Lucian Bute dealt with him with ease to be honest and even though I felt Bika won the first time vs. Dirrell the second time he lost easily. I watched the full fight and I know Bika has never been KO'd but I expected Stevenson to stop him at some point, I honestly believe Kovalev would.
To e Stevenson appears to be getting sloppy. Anyway I once saw this as a very dangerous fight for Kovalev which could go either way but now I see this as an easier fight than Pascal.
Reminnd me who has beaten Bika as impressively as Stevenson? Calzaghe? No. Ward? Nope. Stevenson might only have one punch but that punch happens to be thrown incredibly hard and fast. He can't be ruled out against Kovalev
They fought a much younger and fresher version of Bika and all of them did at least as impressively. Maybe the cards were a little close but it wasn't a shut out by Stevenson either.
Bute seemed to beat Bika more impressively as well. Remember all of this is one weight division south of LHW and Bika has aged. I'm sorry but come on did yoou not expect Stevenson to put him away because I did. I'm not just talking about that either, vs. Bika and vs. Fonfara his feet look slower and his hand speed is not as sharp. You can argue that's down to quality of opposition but personally I was impressed with the way Stevenson had been smashing his opponents. I stand by what I said, pascal vs. Stevenson could go either way in my opinin and for me, Pascal probabl poses more of a threat to Kovalev because he actually has an iron chin unlike Stevenson who I couldn't see lasting the last 6 rounds if he did not get Kovalev out of there in the first 8.
He's not a top 5 LHW h2h if you ask me.... Kovalev, Beterbiev, Brahmer, Pascal, and Hopkins all beat him, could see a couple of others giving him fits and possibly beat him. I'm in the minority here, but I think Chilemba might be able to get the job done, wouldn't be easy but it's doable....
Brahmer's a stretch and I don't give Chilemba much of a shot but the rest I'd favor against Adonis any day of the week. He hasn't impressed me in a good long while.
I agree with op I think he is defienetly slipping , I used to think Pascal had no chance but I think he could outbox him at this point the two Russians kill him
Stevenson outrageously dominated Bika and was never really in danger, so he was only playing with him and looking for the homerun. Assuming he would fight the same way against Kovalev is a tad simplistic. Also, before & after the fight he mentioned that he wanted to show he can do 12 rounds, managing his energy, and that he has a decent chin. Whether he is right is another debate. I personally dont think he slipped just yet, but it will definitely happen in a matter of a few years so its time or never for him to try consolidating all belts and face Kovalev. As for Adonis vs Kovalev, its 40-60 in my opinion. Adonis can KO Kovalev, but needs to do so within the first 5-6. Kovalev will know this and will adapt with his more versatile style, so he gets an edge...unless he goes out of his fight plan, which is also possible against Adonis. As for Adonis ducking kovalev, its a bit simplistic. Adonis want to monetize his wbc belt, which he did. Kovalev is not making lots of money and needs adonis to do so. So everyone is following the $$ from different angles. Now, for Adonis to make more money he needs Kovalev and vice versa. Its going to happen. These guys are fighters and are more scared about not making all the money they could than getting a beating.
That wasn't a 37 year old bika who looked shot in his previous fight though was it.A less battle weary younger version of Bika would give stevenson problems. kovalev will walk down and tko stevenson.