Is Boxing Champ Adonis Stevenson a Sellout?

By Paul Pastorini @paul_past on October 31, 2014

Whether you believe boxing champ Adonis Stevenson is genuine about his intentions to fight the winner of Bernard Hopkins-Sergey Kovalev, one thing is certain: since becoming the lineal light heavyweight champ, Stevenson’s decisions have been based primarily on minimizing risk, and maximizing profit.

He has fought Tavoris Cloud, Tony Bellow and Andrzej Fonfara. And now, he is scheduled to fight — wait for it — Dmitry Sukhotsky.

Wait. Who is Sukhotsky?

Sukhotsky is a journeyman fighter from Russia with a record of 22 wins and two losses. His nickname is “The Hunter” (I’m not sure why; maybe he likes hunting). His most recent loss was against Cornelius White, who was knocked down three times by Sergey Kovalev and TKO’d inside of three rounds. The WBC and WBO rank Sukhotsky at seven. The WBA ranks him at eight, and the IBF ranks him just outside the top 10, at No. 11.

Does the fact that Stevenson chose to fight Sukhotsky instead of Kovalev or Hopkins (the other two champions in the division) or fellow Canadian star Jean Pascal (ranked the No. 1 contender by the WBC and WBO) make him a bad champion? Does his choice somehow tarnish the sport of boxing, which, to be fair, is arguably more tarnished than any other sport?

That depends; there are plenty of fans who praise Stevenson for “cashing in” on his light heavyweight status, who don’t mind watching him face B-level competition, as long as he’s getting paid plenty of money. Of course, there’s a word that neatly describes a person who exhibits this sort of behavior, who compromises what’s been earned in exchange for monetary profit — a sellout.

And who could blame Stevenson? Boxing has long been just as much a business as it has been a dangerous sport; and oftentimes, from a promotional standpoint, a loss can be a significant detriment to a boxer’s perceived value.

Perhaps some of the frustration lies in Stevenson acting as if he hasn’t been a sellout since becoming champion. It would be one thing if Stevenson admitted that he’s avoided top-level competition in favor of a low-risk, high-reward approach. But instead, Stevenson continues to claim he wants to unify the division: “I want to unify the titles, whether it’s Bernard or Kovalev … I will fight the winner anytime, anywhere.”

His promoter, however, contradicted this claim, stating, “After this fight with Sukhotsky, Adonis’ mandatory contender is Jean Pascal … So when [Stevenson] is talking about the winner of Hopkins-Kovalev, then he’s talking about that happening after the mandatory with Pascal.”

Theoretically, both matchups would take place in 2015. Until then, Stevenson will fight Sukhotsky, and boxing fans will continue to debate whether Stevenson’s current status as a hypocritical sellout is good or bad for boxing. If Stevenson sticks to his word and fights to unify the titles in 2015, he’ll more than make up for this year.

But I, for one, wouldn’t be surprised if he continues his legacy since becoming the lineal light heavyweight champion of contradicting himself and misleading the public.

Paul Pastorini is a Boxing Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @paul_past, find him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.