Adonis Stevenson vs. Dmitry Sukhotsky: Winner, Analysis and Reaction

Adonis Stevenson cruised to an easy victory on Friday night in Quebec City, knocking out Dmitry Sukhotsky in the fifth round.

Stevenson entered as the heavy favorite, and the gulf in class was evident once the opening bell rang. The reigning champion easily gained the upper hand in the early rounds and never let up.

The fans in Quebec City were restless, letting Stevenson and Sukhotsky know early that they wouldn't put up with a long, drawn-out fight. CBSSports.com's Josh Katzowitz tweeted that his interest level was quickly waning:

Perhaps conscious of losing the crowd, Stevenson came alive in the second round, scoring a knockdown. He connected with a short left and then looked to have helped Sukhotsky down with a little push. To be fair, the challenger didn't offer much objection.

Francisco A. Salazar of BoxingScene.com wondered if the jeers affected Stevenson at all and led to the knockdown:

Sukhotsky quickly got back to his feet none the worse for wear. In Rounds 3 and 4, he was clearly the weaker of the two boxers but managed to get in a little more offense.

However, things completely unraveled for Sukhotsky in the fifth. Stevenson knocked him down three times, the last of which kept Sukhotsky on the mat for some time. Showtime Sports provided a highlight of Stevenson's devastating short left that ended the fight:

In the post-fight interview, Stevenson discussed how he knew the KO would come sooner or later:

Boxing historian Patrick Connor felt the knockout blow couldn't have been much worse for Sukhotsky:

Both sportscaster Rich Marotta and ESPN.com's Dan Rafael felt that Sukhotsky was clearly overmatched, which left Stevenson with a bit of a hollow victory:

Many boxing fans were upset when Stevenson announced that he'd be fighting Sukhotsky. They felt he should have aimed a bit higher, with Sergey Kovalev, Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins among the more heavily discussed names.

Fighting Kovalev could mean unifying the light heavyweight world titles and a rich purse for both boxers. Stevenson acknowledged before taking on Sukhotsky that he was eyeing the unbeaten Russian for next year.

"My plan is to face Kovalev in 2015," he said, per Rafael. "But first we need to focus and win this fight. Then we can talk 2015."

Now that his schedule is open, Stevenson will have a chance to put his money where his mouth is and silence the numerous detractors who feel he's ducked his toughest potential opponents in the past.