World championship boxing is back in Toronto, with co-promoter Yvon Michel promising to bring three or four cards a year.
Of immediate interest is how long his first main event will last Friday night when Montreal's Adonis (Superman) Stevenson (26-1) defends his WBC light-heavyweight title against Tommy (Kryptonite) Karpency (25-4-1) at Ricoh Coliseum.
The American challenger is ranked ninth among WBC contenders and has already fought once for a world title but has not made much of an impression among bookmakers.
Skybet has Stevenson at 1-100 odds, meaning a $100 win bet on the Canadian returns only $101. If you're feeling lucky, a $100 bet on Karpency at 16-1 will net you $1,700.
The matchup is billed as the first world boxing title fight in Toronto in more than 30 years — Hall of Famer Aaron (The Hawk) Pryor beat local favourite Nicky Furlano for the IBF welterweight title at Varsity Stadium in June 1984.
"It's been too long," said former Canadian heavyweight champion George Chuvalo, decisioned by Muhammad Ali in a world title fight at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1966.
"We need shows, fight shows, to be put on. We need them to be successful, well-attended, well-liked, well-enjoyed. And it looks like we have a real good card and I venture to say it's going to be a dynamite show.
"It's a start of a new era, I think, I hope."
Michel, Montreal's top promoter, has joined forces with Global Legacy Boxing, headed by former world champion Lennox Lewis and Toronto promoter Les Woods, and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to put on the Toronto show.
It will air on U.S. TV as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series, which is covering 75 to 80 per cent of the show's costs. The 10-fight card will be available in Canada on pay-per-view.
Stevenson entered Friday's news conference, held in a downtown hotel ballroom, in a red tracksuit flanked by a pair of supersized bouncers while another member of his entourage occasionally yelled "Superman."
He downplayed the odds, saying he was the underdog when he beat Chad Dawson for the world title in 2013.
"I know a lot of people say he's going to lose ... I've been there," said Stevenson, a hard-throwing father of four who turns 38 on Sept. 22. "That's why I'm training like I'm a contender."
At 29, Karpency is the same age as Stevenson when he turned pro. He lost a unanimous decision to Nathan Cleverly for the WBO light-heavyweight title in 2012 but beat Dawson by split decision two fights ago.
Stevenson's ultimate goal is a unification fight with WBA-IBF title-holder Sergey (Krusher) Kovalev (27-0-1). It's a complicated matchup given the two camps are tied to rival networks.
But Michel says it can happen.
"It will have to," he said. "He (Stevenson) gave us — me and his manager Al Haymon — the mandate to go in that direction and the timing is 2016."
First up is Karpency, a former nurse in a hospital psychiatric unit who comes from a fighting family. He is trained by his father, Tom Sr., and brothers Jeremiah and Dan are a combined 16-0.
"We're prepared to win a world championship on Sept. 11," said the challenger. "We trained very hard, we're mentally prepared, physically prepared and we're here to put on a great show."
The co-main event pits former U.S. Olympian Errol (The Truth) Spence Jr. (17-0) against South-African-born, American-based welterweight Chris (The Heat) van Heerden (23-1-1).
"Friday night I'm going to put on a great performance," Spence promised. "A great one-sided performance."
"Remember that name — Errol Spence Jr. — one day you see him somewhere and you will remember that you were here when he fought in Toronto before he became the next Floyd Mayweather," said Michel.
All four fighters in the main and co-main events are southpaws.
Canadian heavyweight champion Dillon (Big Country) Carman (8-2) takes on former world contender Donovan (Razor) Ruddock (40-5-1). At 51, Ruddock will be giving up 22 years to Carman.
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