By Hans Olson, ringside
Well that was easy.
Adonis “Superman” Stevenson, who all week was put on trial for sins of his past (along with other false accusations by Jesus Gonzales) promised to knockout his rival
A knockout he got.
And it was brutal.
Stalking the timid Gonzales and pounding him with hard shots, Stevenson made quick work of the Phoenix native, who now drops to 27-2. AT 1:39 in the first round, Stevenson drilled Gonzales with a vicious left hand heard round province, Gonzales left twitching on his back, clearly separated from his senses.
It was apparent from the opening bell that Gonzales was not on the level of Stevenson, who now earns a #2 rating in the IBF. The goal is an eventual showdown with champ Lucian Bute.
In the evening’s co-feature, Haitian-born Montrealer Dierry Jean got off to a fast start, drilling London’s Ryan Barrett early and often, Barret hitting the deck twice in the first round. In the second, after going down from a combination that landed first to the body and then upstairs, Jean continued his vicious body assault…a right hand to Barrett’s midsection sending him down for the fourth time. In the 3rd, Barrett would go down once more as Dierry Jean sent another strong message to the jr. welterweight division that he will soon be a force to be reckoned with.
In earlier action, Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas turned in an explosive performance, knocking out Ivica Perkovic in 3; Arash Usmanee got off the canvas to score a competitive decision win over Innocent Anyanwu; Tyler Asselstine improved to 9-0 with a UD over Italy’s Nicola Cipolletta; Ghislain Maduma was impressive in a 1st round destruction of Jeremy Abbott; and Baha Laham knocked out Csaba Toth in the 3rd.
