By Jason Kim: #2 IBF super middleweight contender Adonis Stevenson (18-1, 15 KO’s) is going to have to earn his way to the mandatory title shot against IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO’s) by beating Don George (22-2-1, 19 KO’s) next Friday night in their IBF super middleweight eliminator bout at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.
The Stevenson-George fight will be televised by ESPN2, so this will give boxing fans the chance to see how good or not good the 34-year-old Stevenson really is. There’s been a lot of hype about him in the past couple of years due to his wins over guys like Derek Edwards, Aaron Pryor Jr, Jesus Gonzales and Noe Gonzalez Alcoba. But Stevenson really hasn’t faced anyone of quality despite his advanced age, and he was knocked out in only two rounds by journeyman Darnell Boone in 2010.
Stevenson fans feel that the stoppage was a tad quick in that fight, but as badly hurt as he was after getting clocked by a big right hand from Boone, it’s doubtful that he would have been able to survive for long if he had gotten up and continued fighting.
George can punch at least as hard as Boone, and he’s probably got a much better chin than him. This means that Stevenson is going to have to take some heavy shots from George if he wants to win this fight. As fast and as powerful as Stevenson is, he has a good chance of ending the fight early if he can get to the slower George early. But if the KO doesn’t come for Stevenson by the 5th, he could be in for a world of hurt in this fight.
George can be out-boxed as we saw in his 10 round unanimous loss to Edwin Rodriguez last March, but Stevenson isn’t a boxer like Rodriguez, and he doesn’t move well around the ring. Stevenson is one of those fighters that goes in only direction and that’s forward. If he can’t beat George by fighting like that then it’ll be too much to ask for him to try and reverse gears and move away.
Stevenson’s trainer Emanuel Steward no doubt will be giving good instructions, but he doesn’t have the legs to move away from George if he’s forced to. Stevenson will have to go down fighting with the only style he’s ever known.
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