Photo by Peter Cziborra/Action Images
According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, HBO has confirmed that they will not match a deal from Showtime to air Adonis Stevenson’s next fight on May 24 Andrzej Fonfara.
It’s official. @HBOboxing told me they did not and will not match @SHOsports‘s offer for @AdonisSuperman, who is moving across the street.
— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) March 25, 2014
According to a statement on Boxing Scene by Yvon Michel–Stevenson’s promoter–Stevenson was offered more money by Showtime and while HBO had the right to match the offer, they decided not to.
Michel mentioned that there are no hard feelings on their part and that they are very appreciative of HBO’s showcasing of Stevenson in 2013.
Kathy Duva on the other hand was none too pleased to find out that Stevenson will be heading over to Showtime because she had hoped to land a Stevenson vs. Sergey Kovalev unification bout later this year.
Truth is, Al Haymon and Richard Schaefer prevent great fights from happening. Would love for @OscarDeLaHoya to do something about it.
— Main Events (@Main_Events) March 26, 2014
With Duva’s obvious disdain for Stevenson’s new adviser Al Haymon, it doesn’t seem like Kovalev vs. Stevenson will happen.