Andrzej Fonfara next for Adonis Stevenson

Andrzej Fonfara next for Adonis Stevenson

A deal has been reached for WBC and RING Magazine light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson to face Andrzej Fonfara in his next defense according to Team Fonfara.

Fonfara’s team notified the IBF that they will not be participating in an IBF eliminator against Dmitry Sukhotsky because of the deal with Stevenson being reached.

The 26-year old Fonfara (25-2, 15 knockouts), a Polish fighter who now resides in Chicago, Ill., hasn’t lost since a July 2008 two-round TKO loss to gatekeeper Derrick Findley. In that time, Fonfara has rattled off 15 straight wins as he has almost fought exclusively in Chicago, building a large following. That culminated in an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights main event last August against former light heavweight titlist Gabriel Campillo, where Fonfara overcame early difficulty in order to knock out Campillo in the ninth round while behind on the scorecards. The bout took place at U.S. Cellular Field, the home of the Chicago White Sox.

The date and venue need to be worked out between Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs) and Fonfara, but it is likely the fight could take place in Montreal in April on HBO. Stevenson’s last three bouts have been televised by the American premium cable network, beginning with his one-round knockout of Chad Dawson last June.

The IBF will now order its next ranked contender, undefeated but unknown Cedric Agnew, to face off with Sukhotsky in an eliminator.

-Mark E. Ortega / @MarkEOrtega

-Managing editor at www.BehindTheGloves.com