Adonis Stevenson wins again in Awesome Display over Tavoris Cloud
By Peter Wells
Adonis Stevenson’s meteorite landed on the boxing scene with quite a thud and he continues to send shock waves through the Light Heavyweight division. Last night he out boxed and cut-up former IBF Light Heavyweight ruler Tavoris Cloud with ease over 7 rounds before the American was pulled out by his corner.
What took place last night surpassed the shocking knockout victory of Chad Dawson. Some called it a once in a lifetime shot that ended the contest in the opening round. Against Cloud though Stevenson showed power, discipline and a boxing ability that has been so underrated, he laid down another worthy claim to be the number 1 at 175lbs.
Cloud came in off the back of defeat at the hands of Bernard Hopkins, losing his title and unbeaten ledger. In that bout Cloud had been forced to take the front foot, a position he clearly didn’t seem comfortable in. Hopkins boxed wonderfully while Cloud was left looking crude and somewhat one-dimensional.
In all fairness, Cloud has many dimensions to his game, but fighting off the front foot is not one of them. Saturday in Canada Cloud was again the aggressor, and he struggled throughout. Many questioned whether he had a game plan at all, but he most likely did, but that strategy involved Stevenson taking the front foot. When Stevenson took the counter-punching approach, Cloud was in instant trouble.
Stevenson’s hand speed dwarfed Cloud’s, and the American was once again punished for his lack of ability to cut the ring off. Describing the fight doesn’t take much effort; each round followed a similar pattern, Stevenson doing all the work, swiping jabs followed by straight left hands to the body and head. On a few occasions in the 7 rounds Cloud was momentarily staggered by the left cross.
Cloud had sporadic success, occasionally landing a right hand as Stevenson let his hands go, but throughout Stevenson was in control, playing to the crowd. He was the master and entertainer, and Cloud was his puppet.
At the end of the 7th stanza, Cloud’s corner waved the fight off, with their outgunned fighter cut over both eyes. Cloud is still a class operator but improvements will need to be made to his style if he is to take it to the next level.
A match-up between Stevenson’s victims Cloud and Chad Dawson is very possible, although it would certainly be one for the purists. The fight would hold a lot of significance as a last chance saloon for both. Although a contest with the likes of Robin Krasniqi or Denis Grachev is more likely to happen.
Stevenson will have to defend his title against England’s Tony Bellew, his mandatory challenger. So ignore Main Events comments last night that Stevenson was ducking their fighter Sergey Kovalev. That is the fight all fight fans are willing to happen, but for now holding onto that title he worked so hard to win comes first.
With the victory Stevenson moves to 22-1(19) while Cloud drops to 24-2(19).
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