By David P. Greisman and Thomas Gerbasi
DAVID P. GREISMAN: Years ago, there was a great travel series on TV called “Pole to Pole.” Michael Palin will have nothing else to do with this article.
That said, this weekend’s big fight pits Pole against Pole, Tomasz Adamek against Andrew Golota. Adamek, 32 years old with a record of 38-1 (26 knockouts), is the fan-friendly former light heavyweight titlist who, following a loss to Chad Dawson, moved up to cruiserweight.
There, Adamek knocked out O’Neil Bell, won a brutal war with Steve Cunningham, and stopped Johnathon Banks.
He’s now going up to the heavyweight ranks, taking on Golota, who is 41 years old, 41-7-1 with one “No contest” and 33 wins by way of knockout. Golota is more than a decade removed from his best days, when his penchant for low blows led to a pair of disqualification losses to Riddick Bowe.
He’s even several years removed from what should’ve been his last hurrah, a 13-month period from 2004 to 2005 when he came up short in his second, third and fourth title shots.
The fight will take place in the Lodz Arena in the city of Lodz. Tom, I’m sure you’ve got Lodz to say about this pairing.
THOMAS GERBASI : I do, I do, and first let me say that not having this fight on any sort of U.S. television is a prime example of what makes hardcore boxing fans shake their heads in disgust. Call me crazy, but this is one of the most anticipated fights of my boxing year, simply because it guarantees excitement in one way, shape or form.
First off, the fight is between the two most well-known Polish fighters of this era…and it’s in Poland!!!! The atmosphere in the Lodz Arena will make Pacquiao-Cotto look like Dawson-Tarver II, and when you add in a little bad blood between the two, this one’s well-heated before the opening bell even sounds.
And once the fight does start, I’d pretty much guarantee this one doesn’t go the distance, and it will end in some sort of spectacular fashion. Either Golota will be too big for Adamek and will knock him out, Adamek will be too fast for Golota and stop him late, or Golota will get frustrated and do something bizarre, either quitting or getting himself disqualified.
Yeah, I know, all you purists are cringing right about now, but if you’re honest with yourself, you will admit that you will enjoy watching this fight a lot more than an Andre Dirrell track meet. I know I will, especially after realizing that watching Froch-Dirrell took away an hour of my life I will never get back. At least with Golota-Adamek, it may be a guilty pleasure, but it’s a pleasure.
As for the fight itself, it does reek of a changing of the guard by giving Golota one last big payday before he hands over the torch as Poland’s favorite boxing son to Adamek, especially considering that the former heavyweight contender’s last bout almost a year ago was a first round stoppage at the hands of Ray Austin due to injury. At 41, Golota has been through the grind of the fight game for a long time, and truth be told, he was never the most stable of individuals when it came to biting down on the mouthpiece and gutting it out.
On the other side of the ring, gutting it out in a war is Adamek’s specialty, and it’s made him one of the game’s top action heroes. You’ll never be disappointed in an Adamek fight, mainly because he puts his hard hat on, clocks in, and goes to work. Unfortunately, premium cable has not come around to get on the Adamek bandwagon, which is another sign of the boxing apocalypse, especially considering that a rematch of his 2008 Fight of The Year candidate with Steve Cunningham would be perfect for an HBO or Showtime card.
But I digress.
On paper, Adamek is in his prime and too talented to lose this fight. Simple as that. But…and there’s always a ‘but’…what if Golota hits Adamek with a fraction of the flush shots Cunningham nailed him with? Sure, Cunningham is faster and craftier than Golota, but Adamek will never be celebrated for his defense. Add in the incentive of being able to knock his rival out in front of his home country, and Adamek might decide to chuck a more conservative game plan and stand in front of a guy who still has heavyweight power. That could mean trouble and an early trip to the canvas.
That’s a key factor.
But if forced to make a call, I’m going to stick with my head and not my gut, and pick Adamek by some form of stoppage, most likely via Golota retiring in the corner. Yet if Golota pulls it off, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
DAVID P. GREISMAN: I consider myself warned. Of course, you warned me last week that Dirrell could turn the Froch fight into a track meet, and I still tuned into the most painful hour of television this month not involving Oprah Winfrey and Mike Tyson.
Back to Adamek-Golota.
The jump from light heavyweight to cruiserweight, 25 pounds, is the biggest of the divisions with weight limits. Adamek never looked overly muscular at 175, but he carried 200 pounds well and took his power with him.
Adamek weighed in at just over 214 pounds for the Golota bout, which shouldn’t be too much additional heft that Adamek would be significantly slower than he was at cruiserweight. Golota tipped the scales at 256 pounds. That’s one big, lumbering tree to try to chop down.
Roy Jones Jr. was able to win a decision over John Ruiz by being faster with his punches and then retreating with his quicker feet. That’s not Adamek’s style.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Adamek break from his mold for this one night. Golota has handled – and gotten his hands on – smaller foes before, most recently his early 2008 points win against Mike Mollo. But Golota is the heaviest he has ever been, plus he is older and slower than before. And, suffice it to say, Mike Mollo is no Tomasz Adamek.
Golota battled through a closed eye to defeat Mollo. I look for Adamek to do worse damage than Mollo did to Golota.
Adamek will do exactly what a younger, faster man should do in this situation. Golota will try to gut it out in front of his home country crowd, but to no avail.
Golota-Mollo will have been Golota’s last hurrah. Golota-Adamek should be his last goodbye.
