Tomasz Adamek Taking Comeback One Fight At A Time

By Jake Donovan

On the heels of the worst performance of his career and a brief promotional rift before returning home, Tomasz Adamek is content with once again be able to do what he does best – fight.

The former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champ was a late edition to the March 24 boxing card, as he faces Nagy Aguilera in a bout airing live on NBC Sports Network from the Aviator Arena in Brooklyn. The televised portion was originally slated as a doubleheader, headlined by a140 lb. title eliminator between Zab Judah and unbeaten Vernon Paris.

However, an exception was made when Adamek – Poland-born but now a huge draw in his adopted home of New Jersey since relocation in 2008 – returned to Main Events after a brief misunderstanding and made himself available for the spring date.

Promoter Kathy Duva was so thrilled with the reunion that plans are already in place for a June show in Newark, also to air on NBC Sports. No opponent has yet been secured, nor will one be until he takes care of business on March 24.

Adamek (44-2, 28KO) is well aware of what he intends to accomplish in his return to the ring. At age 35, however, he has grown wise enough to know to not look too far beyond current matters at hand. By his own admission, he doesn’t know what to expect until he and Aguilera begin trading punches.

“Every fight, you learn something. We will see what happens March 24,” states Adamek. “When I come to the ring, I fight. I don’t know how it will go, only God knows. But I train very hard with Roger. For six weeks I have been in New Jersey and we are ready to go.”

The bout will mark Adamek’s first since his10th round stoppage loss to Vitali Klitschko last September. The one-sided loss snapped a 13-fight win streak spanning more than 4 ½ years. Included among the lot was his lineal cruiserweight championship winning effort over Steve Cunningham in Dec. ’08.

His goal remains a championship win over either Klitschko, whether it’s a rematch with Vitali or a shot at lineal heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko. While a win over either fighter – particularly Vitali, who won nearly every second of their fight – seems insurmountable, his handlers are more confident in the approach that is being taken this time around.

“We’re glad to get Tomasz back in the ring. We took six months off. The rest did him good and we’re anxious to get back in and fight,” insists trainer Roger Bloodworth.

Assuming all goes well in March, the plan is to progressively improve the level of competition until he’s all the way back at the top of the contender’s pool. His handlers have an idea of what type of fighter is next in line, but remain mum until this one is in the books.

“That is certainly the plan,” promoter Kathy Duva said of the possibility of pursuing a true contender. “He let us know he wants to work his way up the heavyweight division. It won’t be (heavyweight titlist Alexander) Povetkin – not enough money in the NBC budget for a  fight like that.

“It will be a recognizable name. A Top 10 contender, but will depend on a few things. We’ll talk about it when the fight’s over. We’re sure everyone will be real happy with the decision we make.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.