and called off the action, saving Bellew from further punishment.
Kovalev vs. Sillakh Results
Sergey Kovalev obliterated Ismayl Sillakh, and if you weren’t expecting this to happen, you haven’t been paying attention. Kovalev hardly sees the fourth round of a fight. When he hits you, he explodes you. The guy is fierce and is undoubtedly one of the very best punchers in the game today, and it’s going to be very interesting to see who can legitimately challenge him.
Kovalev and Sillakh came into this fight with some history, in the Russian amateur boxing circuit. And, in some circles, this was seen as an even match — although I must say I never believed that for a second, and thought it was laughable.
Sillakh held his own for the first round, avoiding disaster for the time. But three minutes was about as long as he could make it.
It didn’t take long once the action started in Round 2. One quick combination sent Sillakh flying. The next nearly sent him out of the ring and left him sprawling on the canvas.
Official time was 52 seconds into Round 2.
—
Thanks for checking out our coverage of the Kovalev vs. Sillakh and Stevenson vs. Bellew results! Check back with us in the next few days for more post-fight analysis, updates and aftermath.
