Tomasz Adamek: a breath of fresh air in the heavyweight division

[The Hammer]

Many people speak disparagingly of the current heavyweight division. Some say talent is lacking, but I think there is as much if not more talent than there ever was.

However, there are some glaring flaws in the division.

The top 25 heavyweight contenders don't fight often enough and don't fight each other. The Klitschkos are having difficulty finding qualified opponents, because so few have really proven themselves by defeating another top 25 heavyweight. Instead, they fight clubfighters or simply remain inactive for long periods of time.

For example Alexander Dimitrenko has not fought in over a year. Povetkin has fought once this year, but against a low-level clubfighter. Nicolay Valuev hasn't fought this year. Denis Boytsov has healed from his surgery but still has no fight scheduled. Promising young contender Francesco Pianeta has not fought this year. Tony Thompson isn't scheduled, neither is Kevin Johnson. Oleg Platov and Ruslan Chagaev both looked good in their last fights, but they only fight once per year. And WBA titleholder David Haye fights only about once per year.

And of course David Haye, Nicolay Valuev and Alexander Povetkin are very reluctant to step up and face a Klitschko. That's not good for the division or for the sport of boxing.

However we do have a relative newcomer to the division who is willing to take on all challenges and who fights frequently: Tomasz Adamek.

Adamek has already fought three times since moving up to heavyweight less than a year ago, and twice so far in 2010. And he hasn't ducked formidable opposition: Jason Estrada is a good fighter and Chris Arreola is of course a dangerous opponent for anyone.

And now Tomasz is attempting to prepare himself to fight one of the Klitschkos by facing the 6'7" Michael Grant. So rather than ducking the Klitschkos like the cowardly Povetkin and Haye, he's moving in the right direction by preparing himself as best he is able for an eventual showdown with Wlad.

Wladimir says if he defeats Sam Peter, he'll fight a third time this year, in December 2010. I think it will be the courageous, intelligent warrior Tomasz Adamek he'll be facing at that time, and it will be a great fight for the heavyweight division!

[Stone Roses!]

but I think there is as much if not more talent than there ever was.

I love Adamek as a fighter and I like watching this Warrior fight. He is not afraid to take on "real" challenges and I personally would love to see him fight Wlad. However, he will most likely get a beat down.

And of course David Haye, Nicolay Valuev and Alexander Povetkin are very reluctant to step up and face a Klitschko. That's not good for the division or for the sport of boxing.

I believe Valuev is trying to make the fight with Vitali happen? No?

[Squirrel]

Many people speak disparagingly of the current heavyweight division. Some say talent is lacking, but I think there is as much if not more talent than there ever was.

Honestly?


And of course David Haye, Nicolay Valuev and Alexander Povetkin are very reluctant to step up and face a Klitschko. That's not good for the division or for the sport of boxing.

To be fair, neither is having champions who refuse to fight each other. I understand why, but i'm just saying.

And now Tomasz is attempting to prepare himself to fight one of the Klitschkos by facing the 6'7" Michael Grant. So rather than ducking the Klitschkos like the cowardly Povetkin and Haye, he's moving in the right direction by preparing himself as best he is able for an eventual showdown with Wlad.

Well that's pure speculation, Povetkin and Haye both made their mission statements clear then never came through. Adamek has made his statement but he also hasn't come through yet (not that I expect to him have done, just making the point).

Wladimir says if he defeats Sam Peter, he will fight a third time this year, in December 2010. I think it will be the courageous, intelligent warrior Tomasz Adamek he'll be facing at that time, and it will be a great fight for the heavyweight division!

I agree with you, Tomasz is a cool dude and great for the division. The division is pretty ****ty imo opinion tho, I think I only like 3 or 4 heavyweights.

[-DSG-]

Good post.I like adamek as well he's improved a lot since his 175 pound days and don't forget he was a dominant cruiserweight champion!

[mathed]

Adamek is a true warrior and a hell of a boxer......WAR ADAMEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RimmyDelicious]

Adamek, like Pacquaio, hasn't avoided the tough challenges or gone through long periods of inactivity while moving through divisions. It is refreshing and gives hope that the examples of Haye and Mayweather aren't the only options for blueprints to the top of the game for aspiring stars.

That being said, I wish Tomasz had fought Hopkins at cruiserweight, I would have liked to have at least heard him challenge Chad Dawson to move up to cruiserweight for a rematch, and I'd like to hear him call out David Haye now. Minor complaints of course.

As far as the heavyweight division, how you assess it depends on your understanding of the history of it. Aside from the early to mid 90's (Tyson, Lewis, Holyfield, Bowe, Moorer, Morrison, Ruddock, Mercer etc.) and the late 60's through the 70's (Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton, Holmes, Ellis etc) the division is consistently a complete wasteland.

The top fighters today, Wlad, Vitali, Haye, Povetkin, Adamek, Chagaev, Chambers etc. are a decent group of fighters in comparison to every other era aside from the two I named. Joe Louis fought the bum of the month club for 20+ defenses because there was no one around for 15 years after he claimed the throne. Marciano, Liston, Tyson, Lewis, these are the dominant champions of the division the last 60 years and the majority of their best wins are great fighters from the previous generations, or poor contenders.

[PittyPat]

Agreed with everything except the part about Chagaev - he looked pretty **** in his last fight, and would get trounced (again) by either Klitschko if he dared to step up to them. Being a high-guarded southpaw, though, I'd still pick him to give Haye a decent fight. Or perhaps him and Adamek could meet in the ring sometime?

Either way, I've been on the Tomek bandwagon for a while now (albeit silently at first, because I wanted to see how he would do against Golota before singing his praises), and will continue to be. Along with the brothers, he's my favourite HW right now and I can't wait to see him progress up the divisional ladder and get what he deserves - a title shot and a good payday.

[The Hammer]

Agreed with everything except the part about Chagaev - he looked pretty **** in his last fight, and would get trounced (again) by either Klitschko if he dared to step up to them. Being a high-guarded southpaw, though, I'd still pick him to give Haye a decent fight. Or perhaps him and Adamek could meet in the ring sometime?

Either way, I've been on the Tomek bandwagon for a while now (albeit silently at first, because I wanted to see how he would do against Golota before singing his praises), and will continue to be. Along with the brothers, he's my favourite HW right now and I can't wait to see him progress up the divisional ladder and get what he deserves - a title shot and a good payday.

And I'm thinking he will have that in December.

Wlad vs. Adamek would be a good, competitive heavyweight fight - Tomasz would come well-prepared.

[paul750]

Even though the fighters themselves may not be up there with the fighters of other eras, it would help the division tremendously if they fought a lot more often, and fought top opponents on a regular basis. The problem is that boxing isn't run the way it should be run, and the heavyweight division probably suffers the most because of it. Losing a fight shouldn't be the end of the world. You have a lot of these guys going 25-0 without even fighting a reasonable opponent. In MMA and K1, there is hardly anyone with an undefeated record. Tune up fights have their place in boxing, but the padded record nonsense really needs to go. Things will never change unless there is a whole rethink on how boxing should be run.

I looked up JD Chapman the other day to see what he was doing, and the guy hasn't fought since February 2008. Maybe it was becoming difficult to find bad enough opponents to add to his 29-0 record? That's the reason the division is crap.

[PittyPat]

And I'm thinking he will have that in December.

Wlad vs. Adamek would be a good, competitive heavyweight fight - Tomasz would come well-prepared.

Which sanc. body has him ranked the highest again?