The champion had it much his own way for the duration of the contest connecting with his trademark left-hand at will, as a bamboozled Cloud had no answer to the speed or power of Stevenson. The first five rounds saw Stevenson softening up Cloud with some meaty shots to the head and body, with the challenger bravely attempting to fight fire with fire at times and continually coming off second best.
A resounding ‘ooh’ could be heard from the Quebec crowd every time Stevenson got off with the swinging left that took care of Chad Dawson in under a round last time out, with Cloud having to take some heavy hits throughout the contest. Suffering eye and nose damage, Cloud was forced to ship some more hurtful straight lefts and hooks to the body, having been visibly shaken in the sixth as a confident Stevenson sensed the end could be close.
In the very next round it was – as another straight left crunched into Cloud’s face inflicting yet more damage and by the end of the round the American was bloody and battered with no chance of a victory. Cloud’s corner made the correct decision to pull their man out of the fight before the start of the eight round, with Stevenson considerably raising his stock with a standout first defence of his green belt.
The formidable Stevenson now moves on to a mandatory fight against Briton Tony Bellew, possibly early next year at the same venue, and would certainly head into that fight as a heavy favourite on this evidence.
