ESPN'S Friday Night Fights: Anthony Bonsante VS Adonis Stevenson

ESPN'S Friday Night Fights: Anthony Bonsante VS Adonis Stevenson

ESPN Broadcast: Friday Night Fights
Date: August 01, 2008
Place: Gare Windsor Salle des Pas Perdus, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Division: Super Middleweight
Rounds Scheduled: 12







Fighters:

Anthony Bonsante:
Record: 31-9-3 with 18 kayos
Hometown: Shakopee, Minnesota, USA
Height: 5'9
Weight: 167.5 lbs
Age: 37

*Joe Tessitore says he's fought on ESPN several times and starred on The Contender in its first season. Has defeated recent Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.'s recent opponent, Matt Vanda and lost to John Duddy. Says ''The old man's gonna come through on this one'' referring to himself.

Adonis Stevenson:
Record: 11-0-0 with 8 kayos
Hometown or residence: Montreal, Quebec, Canada (From Haiti)
Age: 30
Weight: 168
Height: 5'11

*Didn't turn pro till the age of 29. Was born in Haiti but raised in Montreal.

BE's round by round scoring and breakdown:
Our Referee: Gerry Bolen

Round 1: for Stevenson: Adonis Stevenson looks a lot larger than Anthony Bonsante. The shoulders are far broader. Before barely anything happens, Bonsante is down. A straight left did it. Bonsante had his eyes closed and shot up at six. The ref thought he was out and went to call the fight. Bonsante is shocked and starts yelling and cursing at the ref saying he deserves the full eight seconds. 'I'm up! I'm up!'' he screams. 'You're up NOW.'' The ref says implying that it's too late. I believe the ref says ''KO''. Teddy had just said that there was no sense in counting after seeing how Bonsante went down when he shot up.

''I thought he was hurt'' Gerry Bolen says to the officials. Bonsante is extremely pissed. Teddy says that it is in the discretion of the ref to alter his decision there, seeing Bonsante wasn't nearly as hurt as he looked. I agree but Bonsante really sticks to his guns. Teddy also says you can play possum with your opponent but not the ref. I get that but Bolen wasn't right, to me. It was a great knockdown but if that man's alright, he's alright. Very disappointing. The replay shows a far less flush shot than it looked like but it clearly forced him backwards. What a confusion. Atlas says it's a common sense thing that the ref could've seen that he was alright. Joe Tessitore says it's one of the strangest occurrences they've ever seen. It's an official KO for Stevenson, not even a TKO.

It is strange and disappointing but I think Bonsante was the clear underdog and I have little doubt that he'd have won, which I doubt is even a small consolation. Big upset and confusion.