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By Keith Idec - Tomasz Adamek might fight a former heavyweight champion sometime in April in his native Poland.
But Hasim Rahman is much more likely to meet Adamek in his next fight than Samuel Peter.
Though Peter’s representatives have pushed hard for Adamek to take the IBF’s preferred path toward a long-pursued showdown with Wladimir Klitschko, Rahman is viewed by Adamek’s handlers as a more marketable, slightly less dangerous opponent, largely because of his age and recent history.
The 38-year-old Rahman (49-7-2, 40 KOs, 1 NC) is nearly 10 years removed from his huge upset of Lennox Lewis in South Africa and hasn’t recorded a noteworthy win since he out-pointed Monte Barrett (34-9-1, 20 KOs) in an interim WBC title fight 5½ years ago. But Adamek’s co-promoters recognize that Rahman’s name will resonate with Polish fight fans who’ll want to see their beloved countryman in what they’ll perceive as a more difficult fight than the last two bouts he won against Vinny Maddalone and Michael Grant.
The 6-foot-7, 261-pound Grant tested Adamek more than most fans and media members expected Aug. 21 at Prudential Center in Newark, but Adamek won the 12-round encounter rather comfortably on all three scorecards (117-111, 118-110, 118-111). Rahman remains a big puncher, though, so he wouldn’t be considered as much of an underdog against Adamek as the 38-year-old Grant (46-4, 34 KOs) or the 37-year-old Maddalone (33-7, 24 KOs), the game-but-limited Queens-based brawler Adamek stopped in the fifth round Dec. 9 at Prudential Center. [Click Here To Read More]
But Hasim Rahman is much more likely to meet Adamek in his next fight than Samuel Peter.
Though Peter’s representatives have pushed hard for Adamek to take the IBF’s preferred path toward a long-pursued showdown with Wladimir Klitschko, Rahman is viewed by Adamek’s handlers as a more marketable, slightly less dangerous opponent, largely because of his age and recent history.
The 38-year-old Rahman (49-7-2, 40 KOs, 1 NC) is nearly 10 years removed from his huge upset of Lennox Lewis in South Africa and hasn’t recorded a noteworthy win since he out-pointed Monte Barrett (34-9-1, 20 KOs) in an interim WBC title fight 5½ years ago. But Adamek’s co-promoters recognize that Rahman’s name will resonate with Polish fight fans who’ll want to see their beloved countryman in what they’ll perceive as a more difficult fight than the last two bouts he won against Vinny Maddalone and Michael Grant.
The 6-foot-7, 261-pound Grant tested Adamek more than most fans and media members expected Aug. 21 at Prudential Center in Newark, but Adamek won the 12-round encounter rather comfortably on all three scorecards (117-111, 118-110, 118-111). Rahman remains a big puncher, though, so he wouldn’t be considered as much of an underdog against Adamek as the 38-year-old Grant (46-4, 34 KOs) or the 37-year-old Maddalone (33-7, 24 KOs), the game-but-limited Queens-based brawler Adamek stopped in the fifth round Dec. 9 at Prudential Center. [Click Here To Read More]
Top 10 heavy or bust
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