Oleksandr Gvozdyk stops Adonis Stevenson to earn light heavyweight belt

December 2, 2018

Adonis Stevenson’s five-and-a-half-year reign as the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion officially ended Saturday night, as Oleksandr Gvozdyk dethroned boxing’s longest reigning champion with a devastating 11th round knockout in Quebec City.

Gvozdyk (16-0, 13 KOs) used a powerful multi-punch combination to put the back-and-forth bout out of question.

The former Olympic bronze medalist and amateur teammate of fellow Ukrainians Vasyl Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk was impressive throughout the entire fight, as he executed trainer Teddy Atlas’ game plan to perfection and was the busier of the two fighters.

“This win means everything to me," said Gvozdyk, who was the mandatory challenger for Stevenson.  "I’ve trained my whole life for this and tonight all of the hard work was worth it.  Having Teddy in my corner was a huge help. He knew exactly what to say to me. We trained so well for this fight and I knew I was going to get the knockout."

Stevenson (29-2-1, 24 KOs), who was making his 10th title defense, was able to land his signature left hand on several occasions, most notably in the tenth round, but never did enough to truly trouble his opponent.  He started to look his age in his prior fight, and this latest result likely confirms that his  days as an elite light heavyweight soon will be done.

“Adonis was a great champion but it’s my time now," said Gvozdyk.  "He got me with a good shot in the 10th round but I handled it and finished him. Right now, I just want to rest before I discuss my next step. I definitely want to stay at 175 pounds.”

Stevenson was transported to a local hospital as precautionary measure and was unavailable for comment following the fight.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services

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