Canadian Puncher Stevenson Gets South American Slugger Gonzalez

The most feared puncher in boxing, IBF No. 2 ranked Adonis “Superman” Stevenson, takes on WBC No. 2-rated Noe “El Carbonero” Gonzalez, April 20 on ESPN Friday Night Fights in a unification fight, as part of another installment of the popular Fast and Furious Series, live from the famed Bell Centre in Montreal.

At stake in the 12-round main event will be a lot of hardware, including Stevenson’s IBF Inter-Continental, NABO and NABA 168-pound belts, as well as Gonzalez’ WBC Silver title.

Stevenson (17-1, 14 KOs) is coming off of his sensational Knockout of the Year candidate performance February 18, in which he destroyed Jesus Gonzales (27-1) in the opening round, which followed Adonis’ impressive ninth-round stoppage of Aaron Pryor Jr. (16-4) last December. Both of these fights were part of the Fast & Furious Series, presented by Mise-O-Jeau and Videotron, at Bell Centre.

Stevenson, a native of Haiti living in Quebec, is ranked rated No. 2 by the IBF, No. 7 by the WBA, No. 9 WBC and No. 12 WBO.

The IBF ordered an eliminator match-up last week between the heavy-handed Stevenson and three-time world title challenger Librado Andrade (30-4, 23 KOs) for the IBF # 1 position to determine the mandatory challenger for IBF super middleweight king Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KOs). Andrade passed on the opportunity to fight “Superman” without even inquiring about the purse.

“Adonis could have waited until the IBF appointed another opponent,” noted Stevenson’s promoter Yvon Michel, president of Group Yvon Michel (“GYM”), “but he is on a mission to become world champion. If he has to fight this eliminator to be the top contender in order to better position himself to become world champion, he will do just that and a win over Gonzalez would be a major step in that direction.”

According to Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, his protégé is ready for the challenge. “Gonzalez is the most difficult opponent of Adonis career,” Steward admitted. “Both fighters can end a fight with a single punch at anytime. ‘Superman’ is back here training in Detroit and he will be fully prepared to win impressively once again.”

“We are pleased to showcase this eliminator bout with two solid fighters who both have impressive KO records and ability.” said Doug Loughrey, ESPN Director of Programming. “The Bell Centre has continuously delivered great fights with a passionate and dedicated live boxing audience. We trust this Friday Night Fights telecast will capture that energy.”

Uruguay-native Gonzalez, who lives in Argentina, is a knockout artist like Stevenson. Gonzalez’ lone loss as a professional was by decision in Germany to WBO titlist Felix Sturm (35-2-2, 15KO) in 2007.

Since then, however, Noe he won 14 fights in a row, all but one by knockout. He captured the WBC Silver Belt in January, 2011, with a ninth-round technical knockout of Gustavo Magallanes (29-1) in Uruguay. Gonzalez is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz (president of Sampson Boxing), who also handles World Super middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KOs).