Light heavyweight contender Andrzej Fonfara will be returning to Montreal, Canada this Saturday night (June 3, 2017) to once again challenge Adonis Stevenson for the WBC world light heavyweight title. Fonfara (29-4) has gone 4-1 since that first encounter with Stevenson back in May of 2014. In that fight, Fonfara got up off the canvas to put the champion down in the ninth, only to lose a unanimous decision on the judges’ cards in Stevenson’s longtime home base. That fight took place at the Bell Centre, the same building this weekend’s rematch goes down in.
Fonfara had a bit of a rocky road getting this rematch, as he took a high-profile loss in June of 2016 when Joe Smith Jr. knocked him out in the first round. He bounced back this past March with a 10th-round stoppage win over former world champion Chad Dawson to set this bout up.
Stevenson (28-1) is making the eighth defense of the WBC belt that he won back in June of 2013 when he stopped Chad Dawson in the opening round of their bout. Stevenson is a big puncher with 23 of his 28 wins coming by KO. Fonfara has been dropped a few times, and that mix is leading to Stevenson being a heavy favorite in this rematch.
Stevenson, however, is going to be 40 years old in September. Though he has kept himself in great shape throughout his career, age and inactivity are a combination that can be treacherous, and this will be just his second fight in 20 months. He last fought in July of 2016 when he stopped fringe contender Thomas Williams Jr. in the fourth round. Prior to that, he fought Tommy Karpency and blown-up 168-pounder Sakio Bika, so he has not faced front line competition in quite some time.
Fonfara comes into this fight at 29 years old ,and he is the type to be highly motivated by the second chance at a world title. Knowing Stevenson and knowing what it is like to fight at the Bell Centre are good experiences. In 2015, he defeated Nathan Cleverly and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in convincing fashion, and both those men are former world champions. There are some who may find value in Fonfara as an underdog.
A second light heavyweight bout is on the card as Jean Pascal (31-4-1) takes in Eleider Alvarez (22-0) in a fight that will see the winner lobby for the next shot at Stevenson.
Bell Centre – Montreal, Canada
Light Heavyweight – 12 rounds
Andrzej Fonfara +755
Adonis Stevenson -1175
Light Heavyweight – 12 rounds
Jean Pascal +330
Eleider Alvarez -450
Welterweight – 10 rounds
Oscar Cortez +1650
Custio Clayton -4950
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