By Hans Olson, ringside
Adonis “Superman” Stevenson vs. Noe Gonzalez
Well that was quick. The question going forward will be, was it too quick?
Adonis Stevenson, rolling along like a freight train in the super middleweight division, stopped Noe Gonzalez in the second round of what is sure to be a disputed result Friday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.
In this writer’s eyes—from just a few feet away—it appeared to be the correct call by referee Michael Griffith.
Gonzalez, clearly hurt and in a horrible position to take further punishment, was saved by Griffith during a heated moment of the fight.
Early stoppage?
Possibly, but with a fighter who has the devastating power that Stevenson possesses, and from the way in which Gonzalez was absorbing the shots (not well), it was for the best.
Stevenson won the WBC’s 168 lb silver championship, and in doing so puts himself in position for a fight down the line with overall WBC super middleweight champ Andre Ward.
In the evening’s co-feature, Eleider “Storm” Alvarez (8-0) defeated Pittsburgh’s Rayco “War” Saunders (22-16-2), shutting him out with all three ringside judges scoring the bout 80-72 for the Columbian-born Montrealer. Boxing Insider too had the fight 80-72 for Alvarez.
Alvarez fought patiently, establishing an effective, well-timed jab, mixing in combinations and doubling up on left hooks to the body and head. Brief flurries and a continuance of the jab left Saunders confused and unable to mount any sort of offense throughout the fight.
In earlier action, Eric Barrak knocked out Sandy Pembroke in the 2nd round to remain undefeated; Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas got the 10th win of his career, outworking Stephane Tessier over 6 one-sided rounds; and Schiller Hyppolite dominated Martin Desjardins over 4 rounds to take an easy points win.
Boxing Insider’s Hans Olson can be reached at [email protected] Follow @hansolson
