WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson had great momentum after four knockout victories in 2013, and appeared on his way to becoming a star. 2014 hasn't been kind, however, as he will close out the year with a bout against an obscure fighter named Dmitry Sukhotsky.
Stevenson was once on a collision course with Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev for this year, but in the final hours Stevenson was guided by adviser Al Haymon to Showtime, where a unification bout with Bernard Hopkins was said to await.
Instead Hopkins chose to face Kovalev; as the Cold War between HBO and Showtime thaws, Hopkins said he considers Kovalev to be the man to beat in the division aside from himself, not Stevenson.
"Stevenson jumped ship because he didn't want to fight Kovalev," Hopkins said during a conference call with media. "Kovalev is the most dangerous. Beating Kovalev in grand fashion will open up a lot of debate and one will be where I stand at the top of the division."
Stevenson's manager Yvon Michel has admitted that 2014 has been a step back for his fighter, who, at 37 years old, cannot afford to waste years of his career.
""I know we had our chance with Kovalev and circumstances led us in another direction, but hopefully that fight will happen someday," Michel said. "We were very disappointed when we got the news that Bernard had signed to fight Kovalev. We were convinced it was going in our direction.
"Adonis made the move [to Showtime] to fight Hopkins and he didn't get it. This is the business and sometimes it goes in another direction. I understand [there is frustration]. Things didn't go the way we wanted them to go."
Michel said that he wanted Stevenson to fight Jean Pascal, but extenuating circumstances made it impossible for now. Pascal is the target for Stevenson if he's able to get past Sukhotsky.
"The best contender would have been Jean Pascal, but there were circumstances we coudn't avoid," Michel said. "But Adonis is dedicated to fight Pascal next. He's his mandatory if he beats Sukhotsky, and that will be a huge, huge fight in Montreal."
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