In a fight dubbed as the “KO in TO” one would expect a hard-hitting, knockout inducing bout worthy of being called a championship fight. Luckily, the fans who showed up at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto were not disappointed as the Haitian-Canadian WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis “Superman” Stevenson took on unheralded American boxer Tommy “Kryptonite” Karpency and defended his belt in an exhilarating fashion on September 11.
The fight between these two light heavyweights started off rather slowly in the first round, as Stevenson withheld from using his powerful left hand and settled for right hand jabs, all the while evading Karpency’s wild swings. However, late in the first round, Stevenson threw his first straight left of the fight, which left Karpency in a daze that seemed to foreshadow what was to come.
The second round, for the most part, was a slow round with neither boxer being the aggressor. Or so it seemed until Stevenson came out with an onslaught of punches that was capped off with a left hook that left Karpency lying on the canvas. However, Karpency managed to get up, ending off the second round with slight cheers of encouragement from the crowd.
In the third round, however, these slight cheers evolved into ecstatic cheers as Stevenson raced out of his corner to bull rush Karpency. One left hook was all it took to get Karpency to become dazed again. This time, however, Stevenson was committed to finishing the job, and after following the hook with a barrage of punches, Karpency was down for the second time.
Despite his valiant effort in getting up from the second knockdown, the referee decided that enough was enough and ruled Karpency unable to continue, thus giving Stevenson the win via technical knockout.
Interestingly enough, this fight not only lived up to its name “KO in TO,” but it also lived up to the hype surrounding the fact that this was the first world championship title fight held in Toronto in over 30 years. The last championship fight held in Toronto was in 1984, and featured International Boxing Federation champion Aaron Pryor as he defended his belt against Canadian boxer Nick Furlano.
Boxing journalists and analysts, as well as boxers like Stevenson, all believe that the Stevenson versus Karpency fight represents the revitalization of boxing in Canada. Former Canadian boxer Lennox Lewis, who used to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and has taken down the likes of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, also believes that this revitalization is occurring.If anybody knows of the lack of Canadian boxing talent, it is Lewis. In fact, Lewis actually left Canada when he became a professional, opting to go fight out from the United Kingdom instead.
It should be noted that the aforementioned championship fight between Pryor and Furlano was actually held at Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto. As such, the possibility of York, which recently hosted the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, hosting boxing events in the future is not out of the question.
It is definitely something many York students would like to see. “I definitely think that we could, and should, host a boxing match,” said political science major Mohamed Hassan. “I’d like it if we could host a big boxing match, like a championship fight or something along those lines.”
“If boxing can come back to Toronto,” added law and society major Garad Del, “I think York should play a big role in its revival. Toronto is the number one sports city in Canada, and York is the biggest school. I don’t see a reason why York shouldn’t play a big role in the revival of boxing.”
Mohamud Ismail, Contributor
Featured image courtesy of Christopher Lai, Comics and Graphics Editor
