Will Fonfara Knock Out Stevenson? Colonna Believes in the Polish Challenger

Sam Colonna will be in the corner of a Polish fighter competing for a world title for the fifth time. In his view, Andrzej Fonfara will knock out Adonis Stevenson.

Exactly nine years after Tomasz Adamek won the WBC belt, Sam Colonna will once again try to lead a Polish boxer to a world title. Previously, he guided Andrzej Gołota in bouts against Chris Byrd, John Ruiz and Lamon Brewster, as well as Tomasz Adamek in his victorious fight against Paul Briggs. On Saturday in Montreal, it will be Andrzej Fonfara's turn. At stake will be the WBC light heavyweight title held by Adonis Stevenson. It is the same title Adamek won on May 21, 2005, after a memorable war in Chicago.

The American trainer answered questions from Przemysław Osiak of Przegląd Sportowy.

Adonis Stevenson
Andrzej will face the best light heavyweight in the world. Stevenson moves around the ring extremely well, has experience and tremendous power. He is also well-rounded. In terms of ability and current form, he is superior to the other champions: Sergey Kovalev, the WBO titleholder, and Bernard Hopkins, the IBF and WBA champion. No one has been able to go the distance with him for a long time. Donovan George came closest, but he was finally broken in the twelfth round. I was in his corner that night.

Stevenson's fight with George
The bout took place two years ago at Bell Centre. That is where we will now try to stop Stevenson. Donovan is a Chicago fighter and sparred with Fonfara many times, including before the Stevenson fight. Andrzej pretended to be a southpaw, even though he is right-handed.

George fought like a lion in the ring. Stevenson broke his rib but could not knock him out. He had put his earlier and later opponents down without much trouble. Hats off to him. Donovan, of course, shared his observations with Andrzej. I am also wiser today because of that experience. I was only an assistant to the head trainer, who was Donovan's father, but I learned a great deal. Now I am passing that knowledge on to Fonfara. I do not know everything about Stevenson, but I saw all twelve rounds up close. That is very important. Watching fights on tape can never replace it.

Fight strategy
We explained to Andrzej how to limit Stevenson's greatest strengths. Now the most depends on him. He has to do his job. If he listens to us, he will manage. Adonis and his trainer Javan Hill certainly know about Fonfara's powerful right hand, but they cannot forget that Andrzej can also punch hard with his left.

George fought Stevenson at the super middleweight limit, or 76.2 kilograms. Fonfara will be heavier, because the limit is 79.4 kilograms. His punching power should therefore be even greater. I believe in that power. From the opening bell, Andrzej must be very attentive. He cannot stand still. He should move a lot and move quickly, avoid punches, use his head and answer with counters. We cannot allow Stevenson to take control. We have to dictate the terms.

The result
The fight will end inside the distance. Either we knock Adonis out, or he knocks us out. Personally, I am picking Fonfara to win by knockout in the ninth or tenth round. For that to happen, Andrzej must show not 80 or 90, but a full 100 percent of his ability. There is no other way to beat Stevenson.

Andrzej Gołota
There was always some reason why Andrzej could not win an important fight. The world heavyweight title simply was not meant to be his, although few deserved it more. Ten years ago, he drew with Byrd, although many people still believe he should have won. We were convinced we had won. When the decision was announced, we could not believe what we were hearing.

Six months later, in my opinion, Andrzej also beat Ruiz on points. The judges saw it differently, however. Sometimes his own psyche got in his way as well.

The fight with Brewster
Andrzej did not like crowds. When he entered the ring in front of a large audience, something began to happen to him. I think that affected the course of the fight at the United Center, which lasted just 50 seconds.

That was not the only problem, though. Just as eight years earlier, before the WBC title fight with Lennox Lewis, Gołota kept telling us that we still had plenty of time. Back then I was only an assistant trainer, while Lou Duva, Ronnie Shields and Roger Bloodworth were also in the corner.

After Adamek's fight with Briggs, I returned to the dressing room. Andrzej was being massaged and kept repeating that there was no need to warm up yet. When we finally started, a woman rushed into the room. She was shouting that we had to come out immediately. It turned out that we had spent as many as 17 minutes in the tunnel leading to the arena. Andrzej did not have time to warm up, and the air conditioning cooled him down even further. When we finally got into the ring, we had to leave it not long afterward.

Adamek's fight with Briggs
A month before the bout, Tomek broke his nose. All it took was a jab from a sparring partner, and blood immediately ran down his face. We considered calling off the fight, but Adamek firmly refused. He proved that he was a true warrior.

The fight was excellent and ranked among the best of 2005. We used four towels. Each one was completely soaked in blood. I could still smell it three days later.

Gołota and Fonfara
Gołota had enormous potential and tremendous talent. Perhaps he had one of the greatest talents in heavyweight history. He was among the best-prepared and most technically skilled boxers at the top level of the sport. Despite that, something always stopped him on the road to victory.

Even when he practically had a win in his pocket, as in both fights with Riddick Bowe, something would happen to take it away from him. To this day, I do not understand why he hit below the belt. He could have clinched, held his opponent, moved away or avoided the punches. So why did he foul? We return to the starting point. The word “winning” simply did not suit him.

Fonfara does not lack ability, but compared with Gołota, he has above all a stronger mentality. I cannot imagine him panicking in Montreal. The large crowd will only fire him up and motivate him further. Thanks to it, he may perform even better. Andrzej loves the crowd.

If the fight becomes dramatic, Fonfara will not lose his head or make a stupid mistake. He is not a madman, as Gołota sometimes became.

Interview by: Przemysław Osiak, przegladsportowy.pl