Moments ago, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson successfully defended his title, scoring a unanimous decision victory over game challenger Andrzej Fonfara. It looked like it might be a short night when Stevenson landed a straight left that immediately dropped Fonfara midway through the first round. Though Fonfara beat the count, Stevenson wasted no time to jump on him, unloading a flurry of punches in hopes of finishing the fight. To his credit, Fonfara survived the onslaught, but it was clear that Stevenson had found a home for his left hand.
Despite the rocky start, Fonfara was game as he continued to press forward, looking to land his right. Though he was getting some good work done, it was Stevenson who was landing the heavier shots. In the 5th round, one of those hard left hands to the body sent Fonfara to the canvas for a second time. In the 6th, another crushing body shot from Stevenson had Fonfara literally running away at one point during the round.
Nevertheless, Fonfara fought on until finally in the 9th round, he landed a clean right hand that dropped Stevenson. Another right hand from Fonfara had Stevenson on shaky legs, and with more than minute still left to go in the round, it looked like the tide of the fight had indeed changed. Stevenson showed grit, however, as he survived and came storming back strong in the 10th and 11th rounds, getting back to his plan of chopping Fonfara down with hard body shots.
Both fighters came out trading in the 12th, but it was Fonfara who was able to finish off the round stronger. It was a game performance by Fonfara, but Stevenson started off too strong for him and finished the fight like a champion. In the end, the judges scored the bout 115-110, 115-110, and 116-109 all in favor of Adonis Stevenson.
In the co-main event, David Lemieux destroyed Fernando Guerrero in 3 rounds, dropping him 3 times before landing a devastating uppercut that sent Guerrero crashing to the canvas for the 4th and final time of the fight. Also on the card, jr. middleweight contender Jermell Charlo kept his undefeated record intact, winning a dominant unanimous decision victory over Charlie Ohta. Scores were 118-109, 115-111, and 118-109 all for Charlo.
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