MONTREAL, Canada, CMC – Undefeated Haiti-born Canadian Adonis Stevenson overpowered Jermaine Mackey and stopped the Bahamian on a fifth-round technical knockout for the World Boxing Council (WBC) International super-middleweight title on Friday night.
Stevenson, 32, scored a knockdown in the fourth round and stopped Mackey early in the fifth at the Bell Centre to stretch his record to 13-0 with 10 knockouts.
Mackey, the reigning Commonwealth champion in the 168-pound super-middleweight division, dipped to 18 wins (14 knockouts) against four losses.
The bout was Stevenson’s first in 14 months.
He had been sidelined by multiple injuries in a car accident but looked in top form Friday night as he dismantled the 29-year-old Caribbean champion.
Quebec-based Stevenson was strong from the start and hurt Mackey with a big uppercut late in the fourth round and landed a few more punishing blows that dropped Mackey.
Bleeding from the face, Mackey beat the count and was saved by the bell but Stevenson closed in for the kill at the start of the next round and forced referee Adrio Zannoni to stop the contest 20 seconds into round five with Mackey hanging on against the ropes.
Mackey is scheduled to defend his Commonwealth title on October 31 against Ghana’s Charles Adamu.
In the main event on Friday’s card, Haiti-born Jean Pascal retained his WBC light heavyweight world championship with a 10th round technical knockout of 43 year-old mandatory Italian challenger Silvio Branco.
It was the first defence for Pascal, who improved his record to 24 wins (16 knockouts) against one loss.
Pascal, who also holds a November 2006 points win over Mackey, captured the WBC 175-pound title earlier this year with a victory over fellow Canadian Adrian Diaconu.
Pascal and Diaconu are booked for a rematch on December 11.
