by David P. Greisman, live from ringside

NEWARK, N.J. – It was clear from the outset what Tomasz Adamek’s team was trying to do.

Adamek was to use Michael Grant, all 6-foot-7 of him, as a trial run for a potential bout with one of the two heavyweight kings: Vitali Klitschko, who is 6-foot-7, and Wladimir Klitschko, who is 6-foot-6.

Adamek passed a big test, outpointing Grant over 12 rounds. But he did not appear to be ready for THE big test: either of the Klitschko brothers.

In the books, the win will go down as a unanimous decision for Adamek. In the details, the win will read with scores widely in favor of Adamek, 117-111, 118-110 and 118-111. In reality, Adamek was easily beating Grant for the majority of the fight, when Grant’s style didn’t resemble that of the Klitschkos, and was getting beaten up by Grant in those rare moments when Grant began to fight somewhat as the Klitschkos would’ve done.

Both men fought cautiously in the beginning. For Grant, that meant flicking out jabs but not leaving himself open for the fast counters that could have come in response from Adamek, who was nearly half a foot shorter and considerably quicker. For Adamek, that meant not leaving himself wide open to a big shot from Grant, but jumping in with quick flurries when the opportunity presented.

Adamek did much of his work behind three-punch combinations, leading with a jab to the body, following with a right hand that either also went to the body or was aimed upstairs, and finishing with a sweeping left hook that landed more often than not. In between those combinations, Adamek jabbed often and chopped away at the trunk of his 261-pound opponent.

Unlike what the Klitschkos have perfected, Grant didn’t fight tall, did not use distance, did not use a swift, strong jab to keep Adamek at bay, and did not use simple but effective footwork to try to move away from Adamek. Instead, he allowed Adamek to be comfortably close, jumping in and then either clinching or moving away from Grant’s return fire. Grant would wisely try a right uppercut at the charging Adamek in the fourth, but it didn’t land, and Grant didn’t go back to it.

Grant rarely threw his right hand – “It’s not what Adamek did. It’s what Grant didn’t do,” Grant’s trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, would say afterward.

But when Grant did throw his right hand, it produced results that showed he should’ve thrown it more.

The first big right hand landed toward the end of the sixth round, wobbling Adamek for a second and opening up a cut over his left eye. Adamek would wind up with cuts over both eyes, neither getting in the way of his vision. Grant would later bleed from his mouth, which was open for more than half the fight as he tried to get more air.

Grant followed the strong end to the sixth by keeping the aggression coming in the seventh. Adamek, meanwhile, sought to get his second wind. Not only was he facing the biggest opponent he’d ever faced, but Adamek himself, at 217 pounds, was now lugging heavyweight flesh for 12 rounds, carrying more weight than he had in his past stints at light heavyweight and cruiserweight.

The three-punch combinations from Adamek became rarer. Adamek was now moving away from Grant, allowing Grant to lead with jabs and punch down with hard right hands. Adamek still out-classed Grant, using distance and well-timed attacks to win rounds and to limit Grant’s effectiveness.

Grant did land a few solid shots in the beginning of the 11th. Adamek, however, took over, taking the round on all three judges scorecards. All three judges had Adamek comfortably ahead by that point: 108-101, 109-100 and 109-101. Grant needed a knockout to win.

In the twelfth, Grant landed a right as Adamek was coming in, forcing Adamek to retreat, to clinch, to survive. Grant gave chase, throwing some heavy body shots and following upstairs, but he could not put Adamek away.

Adamek had the victory.

“Every time I tried to pull the trigger, that little mouse kept slipping. He can move,” Grant, who falls to 46-4 with 34 knockouts, said afterward. “If I had done in the fifth round what I did in the last round, it’d have been a different story.”

But it wasn’t the story. Instead, Adamek, a former light-heavyweight titlist and former cruiserweight champion, scored his fourth straight heavyweight victory, adding Grant’s name to a stoppage of Andrew Golota and decisions over Jason Estrada and Chris Arreola. He is now 42-1 with 27 knockouts, with 11 straight wins since his 2007 decision loss to Chad Dawson.

It is a good run. It is not enough to say that Adamek is ready for Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko.

Adamek uses his advantages in speed to defeat his larger, more lumbering opponents. But he also appears to be slower than others who have successfully made the leap from lower divisions to boxing’s marquee weight class. And these larger, more lumbering opponents have still been able to hit Adamek.

Also, while the Klitschko brothers are both bigger than Adamek, neither should be described as lumbering. Both are athletic and deceptively quick, both with their hands and with their feet.

With nearly 11,000 people, most of Polish descent, coming to the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., in support of Adamek – the announced attendance was 10,972 – there is no rush for Adamek to cash in a title shot. He can go back to this lucrative, supportive classroom, continue to refine his heavyweight game, and continue to come up with a strategy that will truly prepare him for a final exam against a Klitschko.

On the pay-per-view undercard:

- Joel Julio UD10 Jamaal Davis (junior middleweights).

Though the scorecards read 97-93, 98-92 and 99-93, it wasn’t exactly an easy bout for Julio. He threw and threw and threw, and Davis took and took and took, never going down, and returning fire just as much.

Julio would often start the rounds out with furious combinations and hard shots, but for the remainder of those rounds, Davis would land short, good punches in close, not at all intimidated by Julio’s power, and reminding Julio that there would be a price to pay for his aggression.

Julio could and did hurt Davis, but could never put him away. Davis could only frustrate Julio, and he did, but he could never take over the action.

Julio, of Colombia, improves to 36-4 (31 KOs). Davis, of Philadelphia, falls to 12-7 (6 KOs).

- Sadam Ali KO5 Lenin Arroyo (welterweights).

Whereas Jean Pascal-Chad Dawson showed that unorthodox offense can trump good technique, Sadam Ali showed that speed and good technique will trump slow, wild opposition.

Arroyo telegraphed his shots. Ali moved away or ducked, then moved in with crisp, punishing shots, then moved back out again. Ali wound up playing with Arroyo as the fight went on, dropping his gloves and then jumping in with punches.

The fight ended after Ali landed a left hook to Arroyo’s head and followed with a left hook to Arroyo’s body. Arroyo had a delayed reaction, dropping to one knee and taking the full count of 10.

The end came two minutes and 46 seconds into the round.

Ali, of Brooklyn, is now 9-0 (5 KOs). Arroyo, of Costa Rica, is now 20-13-1 (4 KOs).

- Jeremy Bryan TKO1 Daniel Mitchell (junior welterweights).

Mitchell remained in his corner following the first round, complaining to the ringside physician that he was unable to see. The doctor called a halt to the bout. Referee Randy Neumann ruled that the injury hadn’t come from a foul.

(Note: Tim Starks of The Queensberry Rules, watching the pay-per-view, said that Mitchell complained of an elbow – and also changed which eye he was favoring, covering up his right eye after what appeared to be the initial injury and then, later, covering his left eye).

Bryan, of Paterson, N.J., improves to 14-1 (7 KOs). Mitchell, of Pittsburgh, falls to 5-2-1 (2 KOs).

On the non-televised undercard:

- Shemuel Pagan UD4 Raul Rivera (lightweights).

Pagan suffered a cut in the first round from what referee Steve Smoger ruled was a punch. That was about all the damage he took all night. He knocked Rivera down early in the second round and proceeded to pick his shots for the remainder of the bout, loading up on heavy punches to Rivera’s body and head. Rivera largely resembled a moving punching bag.

The scorecards were 40-34 (twice) and 40-35. Pagan, a Brooklyn fighter making his pro dbeut, is now 1-0 (zero knockouts). Rivera, a winless Philadelphian, is now 0-3.

- Osnel Charles UD4 Hector Collado (junior welterweights).

Charles scored a knockdown on Collado about halfway into the first round. The scorecards were 38-37 (twice) and 39-37.

Charles, of Atlantic City, N.J., improves to 4-2 (no knockouts). Collado, of Union City, N.J., falls to 0-2-1.


- Tyrone Luckey TKO1 Larry Yanez (lightweights).

Both fighters were making their professional debut. One fighter was more ready to turn pro than the other. Luckey, of Middletown, N.J., scored a knockdown on Yanez, of Miami, in the opening seconds and then landed a few more big shots on Yanez. Though Yanez was on his feet, referee Steve Smoger stopped it due to the clear talent disparity.

Luckey is now 1-0 (1 KO). Yanez is now 0-1.

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. He may be reached for questions and comments at fightingwords1@gmail.com