QUEBEC CITY -- In his last fight, Adonis Stevenson (29-1-1, 24 KOs) was lucky to come away with a draw. On Dec. 1 as part of a busy night of boxing on Showtime which includes this card as well as the much anticipated pay-per-view bout between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, Stevenson will put his WBC light heavyweight title on the line against Oleksandr Gvozdyk (15-0, 12 KOs) as he tries to make the 10th defense of that title.
Above all else, Stevenson is know for his tremendous power. He fights out of the southpaw stance and his best punch is his left hand. If that left hand lands clean it can easily end a fight but Stevenson isn't just a slugger. He also has some pretty good boxing skills and works well behind a stiff jab. When Stevenson gets that jab going it helps him land the left hand and that is where he finds his most success. Another thing that makes Stevenson dangerous is the fact that he fights well coming forward or working off his back foot but in recent bouts he has shown signs of fading. At times in his most recent bout against Badou Jack, Stevenson looked totally washed. However, he did rebound nicely in other rounds and worked his way to a draw which allowed him to keep his WBC belt.
Stevenson is now 41 years old and clearly at, or very near, the end of his rope. He has held his WBC light heavyweight title since 2013 when he absolutely destroyed Chad Dawson, but it hasn't exactly been a very impressive title reign. In fact, it will probably be viewed as one of the weakest title reigns in recent history. While Stevenson did take on fighters like Andrzej Fonfara, Tavoris Cloud, and Jack, he also got in the ring with severely outclassed opponents like Sakio Bika, Tommy Karpency, and Thomas Williams Jr. to name a few. If Stevenson wants to keep his WBC strap he will certainly need to look better than he did against Jack and he will need to be good enough to do something no one else has; beat Gvozdyk.
Gzovdyk will have a few advantages against Stevenson, but the most glaring is the fact that he's 10 years younger. He fights out of the orthodox stance and much like Stevenson, he also has good pop on his punches. He does a nice job of always protecting his chin and likes to work behind his jab. That jab is a good one as is his left hook to the body. Gvozdyk's best punch though is probably his right hand which lands with a thud and he's also accurate with it. The biggest question for Gzovdyk, especially against a puncher like Stevenson, is how well his chin will hold up. He was dropped by a right hand against Karpency in the first round and was badly hurt. If he gets caught like that against Stevenson it could be lights out.
Gvozdyk began his professional career in 2014 and hails from Ukraine. While he does have wins over opponents like Isaac Chilemba and Yunieski Gonzalez, Stevenson represents a serious step up in competition for him. Even a somewhat faded Stevenson is arguably better, or at least more dangerous, than anyone else he has faced as a pro. While Gvozdyk has the offensive skills and power to hang with Stevenson, there is no telling how his chin will hold up and it won't be easy to take the title off the long reigning champ in his own backyard.
This fight could come down to how well Gvozdyk takes Stevenson's punches. If Stevenson can catch Gvozdyk with one of his massive left hands early he could end things. However, if Gvozdyk is able t withstand Stevenson's attack he should get stronger as the fights goes on. Stevenson did look faded against Jack, at least for stretches of the fight. Look for him to try and jump and Gvozdyk early in an attempt to score the early knockout. If that knockout doesn't come though Stevenson could be in trouble. Gvozdyk moves better and he's much younger and fresher and the longer the fight goes the better it will be for him.
PREDICTION: There is a very real possibility that Adonis Stevenson wipes Oleksandr Gvozdyk out early with one of his signature left hands. What is more likely to happen though is that the youth of Gvozdyk will prevail. Gvozdyk might have to survive some scary moments early but he will take control in the later rounds on his way to a close unanimous decision victory.
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| Stevenson and Badou Jack disappointed in a draw |
Stevenson is now 41 years old and clearly at, or very near, the end of his rope. He has held his WBC light heavyweight title since 2013 when he absolutely destroyed Chad Dawson, but it hasn't exactly been a very impressive title reign. In fact, it will probably be viewed as one of the weakest title reigns in recent history. While Stevenson did take on fighters like Andrzej Fonfara, Tavoris Cloud, and Jack, he also got in the ring with severely outclassed opponents like Sakio Bika, Tommy Karpency, and Thomas Williams Jr. to name a few. If Stevenson wants to keep his WBC strap he will certainly need to look better than he did against Jack and he will need to be good enough to do something no one else has; beat Gvozdyk.
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| Gvozdyk catching Isaac Chilemba with a stiff jab |
Gvozdyk began his professional career in 2014 and hails from Ukraine. While he does have wins over opponents like Isaac Chilemba and Yunieski Gonzalez, Stevenson represents a serious step up in competition for him. Even a somewhat faded Stevenson is arguably better, or at least more dangerous, than anyone else he has faced as a pro. While Gvozdyk has the offensive skills and power to hang with Stevenson, there is no telling how his chin will hold up and it won't be easy to take the title off the long reigning champ in his own backyard.
This fight could come down to how well Gvozdyk takes Stevenson's punches. If Stevenson can catch Gvozdyk with one of his massive left hands early he could end things. However, if Gvozdyk is able t withstand Stevenson's attack he should get stronger as the fights goes on. Stevenson did look faded against Jack, at least for stretches of the fight. Look for him to try and jump and Gvozdyk early in an attempt to score the early knockout. If that knockout doesn't come though Stevenson could be in trouble. Gvozdyk moves better and he's much younger and fresher and the longer the fight goes the better it will be for him.
PREDICTION: There is a very real possibility that Adonis Stevenson wipes Oleksandr Gvozdyk out early with one of his signature left hands. What is more likely to happen though is that the youth of Gvozdyk will prevail. Gvozdyk might have to survive some scary moments early but he will take control in the later rounds on his way to a close unanimous decision victory.
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