Adonis Stevenson vs. Andrzej Fonfara II Fight Preview and Prediction to Win
When: Saturday, June 3, 2017
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
TV: Showtime
Weight Class: Light Heavyweight
Titles: WBC Light Heavyweight Championship
By Loot, Boxing Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Adonis Stevenson, 28-1 (23 KOs), Quebec, Canada
Vs.
Andrzej Fonfara, 29-4 (17 KOs), Chicago, Illinois
Betting Odds: Adonis Stevenson -2250, Andrzej Fonfara +1200
Adonis Stevenson defends his WBC Light Heavyweight Title against former victim and contender Andrzej Fonfara on June 3 at the Bell Centre in Quebec. In 2014, Stevenson scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Fonfara in this very venue in his third defense of the title. Stevenson has since made 4 more defenses and this will be his 8th defense overall. Fonfara, 29, is looking to win his first tile and will have his hands full against his former conqueror.
Their first fight looked like it was going to be an early win for Stevenson, as he dropped Fonfara in round one. He went on to win nearly all the rounds in the first half of the fight. Then in the ninth, Fonfara made it a fight by hurting and dropping Stevenson. The champion rebounded with a big tenth round, before the pair fought spiritedly down the stretch in give-and-take action. It was a widely-scored decision win for Stevenson, but not an easy victory, being that he was hanging on there for his life in the 9th round.
Stevenson will be 40 in September. He is undoubtedly one of the best offensive fighters to have ever reigned at 175 pounds. He is quick, athletic, and his punches land with a level of authority seldom seen at light heavy. Alas, he is getting old and since winning the belt 4 years ago in a big blowout KO of Chad Dawson, he has let guys like Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev pass him by. On one hand, his defenses against solid competition like Tony Bellew, Fonfara, and others is nothing to sneeze at, but he has fallen off a lot of fans' radar screens. No one is really talking about him anymore. He's been on a once-a-year schedule the past few years and his recent wins over Thomas Williams and Tommy Karpency failed to register much excitement. One would have figured an aging fighter like Stevenson would have done more to make a mark in the last four years. It was there for the taking in a lively division and he's chosen to operate out of the spotlight while other light heavyweights strive for glory. He is still the linear champion, but the voices saying he is the best in the division have quieted in recent years. Has the champion grown stale?
After losing in 2014 to Stevenson, Fonfara had some nice wins. In 2015, he scored a TKO win over Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., before beating former 175-pound titleholder Nathan Cleverly. In 2016, however, he ran into unheralded puncher Joe Smith, Jr. and was flattened in the first round. With just one win since, some are skeptical of Fonfara's true worth as a title-challenger. And while he is being forgiven to a large extent for the loss to Smith, his credentials are nothing to sneeze at. And as we have seen time and again in the sport, superior fighters are sometimes at their most-vulnerable in the first round—before they've had time to acclimate themselves to the conditions of battle. Some may recall Stevenson himself was a victim of this earlier in his career when he was stopped early by Darnell Boone in his only loss. Let's not forget Smith followed up that win by being the first fighter to KO Bernard Hopkins. At the end of the day, Fonfara is a good fighter and a consistent winner. Still not yet 30, he has been through a lot and knows what it's like to perform on the big stage.
Again, Stevenson flaunts some of the best firepower in the sport. And he's not some Neanderthal slugger, either. He moves well, is supremely athletic, and hurls shots with sudden velocity. When watching the first fight between these two competitors, the gap in their arsenals was stark. Stevenson's offense, as it often is, had Fonfara fighting just to stay in the fight. But what Fonfara lacked in firepower, he made up for with courage, resilience, stamina, and ruggedness.
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The thing about Stevenson is that there is often an air of vulnerability to him. He's been hurt before. He's nearly 40—a time when most fighters are slowing down or already out of the sport. There is something about him that makes him something less than an iron-clad proposition even at this level. When you see his odds for this fight, it suggests that he's almost fool-proof and he's far from that.
In other words, Stevenson should win. He's the stronger fighter and has beaten this opponent before. And while one can find excuses for Fonfara's loss to Smith, it certainly doesn't bolster his case. Despite being ten years Stevenson's junior, he might be closer to the ranks of shopworn than Stevenson actually is. He stopped Chad Dawson in the last round in his last fight, but the fact that he was outboxed for stretches against the ex-champ was disconcerting. But if you lay -2250 odds on a fight, you want a clear path to victory without any potential pitfalls. You don't want an aging fighter who has previously shown vulnerability against a guy who had him on the floor before. If they fought 7 times, Fonfara would win one. And when you're getting +1200 on that guy, it's hard to pass. I'm taking the big number on Fonfara.
Loot's Pick to Win the Fight: I'm betting on Andrzej Fonfara at +1200. Did you know... that you could be wagering on fights at discounted odds? There's a better than good chance that you're laying inflated odds with your book. Stop overpaying TODAY by making the switch to 5Dimes Sportsbook! You will be so glad that you did!
