By Mike Coppinger

Curtis Stevens has never been a champion, but with a win over Hassan N'Dam on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN), he'll be in line for another title opportunity.

Stevens' longtime trainer Andre Rozier expects his charge to seize the moment and become the IBF middleweight mandatory.

“I really expect Curtis to be super explosive,” Rozier said. “He knows that this is a title eliminator which will bring him to fighting the winner of the Jermain Taylor-Sam Soliman fight. So he's literally right back in the title hunt with two steps to go -- two really very short steps. I think we're going to see a very explosive performance that ends in a big knockout.”

Stevens has big power, but he's had trouble with boxers in the past. Most recently, Stevens had his hands full with Tureano Johnson before scoring a stoppage win. If he gets past N'Dam, he figures to have an easier fight in his next outing. Taylor is well past his prime while Soliman is 40 years old.

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