As Ready As He'll Ever Be
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As ready as he’ll ever be It’s hard to believe that less than four years ago, Tomasz Adamek would step onto a physician’s scale the day before a fight and the balance beam would find a happy medium somewhere around 175 pounds. Since those light heavyweight days not so long ago, where he engaged in two all-out brawls with Paul Briggs and lost a hard fought bout to Chad Dawson, Adamek has breezed through the cruiserweight division capturing the IBF and Ring Magazine championships before setting his sights on heavyweight gold. Now, just fifteen months after bidding adieu to the cruiserweight division, the highlander from Poland will get an opportunity to become a heavyweight champion of the world. As Dan Rafael of ESPN first reported yesterday, Adamek and his camp — Main Events & Ziggy Promotions — publicly announced that they had finalized a contract to fight one of the Klitschko brothers in September, at one of two newly constructed stadiums in Poland. The initial report stated that if both Vitali and Wladimir win their upcoming bouts, against Odlanier Solis and Derek Chisora, respectively, it will be most likely be Wlad who steps through the ropes in September to participate in one of the biggest fights in Polish boxing history. If one brother loses, Adamek will square off against the brother who won, and if both fall, the fight with Adamek is off. The last condition states that the Pole must win his April 16 bout in Katowice, Poland against the always dangerous TBA in order for his September title bout to take place. While the fight will no longer be against Samuel Peter, as once reported, but it will come against “a popular opponent who is taller than me,” according to Adamek. Back in December, at the post fight press conference for the Adamek-Vinny Maddalone fight, Duva admitted to reporters that she had been in contact with representatives of the Ukrainian champions. While acknowledging the two sides had participated in discussions regarding a championship title bout, Duva shot down rumors that Adamek would do battle with a Klitschko in March of 2011 at Madison Square Garden, which was a popular rumor in early December. The significant of a heavyweight title fight taking place in March at Madison Square Garden is because it would mark the 40th anniversary of “The Fight of Century” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. While I presume there was some appeal to make that fight in late March at the Garden from a marketing standpoint, Duva ultimately stayed loyal to the Prudential Center in Newark, which has become Adamek’s home away from home. I imagine that for the Klitschko’s there is little appeal in fighting in Newark. Therefore, the fight shifts to Poland, where new stadiums are sprouting up throughout the nation to prepare for EURO Cup 2012, when they will play co-hosts to the big soccer tournament, along with the Ukraine. As recent as July 2009 there was buzz around the soccer world that the scheduled host counties might possibly be switched to Hungary and Germany if the building of the facilities in Poland and the Ukraine didn’t pick up the pace. With hard work, Poland put skeptics to rest as three entirely new stadiums will be up and running by the time EURO 2012 rolls around. Two of them are in the running to host Adamek vs. Klitschko. Both Stadion Majeski and Stadion Nawodwy (National Stadium) are set to be completed in June 2011. The Stadion Nawodwy, which is located in the capital city of Warsaw, will be able to seat 56,000, while Stadion Majeski, located in the city of Wroclaw, will hold 42,771. Geographically, Wroclaw is significantly closer to the German border than Warsaw. A fight at the Stadion Miejeski in theory could draw more Klitschko supporters than if it were to be held in the further Stadion Nawodwy. Make no mistake, however, regardless of location, this crowd will be overwhelmingly pro- Adamek, but being that the Klitschko brothers are now based out of Germany, thousands of their supports will undoubtedly spill over the German-Polish border to witness their beloved champion do battle, whichever brother it may be. For me, the most intriguing part about this fight is that one of the champions will be facing the best Tomasz Adamek they can possibly face. Unlike most of their recent opponents, who prematurely jump at the chance to get a crack at the crown, Adamek has been to the top of the mountain in two different weight classes already. He has set goals for himself and hasn’t stopped until he has grabbed titles. For the last fifteen months, Adamek and his team have been preparing for the very moment that will come in September. He has proven he could take a heavyweight’s punch when he duked it out with Chris Arreola over twelve rounds. He has proven he could beat a taller fighter when he outpointed the 6’7” Michael Grant. And perhaps most importantly as a heavyweight, Adamek proved that he is world class boxer. After his first two heavyweight fights — against Andrew Golota and Jason Estrada — Adamek and his longtime trainer Andrzej Gmitruk split ways, allowing Gmitruk to tend to his own health concerns. That’s when “Goral” picked up Roger Bloodworth as his primary trainer. Since linking up with Bloodworth, Adamek is noticeably more mobile. He has Americanized his fight-game and sharpened his defense. He hits and he moves. He throws countless combinations and less willing to go blow-for-blow with an opponent, as he was accustomed to at lower weight classes. Adamek was quicker than the five heavyweights he’s faced so far, and he’ll be quicker than both Klitschkos. I don’t think many people will be giving Adamek much of a chance against either Klitschko, but it’s comforting to know that the to-be- challenger is a ex-champion who deserves his crack at heavyweight glory. At the age of 34 and having done it twice already, Adamek knows what it takes to be world champion. After handpicking opponents to prepare him for a meeting with one of the Ukrainian giants, come September Adamek will be as ready as he’ll ever be. Kyle Kinder can be reached via Twitter at Twitter.com/KyleKinder or at [email protected]..