By Cliff Rold
A legitimate World champion, reliable action fighter, and a devoted East Coast fan base would seem to be the ingredients for superstardom. At the least, the ingredients would be assumed for a major network star.
Instead, Cruiserweight king Tomasz Adamek (37-1, 25 KO, Ring/IBF) has been a drifter in terms of TV. The fight that first brought him to prominence on these shores wasn’t televised at all. A rousing WBC title win at Light Heavyweight against Paul Briggs was nestled on the undercard of Lamon Brewster-Andrew Golota, a rumor of violence.
It would be their rematch, on the undercard of Nicolay Valuev-Monte Barrett which got him an HBO appearance and, from losing his 175 belt to winning recognition as the division’s best one class higher, he appeared just about everywhere a fighter could. Showtime, Versus, ESPN2, and ESPN Classic have all carried Adamek live. It indicates the quality of his battles that so many make sure he remains seen.
This week will be different. If one is interested, Adamek’s second attempted defense of the title he won versus Steve Cunningham last December will be available online.
More importantly, it will be available live.
Adamek proved big business at the Prudential Center in New Jersey for his last two fights. The local Polish community largely packed the joint to the rafters. Those fights, against Cunningham and contender Johnathon Banks, were both easily viewed as competitive. This Saturday, with tickets reasonably priced, will be a different test.
Adamek will be facing Bobby Gunn (21-3-1, 18 KO). Prior to Gunn’s most recent bout in February, this scribe had the chance to interview Gunn (https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=18617) about a career begun in 1989.
Gunn’s is certainly an interesting story. While many of the names on his record won’t strike most as familiar, he’s shared the ring with some of the best of multiple eras. Gunn recounted his times as a sparring partner for the likes of Roberto Duran, Julian Jackson, James Toney, and Mike McCallum. Gunn expressed a desire for one more crack at a title.
His first shot came in 2007, a WBO title shot at Enzo Maccarinelli which ended inside the first round. This time is bigger, and undoubtedly final.
No one expects him to win. No one really should. Gunn is a good, honest fighter. Adamek is one of the game’s best. It is what it is.
And if the people pack the Prudential Center anyways, then the different test will be passed. It’s one thing to draw at the gate for a good fight. It’s another thing to draw for a single attraction. Very few fighters, be it nationally or regionally marketed, can do it.
There used to be lots of fighters who could sell consistently before a given town or ethnic group but it’s less common today. Houston’s Juan Diaz is showing the ability and St. Louis’s Cory Spinks already has. Miguel Cotto remains huge in New York. Among rising names, Oakland’s Andre Ward is slowly becoming an event in Northern California and Maryland’s Fernando Guerrero has already become one in his backyard.
In the cases of Guerrero and Ward, it has meant a flexibility all fighters do not have. They want TV, and TV money. They don’t need it for every encounter. Prior to signing to face Gunn, Adamek’s team explored a showdown with the ageless Bernard Hopkins. Reports indicated Hopkins overpriced himself. Without a big name opponent immediately available, many fighters would simply wait.
Team Adamek thinks they have a commodity defying patience. Fans should hope they are right.
Big fights once or twice a year can pad a bank account but they never build the same bond sight does. There was a time when fighters made local appearance against the Gunn’s of the world while also making their big fight strides but now the money is such that it’s not always required.
One might have to look back to the prime of Julio Cesar Chavez for a fighter who did both. In between bouts with men like Meldrick Taylor and Hector Camacho, Chavez regularly returned home for tune up bouts, sparring with live fire. His loyal fans grew in number, able to invest in a man they had a realistic chance to see, to experience, up close.
Adamek isn’t particularly more active this year. This is only his second bout of the year. However, as TV dates grow scarcer it is inevitable for more fighters to have to fight more often. It might mean champions facing two or three Gunn’s a year, but as long as the one really tough fight isn’t lost it could be an overall improvement on the status quo.
Adamek might be one of the few who have the ability to generate cash without network. The number of empty seats this weekend will tell whether it is the case or not.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com