The goal is to get Curtis “Showtime” Stevens of Brooklyn to the point where he can challenge the best for the middleweight championship of the world. That would mean big money fights against the likes of Gennady Golovkin or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., maybe even Sergio Martinez.
But before any of that can happen, Stevens needs to prove that despite three losses, he’s a legitimate contender. The native of Brownsville, Brooklyn, will get a chance to do that tonight at the Mohegan Sun when he faces Saul Roman of Mexico in the main event of a televised “Fight Night” triple-header on the NBC Sports Network. Also featured will be a 10-round cruiserweight matchup between Eddie Chambers and Thabiso Mchunu and a 10-round heavyweight duel between Tomasz Adamek and Dominick Guinn.
A victory over Roman (37-9, 31 KOs) gives Stevens (24-3, 17 KOs) the NABF middleweight title, a stepping stone to better things such as a world title shot. At least that’s the plan.
“Every fight tells us more about how ready he is,” Stevens’ promoter Kathy Duva said. “And we have complete, 100 percent confidence that he will get there. But the obstacle right now is Saul Roman. If [Stevens] doesn’t get past him, all that goes way.”
Stevens has won three straight bouts since losing a disappointing fight to journeyman Jesse Brinkley in 2010. The defeat knocked him off the radar as a title contender. Stevens is still working his way back into the conversation while watching local middleweight Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillen capture the WBO middleweight title and Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn make a heralded comeback after his fight with cancer.
Stevens is eager for his turn in the spotlight.
“If it was up to me, I’d fight a champion right now,” he said. “But the question is: Do they want to give me a shot? I’m high risk. Nobody wants to get in there and get hit by me. If it was up to me, I’d fight Gennady Golovkin because he’s the most feared middleweight. I’m calling him out. People are scared to fight him; I’m asking to fight him. But I just have to wait my turn. I’m anxious to get it, but I have to wait. They are the champions, so I have to hope they will give me my shot.”
Stevens has to earn his shot by beating Roman. A knockout would help his case.
“I train for the knockout,” Stevens said. “But if the knockout don’t come, it don’t come. It doesn’t really matter, as long as I get the win. In my eyes, it really shouldn’t take that long.
“I watched a couple tapes on [Roman]. If he gets hit good, he goes down. But somehow he gets back up and fights. He’s a tough Mexican. But he’s never fought anyone with the power that I have. The way I see it, if I hit him, he’ll go down and not get back up. But if he does get up, I’m a finisher. So it’s over.”
Meanwhile, Chambers (36-3, 18 KOs) is moving down from heavyweight to cruiserweight for his fight with Mchunu (12-1, 9 KOs).
“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time,” Chambers said about his move down in weight. “I always thought that if I could fight guys my own size, I’d have the opportunities and the upper hand,” Chambers said. “At cruiserweight, I feel as comfortable as I did at heavyweight.”
Chambers continued: “My last fight with Tomasz Adamek, I was [only] at 202. So the transition should be seamless. It shouldn’t be a problem.”