By Jake Donovan
The good news for American based cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham is that he has his next challenger lined up. The bad news is, he's most likely heading to Europe for the fourth straight time.
Former light heavyweight titlist Tomasz Adamek looked like a natural cruiserweight, cruising past former linear champion O'Neil Bell en route to a technical knockout win after seven rounds in Katowice, Poland.
A slow paced opening round turned dramatic with about a minute left when Adamek dropped Bell with a right hand that followed a straight left. Bell shook off the knockdown but appeared tentative for the remainder of the round, though managed to land a shot that caused swelling under Adamek's right eye.
Bell came out more aggressive to start the second round, but it didn't take long for Adamek to find his comfort zone. A one-two landed on the inside for the Pole before dancing out to avoid Bell's counter. Bell picked up steam in the final minute of the round, landing several straight rights upstairs and to the body. Adamek stood his ground, landing a straight right of his own, but took a shot to the head and body while pinned on the ropes.
Round three saw Bell stick to boxing in efforts to creep back into the fight on the scorecards. The tactic worked, as he kept his right hand glued to his chin for much of the round, minimizing counter opportunities for Adamek while effective with right hands of his own. Adamek managed a chin-rattling left hook late in the round. Bell was also effective with his left hook, particularly to the body, even if a few strayed low while on the referee's blindside.
Adamek got off to a quick start in the fourth, landing a right hand that buckled Bell's knees. Frustration was beginning to set in for the transplanted Jamaican, who drew his first warning for excessive low blows and also shoved Adamek to the canvas at one point. The story of this round as well as the fifth was Adamek's jab, for which Bell had no answers.
Things slowed down considerably in the sixth, with Adamek employing a stick-and-move style while Bell lazily plodded, rarely throwing more than one punch at a time. He attempted to pick up the pace in the seventh, landing a few right hands in the first minute, and going to the body toward the middle of the round while Adamek played keep away. A straight right hand momentarily had Adamek on his bicycle, a smart response as Bell was unable to follow up.
In between rounds, Bell decided he was no longer able to fight at all, advising the referee that he was calling it a night.
The official time was 3:00 of round seven, as the resignation came prior to the bell for the eighth round.
The win is the third straight in as many cruiserweight fights for Adamek, who rolls to 34-1 (23KO). The lone loss came last February, dropping a lopsided decision to Chad Dawson in what would be his final bout at light heavyweight.
Adamek now looks forward to a future date with Cunningham, who's no stranger to fighting overseas, Poland in particular, where he twice faced Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.
The only thing Bell has to look forward to is the drawing board, dropping his second straight in falling to 26-3 (24KO).
Bell won the linear cruiserweight championship in January 2006, rallying from behind to knock out Jean-Marc Mormeck in New York City. The reign lasted 14 months, but without a successful title defense, losing a decision to Mormeck in France last March.
The Adamek fight was Bell's first in 13 months, giving him only two ring appearances in the past 27 months. At age 33, such inactivity only does more harm than good for his career, now in turmoil after long serving among the world's best cruiserweights.
The bout was presented by Hammer Knockout Promotions, with Adamek's stateside promoter Main Events arranging a live telecast through ESPN Classic.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Jake can be reached for comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
