Training Camp Notes: John David Jackson Helps Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stevens Find Power in Both Hands
Oxnard, California: As knockout artist Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stevens (28-5, 21 KOs) prepares to face James “The King” De La Rosa (23-4, 13 KOs) on the live HBO Pay-Per-View undercard of Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” he once again has teamed up with world-renowned trainer, John David Jackson.
Stevens, 31 of Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York is known for his one-punch knockout power. For years he climbed through the ranks of the middleweight division with ease. Then after a couple of setbacks he reassessed his entire strategy. For his most recent bout against Patrick Teixeira on the Canelo–Khan HBO Pay-Per-View undercard he worked with former two-division world champion John David Jackson.
Stevens stopped Teixeira in the second round to secure the upset victory and the WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title. The victory over Teixeira catapulted Curtis back into the rankings of all four major sanctioning bodies. On Nov. 19 Stevens and Jackson will team up again this time to face 28-year old Mexico native James “The King” De La Rosa on the Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” HBO Pay-Per-View undercard.
Making fights for Stevens has not come easy for Main Events’ matchmaker and 2015 NABF Matchmaker of the Year Jolene Mizzone who said, “Curtis is always mentioned with the top-ten fighters in the middleweight division but when it comes to actually making a fight with him, no one will ever sign on the dotted line! A lot of fighters talk a big game when it comes to a fight with Stevens but De La Rosa was the only one who stepped up and took the fight. Kudos to De La Rosa for accepting.”
When asked what makes fighters so scared to face him, Stevens said, “I think people are afraid that I am with John now. I believe they don’t want to get hit. They know I hit hard and they know now I am more focused than ever. Me and John are like peanut butter and jelly. John tells me to be more relaxed and that the knockout will come. I take every fight seriously. There are no easy fights. I just have to go in there and do what I do. Once again I can showcase my talent. I just need to go in there and do what I do – check in and check out.
In his first fight with Jackson, Stevens demonstrated great power in both hands. Jackson explained, “Most people when they look at Curtis all they see is a tremendous left hook but he has a tremendous right hand also. I wanted him to start using that right and in his last fight he knocked the kid out with his right hand. He showed the fans that night that he has power in both hands. He is a two-handed fighter with a two-handed attack. Most people look at him as a left-hook artist but they need to realize he has a right hand and he can use both of them. I was happy with what he did against Teixeira. He was working on it every day in camp and come fight night he let his hands go. Curtis is a very intelligent fighter.”
Photo by Christian Petersen Getty Images
