MONTREAL - Adonis Stevenson could not have found a better way to impress his famous new trainer Emanuel Steward than with a first-round knockout. With Steward working his corner for the first time, the Longueuil, Que., fighter used his devastating left hand to put Jesus Gonzales down and out only 1:39 into their scheduled 12-round International Boxing Federation super-middleweight elimination bout on Saturday night. Steward, who knows punching power from having taken Thomas Hearns to a world title in the 1980s, liked what he saw. "Adonis Stevenson is one of the best pure punchers I have ever met in my life," said Steward, who has trained or managed 43 world champions including Canadian Lennox Lewis. "Hes unbelievable. "Nothing sells like knockouts. This is one of the best knockouts I have see in my 60 years in boxing." With the win, Stevenson (16-1) takes over the IBFs No. 2 ranking, moving him a step closer to his goal of challenging Lucian Bute of Montreal for the world title. Gonzales (27-2) suffered his first defeat since 2005. The fighters felt each other out for what seemed only a moment before Stevenson attacked, moving in with his jab and sending Gonzales (27-2) to the floor with a crushing left to the jaw. When referee Marlon B. Wright counted out the senseless Gonzales, Stevenson leapt up and down in the ring while the crowd of 2,809 roared in the end of the Bell Centre cordoned off for the fight. Gonzales was taken to hospital for tests afterward and was not available for comment. "I threw the punch, bang, and thats it," said Stevenson. The quick KO came after a week of verbal sparring between the two lefthanders. Gonzales supports a womens shelter in Phoenix, and he brought up Stevensons criminal record, which includes 18 months in jail starting in 1998 for his activities with a Montreal street gang. Stevenson was convicted of being a pimp, assault and making threats, but the father of two daughters has had no arrests since his release and says he has changed his life. "This wasnt about revenge," the 34-year-old said. "Im not that kind of guy. Im just happy I won." Now he wants Butes title. "Im ready to be a champion," he said. "This is my year." Butes promoter InterBox is in negotiations with No. 1 contender Carl Froch of England for a two-fight, home and away series. If that happens, promoter Yvon Michel said Stevenson will have to fight and beat the highest-ranked opponent available to become mandatory challenger for the world title. But whatever happens, Stevenson established his presence in the 168-pound division with a quick win over the best calibre of opponent he has faced. Gonzales was a top U.S. amateur, which included working with Steward in 2003, who has had a solid if unspectacular career mainly as a middleweight (160 pounds). Stevenson was all business as he stepped into the ring in his new Kronk gym trunks and white shoes. "I like the way Adonis came out," said Steward. "He took control of the fight. "He wasnt just reacting to the other fighter. He set the tempo. I love that. With that type of attitude, his skills and that big punching power, hell be packing arenas here just like Bute. I told Adonis you look like a young Tommy Hearns. " Stevenson only made contact with Steward two months ago, but impressed the veteran trainer enough to start working together at Kronk in Detroit. Steward flew in from Austria, where he spent the past week with heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, to be in Stevensons corner. He was to return to Austria on Sunday. The Hiatian-born Stevenson, previously considered a one-dimensional knockout artist with limited skill, said he worked on balance and technique in Detroit, but said the main benefit was getting plenty of sparring with world class partners like middleweight contender Andy Lee. New York matchmaker Don Majesky said what Steward brought most to his new protege was confidence. "He had the confidence to dominate the best opponent of his career," said Majesky. "That was a statement fight. "He established himself as a contender, but also as an attraction, and thats just as important." Stevenson wore a Montreal Expos cap into the ring, while Gonzales went a step father and wore an Expos shirt with Gary carters No. 8 on the back in honour of the former catcher who died this week of cancer at 57. The scheduled co-feature with impressive light heavyweight Eleider Alvarez (7-0) of Montreal was cancelled when his opponent, American Otis Griffin (23-9-2), pulled out. Promoter Yvon Michel said Griffin demanded a raise of his agreed upon $11,500 purse and was turned down. There were some boos from the seats from fans who felt lightweight Arash Usmanee (17-0) was given a home town decision in his wide open brawl with Innocent Anyanwu (21-4-1) of the Netherlands. Anyanwu floored Usmanee with an uppercut in the fifth round of the eight-round lightweight bout and looked to land more power punches in the match. But it was scored 76-75, 77-74 and 78-73 by the ringside judges for Usmanee, an Afghanistan native from Red Deer, Alta., now living in Montreal. It was the first time in his pro career Usmanee was knocked down. It was followed by a pair of mismatches. Dierry Jean (21-0) of Longueuil knocked down timid-looking Ryan Barrett (25-10-3) of England five times before the scheduled eight round bout was mercifully stopped by the referee. And heavyweight Oscar Rivas (9-0), a Colombian fighting out of Montreal, had pudgy Ivica Perkovic (15-13) of Croatia down twice in the second and finished him with a left to the jaw in the third of their scheduled eight-rounder. Tyler Asselstine (9-0) of Ottawa won all eight rounds of his super-featherweight bout to hand lanky Nicola Cipolletta (8-1) of Italy his first defeat. Wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey into the ring was no help for Jeremy Abbott (3-3) of Dunnville, Ont., who was stopped after going down three times in the first round against Ghislain Maduma (6-0) of Montreal. Lightweight Baha Laham (8-0) of Montreal stopped Csaba Toth (6-12) of Hungary with a body shot in the third round of a four-rounder. cheap jerseys . So, down by a run in the sixth inning, the Orioles switched to beat-the-rain mode and used the elements to their advantage in a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. jerseys from china . Santana threw the first solo no-hitter for the Angels in nearly 27 years and exacted some long overdue revenge, leading Los Angeles over the Indians 3-1 Wednesday. http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.us.co... . -- Calgarys Rosalind Groenewoud dedicated her win on the womens superpipe at the Winter X Games to fellow Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke on Saturday. [url=http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.us.com/]cheap jerseys from china . Maybe he was a little tired Sunday night. Now the Miami Heat star will likely have more restless nights ahead before Game 2 on Wednesday night. James picked up two first-quarter fouls, had an off-night offensively shooting just 5-for-15, and the Heats defence became unglued in the second half Sunday night as the Bulls took control in a 103-82 victory. wholesale jerseys PORTLAND, Ore. -- When the Trail Blazers closed in on the Thunder, Russell Westbrook considered it his responsibility to set things right. The Blazers, who trailed by as many as 21 points, closed within five in the third quarter, but Westbrook came back with consecutive jumpers and Oklahoma City went on to win 109-75 on Tuesday night. "The home team will always make runs and my job as point guard is to take control of the game and not let things get out of whack," he said. Westbrook finished with 32 points and eight assists to pace the Western Conference-leading Thunder to their fourth straight win. Kevin Durant scored 25 points and James Harden added 21 off the bench for the Thunder, who built a 65-47 lead by halftime. "In the second (half) we were a little stagnant and we werent getting any shots, so he just took it over," Kevin Durant said of Westbrook. "Thats what great point guards do." LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and eight rebounds as Portland fell to 3-4 under Kaleb Canales, who took over as interim coach when the Blazers fired Nate McMillan at the NBA trade deadline. The Blazers were coming off a 90-87 victory over Golden State on Sunday. Portland has not had back-to-back wins since Jan. 23-24 against Sacramento and Memphis. "I dont think we made things as difficult as we could have," Aldridge said. "I feel like they were just taking warm-up shots in the first half." The Thunder (38-12) were coming off a 103-87 victory at home over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Oklahoma City heads to Staples Center to face the Lakers on Thursday before hosting the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls on Sunday. The Lakers defeated the Warriors 104-101 in Oakland on Tuesday night. Rookie Nolan Smith got the start at point guard for the Blazers in place of Raymond Felton, who left the team to be with his mother while she undergoes a heart procedure. Smith is the son of the late Derek Smith, who played nine seasons in the NBA and was a close friend with Thunder coach Scott Brooks. Brooks said before the game that Nolan Smith was the ring bearer at his wedding. "He was a feisty little guy," Brooks said of the younger Smith, who went on to play at Duke before he was selected by the Blazers with the 21st overall pick in last Junes draft. Smith, who finished with three points in 25 minutes, said he felt he did well on defence, not so much on offence.dddddddddddd. "There are things I definitely could do better. But its a learning experience," he said. "Tomorrow Ill watch film and figure out how to get better." The Thunder beat the Blazers 111-107 in overtime at the Rose Garden on Feb. 6, a game that was controversial because of a goaltending call on Aldridge in the final six seconds of regulation. The NBA overturned the call the next day. Oklahoma City went up 28-14 on Derek Fishers 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter. Fisher was playing his fourth game since he was picked up as a free agent by the Thunder last week. The Thunder extended the lead to 57-40 midway through the second quarter on Westbrooks fast-break layup. The Blazers narrowed it to 71-63 midway through the third quarter on Aldridges turnaround jumper, putting the crowd on its feet for the first time in the game. Wesley Matthews added a 3-pointer, pulling Portland within five points, and Nicolas Batum raised his arms to the crowd on the way back down the court. Westbrooks layup quieted the Rose Garden fans, but Aldridge hit his own to narrow it again for the Blazers. This time Westbrook answered with two straight jumpers. Durants 3-pointer a short time later extended the margin back out to 82-72 and the Thunder cruised the rest of the way. "A lead of 20 in the first half is really nothing," Durant said. "A team like this is going to find a way to come back, and the crowd was unbelievable. They put pressure on us but we did a great job of responding." J.J. Hickson, acquired by the Blazers last week after he was waived by Sacramento, had a season-high 21 points off the bench. "Me coming here was kind of a blessing," Hickson said. "It was an opportunity." Notes: The Thunders game Thursday against the Lakers marks Fishers first game against his former team since the Lakers traded him to Houston earlier this month. The Rockets bought out his contract and he signed as a free agent with the Thunder last week. ... The Thunder always draw a number of fans wearing Seattle SuperSonics jerseys. One fan behind the Thunder bench had a sign that read "Stolen" with the Sonics signature "S." ... Aldridge had a blocked shot to put him at 419 with the Blazers, tying him with Arvydas Sabonis for ninth on Portlands career list. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '