Based on his last five fights, sensational super middleweight Adonis Stevenson (18-1, 15 KOs) is more than living-up to his nickname, “Superman.”
Stevenson and his promoter, Yvon Michel, as well as his Hall of Fame manager/trainer, Emanuel Steward, believe he’s ready to fight any of the 168-pound world champions or top contenders.
Stevenson’s last five fight fights been against opponents who had had a combined professional record of 107-8 prior to stepping in the ring to fight “Superman” – 28-1 Noe Gonzalez (TKO2), 27-1 Jesus Gonzales, 16-3 Aaron Pryor, Jr. (TKO9), 11-1 Shujaa El-Amin (TKO1) and Derek Edwards (KO3). All but Gonzales (only once) had never been knocked out before fighting “Superman.”
Stevenson’s display case has collapsed from the added weight of all his stored title belts: (reigning) WBC Silver, IBF Inter-Continental, NABA, NABO, plus WBC International, WBC Continental Americas, and Canadian straps Adonis formerly held.
All he’s missing now is a world title belt, something he hopes to acquire this year, given a legitimate shot to challenge. “Superman” is qualified to fight any of the world super middleweight champions as a world-rated contender in each of the four major governing bodies: #2 IBF, #3 WBC, #7 WBA & WBO.
The dream match for the Haitian-born Stevenson, who lives in the Montreal of Longueuill, is, of course, a showdown in Montreal with IBF champion Lucian Bute. But he’s making a title defense May 26 against Carl Froch. WBA Super and WBC champion Andre Ward is practically locked into a fight with WBC light heavyweight title-holder Chad Dawson, likely in September.
“My goal is to become world champion,” Stevenson said. “I don’t care who I fight for the world title – (Lucian) Bute, (Andre) Ward or any world champion. I want to prove that I’m the best super middleweight in the world. I have the best trainer in the world, Manny Steward, and he’s trained me to be much more than just a big puncher. I’ve improved a lot since I’ve been with him and I’m using my speed and movement to become more of a complete fighter. If none of the world champions are willing to fight me, I’ll continue improving, fighting top 10 opponents, hopefully in a title eliminator, until I become a mandatory challenger.”
WBO and WBA (regular) champions Robert Stieglitz and Akardy Balzsay, respectively, seem to only fight hand-picked opponents and are reluctant to fight out their comfort zones in Germany.
“Adonis Stevenson has proven that he’s one of the best super middleweights in the world,” Michel added. “He’s better than ever since he teamed up with Manny. We know that he’s ready for anybody and is the most deserving contender. If the WBC is seeking a replace for injured No. 1 rated Anthony Dirrell, ‘Superman’ is ready to fight in a title eliminator against anybody. It’s only matter of time before ‘Superman’ adds a world title to his belt collection.”
