The 35 year-old was stopped in two rounds by underdog Darnell Boone in April 2010 and had been haunted by the defeat ever since. The Canadian, who is in-line to face Chad Dawson for the WBC light-heavyweight title in the summer, was asked by promoter Yvon Michel if he wanted an interim fight and Stevenson immediately singled out Boone for a Bell Centre clash.
Stevenson duly delivered what he promised at the weigh-in, a knockout, as an out-of-depth Boone was helpless to stop the more experienced southpaw from dominating the fight until the sixth round finish.
The IBF number one at 168lbs had bulked up in preparation for his potential June 8 world title bout at the higher weight by coming in at 172lbs and had way too much for Boone, proving the first defeat was a flash in the pan.
On the undercard, Tyson Fury’s cousin Hughie Fury made a successful heavyweight debut with a crushing second round win over crusierweight David Whittom as the size and height advantage made the fight easy work.
The heavy-handed 18 year-old pummelled the Canadian veteran for the duration of the five-minute bout and finished the contest with a bruising shot that had Whittom in no position to conitue.
On top billing in Montreal, Colombian light-heavyweight Eleider Alvarez stopped Nicholson Poulard in just three rounds to improve his record to 12-0 with an eighth stoppage.
