Stevenson v Cloud

Another weekend, another robbery. I'll write on the Chavez Jr farce later, let's start with a proper fight from the previous weekend.

Adonis Stevenson continued his fine form, handily beating down Tavoris Cloud over 7 one sided rounds.

It was an impressively simple display of one-two punching, as Stevenson maintained his sideways stance ingrained in him from his days under the late Manny Steward at the Kronk Gym. He was disciplined, patient and chose his shots, but was equally quick to jump on Cloud when he was hurt; Stevenson damaged Cloud's eye early and unleashed an impressive barage as soon as he smelled blood, whether following up a thudding shot up top or taking advantage of a crumbling Cloud who was hurt to the body at several points.

Stevenson is never going to be a hugely popular, crossover star. Firstly he is 36, and though he looks in fine shape and has taken little punishment over the years, his only loss coming via quick KO from the mythical gatekeeper Darnell Boone, he is enjoying potentially a few years of relevance in the Light heavyweight division.

Secondly, his more than chequered past is not going to do him any favors either; but after watching the fight take place at the Bell Center in Montreal, and seeing how vociferously eager the crowd were to chant out 'Superman! Superman!' it reminds me that literally any sin can be forgiven, as long as you are good at throwing a ball, singing a tune, or punching a guy in the face.

Since the Golden Boy - Top rank feud split into the Showtime - HBO battle we are currently reaping the rewards of, HBO Boxing has taken a hit and it has invested a lot of time and money in someone like Andre Ward, who is currently endearing the fans with his arrogant, paint drying turns as a color commentator as opposed to any kind of fistic genius. Once Mayweather, Broner et al jumped across to Showtime, HBO has been left looking for stars. They've found some from outside North America, like Golovkin and Kovalev, but Adonis Stevenson is as exciting as any other world champion on their roster right now.

He fights with the right balance of patience and risk, and hopefully will continue dispatching opponents to set-up a unification fight with Sergei Kovalev in front of the fans in Montreal again. That would be one of the bigger events of late 2014 if it's promoted correctly.