DiBella: Adam Kownacki is a Legitimate Heavyweight Contender

By Keith Idec

Lou DiBella always thought Adam Kownacki would establish himself as a credible heavyweight contender.

But even the veteran promoter was impressed with how convincingly and quickly Kownacki defeated fellow Polish heavyweight Artur Szpilka in their July 15 fight in Uniondale, New York. The undefeated Kownacki dropped and stopped Szpilka in the fourth round of a fight FOX televised from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Brooklyn’s Kownacki (16-0, 13 KOs) will fight for the first time since he stopped Szpilka (20-3, 15 KOs) on January 20. His 10-rounder against Georgia’s Iago Kiladze (26-1, 18 KOs) will be part of the Errol Spence Jr.-Lamont Peterson undercard at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

If Kownacki can continue building on the momentum he started by battering Szpilka, DiBella believes it’ll lead to a title shot for the 28-year-old contender, who’s ranked No. 13 by the WBC.

“I love Adam as a fighter,” DiBella said during a recent conference call. “I’ve always loved Adam as a fighter. He’s a tremendously skilled boxer for a heavyweight. His natural build is not like ‘King Kong,’ so people look at him and tend to underestimate him. What he has is everything – movement, speed, power, boxing skills. This guy is a legitimate heavyweight contender, not only just a prospect. He’s a legitimate heavyweight contender and he showed that when he wiped out Szpilka.”

Szpilka had lost only to unbeaten WBC champion Deontay Wilder (39-0, 28 KOs) and contender Bryant Jennings (21-2, 12 KOs) before he encountered Kownacki. Szpilka expected to overpower Kownacki, who hadn’t beaten even a fringe contender before facing Szpilka.

The taller Kownacki dropped Szpilka with a right hand in the fourth round. Szpilka got up, but referee Arthur Mercante Jr. stepped between them to stop the bout once Kownacki knocked a buzzed Szpilka into a corner with another right hand.

“He didn’t just beat Szpilka, he destroyed Szpilka,” DiBella said. “No one expected that kind of victory. Artur was a perennial like, you know, top-10, 15 kind of guy in recent years, and a guy that everyone viewed as a tough, rugged heavyweight, certainly a huge test for a young heavyweight. I mean, Adam didn’t only pass the test. Adam blew him out of the ring.

“So in my mind, a couple more performances like that, keeping the winning track he’s on, is gonna earn Adam a shot at a world title. Particularly with the huge following he has in the Polish and Polish-American communities, and the number of people he can bring out if he does eventually challenge for a title, particularly if that bout takes place at the Barclays Center.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.